Portal

I have been reminded... many times... over the few hours I participated in the portal experiment... by GladOS... that the companion cube... in fact ... cannot speak.

a valve classic. not my favorite out of the many games of its kind, but its amazing for its age.

I beat the game in 4 days. Worth the time, trust me, legit bought the 2nd game with the first cause i heard portal 1 is amazing, so why not get the second.

THIS WAS SO COOL :) short but i had a great time
i really liked what they did at the end
defenitly recommend it and i already did before i played the game

---{ Graphics }---
☐ You forget what reality is
☐ Beautiful
☑ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Bad
☐ Don‘t look too long at it
☐ MS-DOS

---{ Gameplay }---
☐ Very good
☑ Good
☐ It's just gameplay
☐ Mehh
☐ Watch paint dry instead
☐ Just don't

---{ Audio }---
☐ Eargasm
☐ Very good
☑ Good
☐ Not too bad
☐ Bad
☐ I'm now deaf

---{ Audience }---
☑ Kids
☑ Teens
☑ Adults
☑ Grandma

---{ PC Requirements }---
☐ Check if you can run paint
☐ Potato
☑ Decent
☐ Fast
☐ Rich boi
☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer

---{ Game Size }---
☐ Floppy Disk
☐ Old Fashioned
☑ Workable
☐ Big
☐ Will eat 10% of your 1TB hard drive
☐ You will want an entire hard drive to hold it
☐ You will need to invest in a black hole to hold all the data

---{ Difficulty }---
☐ Just press 'W'
☐ Easy
☐ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☑ Significant brain usage
☐ Difficult
☐ Dark Souls

---{ Grind }---
☑ Nothing to grind
☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks
☐ Isn't necessary to progress
☐ Average grind level
☐ Too much grind
☐ You'll need a second life for grinding

---{ Story }---
☐ No Story
☐ Some lore
☐ Average
☑ Good
☐ Lovely
☐ It'll replace your life

---{ Game Time }---
☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee
☐ Short
☑ Average
☐ Long
☐ To infinity and beyond

---{ Price }---
☐ It's free!
☐ Worth the price
☑ If it's on sale
☐ If u have some spare money left
☐ Not recommended
☐ You could also just burn your money

---{ Bugs }---
☐ Never heard of
☑ Minor bugs
☐ Can get annoying
☐ ARK: Survival Evolved
☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs

---{ ? / 10 }---
☐ 1
☐ 2
☐ 3
☐ 4
☐ 5
☐ 6
☐ 7
☑ 8
☐ 9
☐ 10

Portal is a critically acclaimed dark puzzle humor simulator developed by Valve based on an old college student project named Narbacular Drop. Started as a project from students at the DigiPen Institute of Technology, Narbacular Drop itself was game whose entire premise involves a princess named No-Knees (on the account that she literally can’t jump) and her journey in escaping a dungeon after being captured by a demon by placing interconnected portals around the dungeon in order to solve puzzles. Picked up by Valve after finding it at the DigiPen career fair and proceeded to hire them all on after being thoroughly impressed by Narbacular Drop, hoping to create a spiritual successor from a team of less than a dozen people. Tying it into the Half-Life universe due to the easy excuse of reusing assets from Half-Life 2, which “made sense” and “Some of that was driven by the fact that we didn't have a big enough team to do the art from scratch, so we ended up reusing primarily Half-Life 2 art assets” according to Erik Wolpaw in a Game Informer article about the development about the game. They would also work with Half-Life writer Marc Laidlaw on tying it into the Half-Life universe, though this concept would make him a bit uncomfortable as according to a RockPaperShotgun article, he felt it made “both universes smaller” before accepting it, saying “I just had to react as gracefully as I could to the fact that it was going there without me. It didn’t make any sense except from a resource-restricted point of view.” While this would have potentially greater consequences for the Half-Life universe down the line (in cancelled Half-Life 2: Episode 3 pitches); Portal itself would have some cut content including a brick joke of a “Party Escort Bot” shadowing you around the second half of the game, walking turrets, a cut character named “The Rat Man” (however put in as little easter eggs along with a later ARG for it’s sequel), an original Combine-style Design like Half-Life 2, and even a different portal gun in the style of the Gravity Gun. Overall though, development would remain smooth for the most part to create one of the most critically acclaimed titles of all time! As for my experience with Portal? I followed all the top ten video guys like ScrewAttack and first learned of it from there before being able to play it myself through The Orange Box, along with following all of the memes like “The Cake is a Lie” as a kid of course. I had picked it up myself along with the rest of the Half-Life collection on Steam and had played it all the way to the end, though apparently I forgot to actually BEAT the game until recently due to exploring the final area with NoClip and such. Finishing it off technically recently, I decided that now was as good as ever to write up a review for Portal right around Christmas time so why not.

