Valve just get it, I don’t even like puzzle games but Portal is different - literally and figuratively. It just sucks me in. Its not one thing though, it is many things, all stacked up on top of each other. Portal 1 is really good but felt like a short demo into what could be done with the portal mechanics and the game engine, Portal 2 on the other hand is the magnificent culmination of that - i’ve not even technically finished it yet, i’m just wrapping up single-player and i’ve not even touched co-op or any mods yet, but it is a near perfect game through and through.
Even when I am scratching my head through portal 2’s challenging puzzles, there’s a constant drive that I feel that is the kind of rush that only great games can deliver. Plus even when i’m struggling and getting a bit frustrated, I can appreciate great design and recognise when something is just me. Many of Portal 2’s resounding successes are down to valve’s state of the art, perfectionist approach to game design which puts the player first at all times, orchestrates the pace like an award-winning conductor and strives to give this constant, enrapturing satisfaction. Not to mention the eccentric and often dark sense of humour which has aged remarkably well as well as the excellent art direction and dynamic audio that seems to ‘follow’ the player through their various tasks and interactions with the environment. The banter between glados and wheatley in particular is so good that you could make an entire tv show out of just them talking and it would work.
One thing I loved about portal 1 and even moreso here is the distinction between the flat, futuristic, cold testing areas and the industrial underbelly that you explore. I also find it impressive how a game that is about as linear as it gets on the surface doesn’t actually feel all that linear, something you could also say about half-life. The reason being because there’s no real cutscenes, everything is from your perspective and everyone is going to have a different experience of the same set of sequences. Sometimes exploring an idea that you don’t expect to be the solution ends up being the solution because trial and error is part of the experience, sometimes I would really struggle to figure something out, other times it would just click. Even playing around and experimenting with ideas feels good in portal because it has such an interesting and unique core mechanic, there’s really not much else like it, then its combined with all sorts of fun new additions like the light bridge, gels and excursion funnels to form the basis for what could honestly be a near endless stream of clever puzzles. But that would definitely get repetitive, portal 2 never is, no one puzzle is too alike to another and when an idea is explored well enough, it takes a backburner.
It makes me excited to see what more the community have done with these things because as always, valve embrace player creation with their tools and though they rarely ever develop games anymore, their philosophy and spirit lives on through the passionate modders that never stop putting out great stuff. But when you give valve’s devs the tools and let them design the levels from scratch, something hits differently, its like having your meal prepped by a professional chef, its something else man.
Other things that I love about portal & portal 2:
• A protagonist that doesn’t say a word (just how it should be), can you imagine if they talked while solving puzzles or gave advice like its god of war ragnarok or something, fucking hell…
• Stephen Merchant, Ellen McLain & JK Simmons absolutely killing their performances
• This dynamic, ever-changing feeling of progression where you’re descending, then ascending through the facility and feeling lost in this immersive world (even though its practically impossible to actually be lost)
• Finally, the fact that the game makes you feel so fucking smart. Like i’m no genius at all but there’s parts in this game where I was just like yeah, i’m the goat, i’m the puzzle king (usually right before getting royally humbled)
Just deserving of all of its praise really isn’t it, plus its going to be immensely replayable and I just know i’m going to be able to get so much out of this game even after I finish single-player. Its mad how i’ve only just played it now, but perhaps even madder that its 12 years old and not even aged a day.
Even when I am scratching my head through portal 2’s challenging puzzles, there’s a constant drive that I feel that is the kind of rush that only great games can deliver. Plus even when i’m struggling and getting a bit frustrated, I can appreciate great design and recognise when something is just me. Many of Portal 2’s resounding successes are down to valve’s state of the art, perfectionist approach to game design which puts the player first at all times, orchestrates the pace like an award-winning conductor and strives to give this constant, enrapturing satisfaction. Not to mention the eccentric and often dark sense of humour which has aged remarkably well as well as the excellent art direction and dynamic audio that seems to ‘follow’ the player through their various tasks and interactions with the environment. The banter between glados and wheatley in particular is so good that you could make an entire tv show out of just them talking and it would work.
One thing I loved about portal 1 and even moreso here is the distinction between the flat, futuristic, cold testing areas and the industrial underbelly that you explore. I also find it impressive how a game that is about as linear as it gets on the surface doesn’t actually feel all that linear, something you could also say about half-life. The reason being because there’s no real cutscenes, everything is from your perspective and everyone is going to have a different experience of the same set of sequences. Sometimes exploring an idea that you don’t expect to be the solution ends up being the solution because trial and error is part of the experience, sometimes I would really struggle to figure something out, other times it would just click. Even playing around and experimenting with ideas feels good in portal because it has such an interesting and unique core mechanic, there’s really not much else like it, then its combined with all sorts of fun new additions like the light bridge, gels and excursion funnels to form the basis for what could honestly be a near endless stream of clever puzzles. But that would definitely get repetitive, portal 2 never is, no one puzzle is too alike to another and when an idea is explored well enough, it takes a backburner.
It makes me excited to see what more the community have done with these things because as always, valve embrace player creation with their tools and though they rarely ever develop games anymore, their philosophy and spirit lives on through the passionate modders that never stop putting out great stuff. But when you give valve’s devs the tools and let them design the levels from scratch, something hits differently, its like having your meal prepped by a professional chef, its something else man.
Other things that I love about portal & portal 2:
• A protagonist that doesn’t say a word (just how it should be), can you imagine if they talked while solving puzzles or gave advice like its god of war ragnarok or something, fucking hell…
• Stephen Merchant, Ellen McLain & JK Simmons absolutely killing their performances
• This dynamic, ever-changing feeling of progression where you’re descending, then ascending through the facility and feeling lost in this immersive world (even though its practically impossible to actually be lost)
• Finally, the fact that the game makes you feel so fucking smart. Like i’m no genius at all but there’s parts in this game where I was just like yeah, i’m the goat, i’m the puzzle king (usually right before getting royally humbled)
Just deserving of all of its praise really isn’t it, plus its going to be immensely replayable and I just know i’m going to be able to get so much out of this game even after I finish single-player. Its mad how i’ve only just played it now, but perhaps even madder that its 12 years old and not even aged a day.