(For Plot, Atmosphere, Graphics, Sound Design/links go here: https://www.backloggd.com/u/gamemast15r/review/2227324/)

The gameplay for Portal centers around the concept of shooting two portals (one orange and one blue) around an arena in order to solve physics based puzzles whilst also dealing with hazards like toxic water, being crushed to death or perhaps shot by turrets to name a few (though thankfully not fall damage). Straight out of the gate, while I don’t really care for puzzles much due to the fact that I suck at them, I appreciate the work that goes into them and the physics around it. One of the funniest things to me is shooting a portal above and below me and just falling down in an infinite loop, which is sometimes what’s needed in order to make huge jumps due to speed by shooting another portal on a different platform to launch yourself across a gap. The puzzles of course get more difficult as they go along, and while admittedly I used walkthroughs to get through some of the later ones, I can at least say that most of the time for me it always felt fair and awe inspiring on how to actually complete said puzzles. I don’t really feel like there’s much to explain on this end other than I feel like Valve’s way of pushing the narrative while also explaining the puzzle mechanics of the game. It works fantastic, it feels fantastic and it LOOKS fantastic on top of it! The atmosphere for this game is this mixture of lighthearted black comedy and honestly oppressiveness due to being locked up in walled-up test chambers, but the former heavily outweighs the latter. Between GlaDOS’s explanation of scientific terminology, to dangling the prospect of cake in front of your face, to taunting you with cake AND murder all while dangling it in the monotone voice (provided by Ellen McLain, the only other voice actor than apparently Mike Patton who does the Anger Sphere).

I feel like most people who have any interest in video games in pop culture know of Portal and how critically acclaimed AND successful it was. Memes like “The Cake is a Lie” would perpetuate within meme circles of young gamers (like me and my buddies as a kid) while GlaDOS and the Companion Cube would become popular mascots. Portal would go on to sell a lot of copies too, becoming so successful that it was even paired in The Orange Box with Half Life 2/Episodes and Team Fortress 2 via Xbox 360 (where I first played it) and PS3. They would also release the game again exclusively on the Xbox Live Arcade which featured new challenges and achievements along with being ported to the Nintendo Switch’s Portal: Companion Collection along with Portal OG and Portal 2. Yes of course the very obvious Portal 2 would be announced and later released, with work on it being developed concurrently with Left 4 Dead (with overlapping employees) and a cool alternate reality game being added in to help promote it. A movie was planned by J.J. Abrahms but like lots of mystery box creations of his, the movie has yet to come to a satisfying fruition. Most importantly (for me at least), the game’s modding community would help keep this personality filled game alive, some of these mods I have played and completed casually. As for me personally, while Portal isn’t really one of my favorite games of all time (due to my sucking at puzzles and affinity for more dark and violent games), it’s certainly one of the games that I respect the most out of all of them. Truth be told, I feel like every gamer who invests themselves in the gaming lexicon should try this puzzle shooter AT LEAST once in their life, even if they need a walkthrough (admittedly like me) to do it. It’s a fun-filled experience, made me giggle once or twice, and opened up a decent bit of nostalgia for me. Soon I plan on playing Portal 2, though how soon I don’t know as I want to do the base game AND the co-op stuff.

Links:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal_(video_game)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal_2
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narbacular_Drop
https://web.archive.org/web/20071002110610/http://www.gameinformer.com/News/Story/200608/N06.0825.1923.12789.htm
https://web.archive.org/web/20070928221628/http://www.nuclearmonkeysoftware.com/news.html?46
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kgny67NTtw0 (Portal Soundtrack)
https://web.archive.org/web/20230302232014/https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-narrative-had-to-be-baked-into-the-corridors-marc-laidlaw-on-writing-half-life
https://web.archive.org/web/20100314141455/http://gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2010/03/10/opening-the-portal-exploring-portal-s-creation-and-its-ties-to-half-life-2.aspx
https://theportalwiki.com/wiki/Unused_content#Portal
https://web.archive.org/web/20070927213231/http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?pager.offset=0&cId=3153489
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/rps-interview-valves-erik-wolpaw
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1127708/
https://web.archive.org/web/20080226135732/http://kotaku.com/359961/portal-devs-reveal-the-glados-that-never-was-inspiration-behind-weighted-companion-cube
https://archive.ph/20121206010935/http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3165930

hell yeah!!! this game is sooo fun and i am writing rthis as i dowwnloand the gamne on my new PC but a know that it is ma good game as i had previously downloaded it on my mum,,s old computer so hell heahy you should download

I love the Story but I think portal 2 is better (play this first if you wanna play portal 2)

What a classic. The game is really fun and holds up incredibly well. There are surprisingly few glitches for a 17-year-old game that involves teleporting and weird physics, and the glitches that are there either help you or only happen in fringe cases. The gameplay is a little confusing at first, but becomes practically second nature the more you play and is extremely fun to mess around with. The robot that talks to you throughout the game is a perfect mix of ominous and funny. I like to 100% games with achievements, so I immediately went to play the advanced levels and challenge runs when I finished my first playthrough. A lot of people dislike how hard the challenges are but I found most of them to be loads of fun. Even though they occasionally felt tedious or overly-difficult, I found them invigorating overall. The way you do challenges is so different from a first playthrough, which made the game feel fresh despite being on levels I had already played. The challenge to use as few portals as possible and the challenge to complete them in the least time possible were really fun, and I redid some several times after I had already done what was needed for badge requirements. Even the least steps challenge, which was quite often frustrating, had its own fun moments. Incredible game and worth it at full price, but getting it for $2 was a steal.

There are no enemies, no open world, and barely any plot at first glance. But you do have a portal gun to solve puzzles — or just entertain yourself by falling into an infinite loop. Your companion is the sarcastic AI GLaDOS, who promises you cake but does it in such a tone that you start suspecting you're more of an ingredient than a guest.

The gameplay makes you feel smart—at least until you get stuck trying to figure out where to place a portal without face-planting into a wall. Portal is like a physics exam that’s actually fun, but you still walk away feeling like you’ve been tricked.

Portal is one of the puzzle games I always go back to. The portal gun is the most satisfying concept in a game like this. The puzzles are carefully-crafted, the freedom you have with the portals are mind-boggling, it's the perfect mix of simple but still complicated, and definitely not "cake"-walk. The game is pretty short, but is more than enough to cover the mechanics and the intended plot.

THE CAKE IS A LIE.

---{ Graphics }---
☐ You forget what reality is
☐ Beautiful
☐ Good
☑ Decent
☐ Bad
☐ Don‘t look too long at it
☐ MS-DOS

---{ Gameplay }---
☐ Very good
☑ Good
☐ It's just gameplay
☐ Mehh
☐ Watch paint dry instead
☐ Just don't

---{ Audio }---
☐ Eargasm
☐ Very good
☑ Good
☐ Not too bad
☐ Bad
☐ I'm now deaf

---{ Audience }---
☐ Kids
☑ Teens
☑ Adults
☐ Grandma

---{ PC Requirements }---
☑ Check if you can run paint
☐ Potato
☐ Decent
☐ Fast
☐ Rich boi
☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer

---{ Game Size }---
☐ Floppy Disk
☑ Old Fashioned
☐ Workable
☐ Big
☐ Will eat 10% of your 1TB hard drive
☐ You will want an entire hard drive to hold it
☐ You will need to invest in a black hole to hold all the data

---{ Difficulty }---
☐ Just press 'W'
☐ Easy
☑ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Significant brain usage
☐ Difficult
☐ Dark Souls

---{ Grind }---
☑ Nothing to grind
☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks
☐ Isn't necessary to progress
☐ Average grind level
☐ Too much grind
☐ You'll need a second life for grinding

---{ Story }---
☐ No Story
☐ Some lore
☐ Average
☐ Good
☐ Lovely
☑ It'll replace your life

---{ Game Time }---
☑ Long enough for a cup of coffee
☐ Short
☐ Average
☐ Long
☐ To infinity and beyond

---{ Price }---
☐ It's free!
☐ Worth the price
☑ If it's on sale
☐ If u have some spare money left
☐ Not recommended
☐ You could also just burn your money

---{ Bugs }---
☑ Never heard of
☐ Minor bugs
☐ Can get annoying
☐ ARK: Survival Evolved
☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs

---{ ? / 10 }---
☐ 1
☐ 2
☐ 3
☐ 4
☐ 5
☐ 6
☐ 7
☐ 8
☐ 9
☑ 10

---{ Author }---
☑ https://vojtastruhar.github.io/steam-review-template

I know my hours on this game seem small, however that's mainly because the game is short, and it's a shame it is since it has a clever plot and puzzle solving, and let's not forget: platforming. I won't forget how many times I fell and had to restart, but it was all fun anyways. Great game, 10/10.

i played through this game twice because that's how much of a masterpiece it is. thank yoy porntal.

Good Game 8.5/10 And Next Game Portal 2 Is 100 Times Better

portal is a great game it is short but fun and you have the extra chambers and least time portals and steps so its worth it plus its all most always on discount. would recommend.

Portal is genuinely really fun. I'll usually drop a puzzle game if it's too difficult, but this one keeps bringing me back to it. I got Portal and Portal 2 on sale back in early October, and I've been basically grinding both games since then. The story is interesting and incredibly well written, and the game play loop is easy to get the hang of quickly. The advanced chambers aren't frustratingly difficult, and they provide a good challenge for those who want it. Same thing goes for the challenge maps, which as of writing this, I have roughly 36% completed. The challenge maps give a good starting point for people who want to speedrun the game, such as myself. Once you get the hang of thinking with portals, it can get really interesting and you can push the limits of how you solve the puzzles. I adore how GLaDOS is written, too. Sarcastic and insulting while you're repeatedly dying, lol. To anyone considering getting Portal 2, I'd say that you should, but don't expect the same experience as the first game. The games have very different vibes, but I love them both equally. The soundtrack to this game provides a nice eerie atmosphere that sets a nice tone for the game. When they want you to have adrenaline, the music plays accordingly. When they want your guard to be let down, same thing. Overall a 10/10 game. I wish there was a third one just so I could have more to play lol

if you've not played portal before, play portal. one of the classics for good reason

Amazing game that knows exactly how to use its short run time.

This game is fun if you like portals I guess. Neat game!

Portal is such a fun piece of gaming history. It is definitely worth a play-through and going for all achievements is a difficult and rewarding challenge!

it quite literally crashes about every two minutes for me but i'll still play it anyways because it is cool

Released by Valve in 2007, Portal is a first-person puzzle-platform game that has captivated players with its innovative gameplay and darkly humorous narrative. Set in the mysterious Aperture Science Laboratories, the game challenges players to solve puzzles using a device known as the "Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device" or simply, the portal gun.

Gameplay Mechanics
The core mechanic of Portal revolves around the portal gun, which allows players to create two interconnected portals on flat surfaces. This unique feature enables players to navigate through complex environments, solve intricate puzzles, and manipulate objects in creative ways. The game's physics-based puzzles require both logical thinking and precise timing, making it a mentally stimulating experience.

Narrative and Atmosphere
Portal's story is delivered through the voice of GLaDOS, an artificial intelligence that guides and taunts the player throughout the game. The narrative unfolds in a minimalist yet engaging manner, revealing the dark and often humorous undertones of the Aperture Science facility. The game's atmosphere is enhanced by its sterile, industrial aesthetic and the eerie, ambient soundtrack.

Critical Reception
Portal received widespread acclaim from both critics and players. It was praised for its originality, clever puzzle design, and the performance of Ellen McLain as the voice of GLaDOS. The game has won numerous awards, including the Game Developers Choice Awards for Innovation and Best Game Designhttps://www.metacritic.com/game/portal/. It is often cited as one of the greatest video games of all time.

Legacy
The success of Portal led to the development of a sequel, Portal 2, which expanded on the original's mechanics and story. Portal has also influenced many other games and has become a staple in discussions about innovative game design. Its impact on the gaming industry is undeniable, and it continues to be a beloved title among gamers.

Conclusion
Portal stands out as a masterpiece of game design, combining innovative mechanics, a compelling narrative, and a unique sense of humor. Its influence on the gaming industry and its enduring popularity are testaments to its quality and creativity.

it is a very good and fun game. it is very fun to play ofline. and it is fun to speedrun this game/

I'm very conflicted on how I feel about Portal. Overall i recommend this game to anyone who wants a fun 3D-puzzle platformer and the title absolutely deserves its overwhelmingly positive on steam for that alone. Get it if you like 3D platformers or want story context for portal 2, otherwise if you're only interested in achievements you're fine skipping this one.

Achievement-wise the game suffers from a problem that most Valve games suffer with and that's that most of the achievements are HORRIBLE to acquire for the average player. Valve game achievements tend to fall into two categories either they are unrealistic/straight up impossible to acquire through normal game-play or they require you to do tasks that are painfully long, tedious, or time consuming. Portal falls into that later, requiring the player to play through the main campaign at least twice, once while breaking every camera possible and second play through to tune radios which is only availble on a second playthrough. additionally you're required to complete the six advanced chambers which mix up chambers you've previously beaten and make them slightly more difficult. Lastly you must get Gold medals on all portal challenges which require you to beat the last six levels with least amount of portals, steps, and times. These gold medal requirements are pretty cruel and there's really not a lot of room if you're not a master at the games controls.

I personally also found the game's ending section and final boss fight very underwhelming and figuring where to go during that section was a bit frustrating. GLaDOS had amusing lines and quite a few of them were pretty funny. Looking into the development history of the game made me appreciate it a lot more.

Solid game, especially worth it on sale, but Portal 2 is so, so much better (and longer)

This game has aged like a fine wine, glad I finally got round to this one, it's only been out for 15 years. Can't wait to get started on Portal 2. A blend of maths and puzzles in a world which feels real, the game engine doesn't take too many liberties with physics except maybe the character's ability to take a fall, really fun to play with the physics of the portals. Play this game, your brain will thank you.

Awesome game. I've been playing it since my young teen years. The story is awesome and I love Glados. The remarks she makes always cheer me up. It does make you think and use your creativity to solve the puzzles, although I remember the second game as being harder and more diversified than the first.

Finally completed all 19 levels.. last one was really hard and long for me. Really good game.. didn't expect it to be this scary in the last part.. chills literal chills.. Kudos to developers.
A must play puzzle game for sure.

I've played this game twice! I felt a bit underwhelmed on my first go-around, especially after playing the sequel, but going back to it now I appreciate the short and simple nature. It's only two hours long, so I think it's best to look at it as an easily replayable time killer..- and a precursor to the best game ever made!! (It's hyperbole, but it's Portal 2)

I realy like it and the puzzles are realy good. Btw the haders achiv are the Metal one's

Great story and story end

chell and glados really get along well, it's a fun tale of their budding romance as they build a company together

Great is Portal and puzzle life, Excellent on Steam Deck OLED too. Hope get VR future.

amazing story line and fun game play challing puzzels

Sometimes the character handling is clumsy, especially in the speedrun challenges, but it is a very enjoyable game.

It may be (very) short and inferior to its sequel in every conceivable way but it's still a fun puzzle game

OMG I just completed the main story and this is an amazing game. Somehow so immersive and for being sort of old the graphics still look good. The puzzles are engaging and when you get that first lore drop i was intrigued to find out more, something don't think any other game has done for me. As someone who listens to music whilst gaming, turning it off and tuning into the atmosphere of the game wasn't dead-boring like some games can be, and I can tell music would of ruined it's vibe. I would highly recommend to not use any tutorials when playing as the fun in this game is using knowledge of prior puzzles to complete the next. Felt really rewarding when beating the game and I can't recommend this game enough, especially when i bought this game for such a low price on sale. Finally, in terms of replay-ability, you might need to give it a little while for your brain to forget how to do the puzzles, but there are extra modes I haven't completed yet so there's enough content to where I am sure you are getting your moneys worth. LMAO did't even complete this game and decided to buy portal 2 as well, which just proves how immersive this game is. I hope portal 2 won't be a let down!

Edit: after 11 hours, I have 100% Portal. My thoughts: meh. I still agree that the story is amazing, and there is more replay-ability than I thought, but the challenge levels are outrageously difficult to complete. The advanced levels are good, and an average person can complete them without a tutorial, but the challenge levels are a whole breed of difficulty. I could complete the first two with a tutorial at a gold standard, but it went downhill after that. I would say it could take up to 18 hours to 100% this game properly. Luckily, by using the developer console I was able to cheat my way through. Not very honourable, I know, but I had lost all hope. The other achievements are pretty fun though, and casual friendly as well which is a relief. If you try and complete this game legitimately, I wish you luck on the challenge levels.

very fun and creative puzzles there isnt much i can say that hasnt been said a hundred times the creativity of the portals just opens up so many possibilities

I finally took the Valvepill and now I'm left with one of my favorite games of all time. This game came to me at the right time because that ending section has my eyes watering up, the things that were said throughout it resonated with me a lot deeper than I expected. Yeah, this is an experience to remember

A good bit of fun, always meant to pick it up but never did til now. It didn't take much time to beat and figure out the puzzles so get it for under $5.

One of the best game ever. You can accses multiplayer though console. The cheats are also fun!

Blew My MInd, my first time playing a game by valve and while I knew that the game was about portals the story was insanely good. massive respect for Valve. Now I gotta check out all their games.

Its a vary fun game, but it is very short and after that its hours of retrying to get gold metals on all 6 challange maps. its very fun in a normal playthrough, but anoying to100% the game.

Basically videogame required reading. A fun puzzle game with a simple mechanic that gradually is used in more complex and varied ways. Has one of the funniest narrators in all of gaming that will constantly make you laugh out loud. And all for the price of a cup of coffee on a regular basis. Just get it.

a timeless classic who's dated graphics and game engine lend well to the atmosphere and environment of the game

deserves game of the year. best game. played rtx remake and played 3-4 hours straight. THANKS VALVE!!!!!!!

This game is an absolute masterpiece. Every single damn part of has this little charm to it that you can't quite put your finger on it. The puzzles were very fun to figure out and I enjoyed every single minute of the 4 hours I played to get to the end. The boss battle was also very challenging and fun. It was pretty short just to get to the end, but I'm looking forward to 100%ing this and Portal 2. I would highly recommend picking this up, especially if it's on sale.

This is the best game that i ever played, very good looking graficks, rich story, new gameplay.

My favourite part is when our test subject picks up the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device and says "It's Portal Time" then pauses for dramatic effect before portalling all over the place

Over 10 years old and still one of the greatest games ive ever played, the innovation of the portals and the puzzles is just incredible and i cant get enough, while the story is lacking the second game made up for it. 10/10