Aperture Desk Job is a funny Tech Demo that doesn't have a lot to offer in terms of a game, but it's a great addition to the world of Portal/Half Life.
The game can take at max about 30-40 minutes, but it's meant to be a fun introduction to your steam deck and the different options of gameplay the system has.
The "gameplay" is essentially to press buttons to make sure Aperture Toilets are regulated correctly, at least you think so, in reality you only make 3 toilets and then the game jumps to you 6 months later in terms of the story.
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From this point I have to sort of blend the gameplay with the story so to essentially start:
You're a brand new worker in Aperture Science and your job is to be a new revolutionary scientist/engineer for the company! Your ideas will be so helpful for both people and societ- wait sorry, that's meant for the innovators of Aperture... in reality you're hired as another blue collar worker who's job is to regulate/test Aperture toilets. You meet your supervisor personality core Grady who has a southern accent.
When you get to your 4th Aperture toilet, Grady notices that the toilet is smoking and accidently falls into the toilet and you help him out while he accidently breaks an ammo pipe turning the toilet into a toirret (get it Toilet + Turret).
Anyway 6 months pass and Grady shows you the Mark 1 Toilet Turrent and has you test it out, only for it to break, and later shows you the Mark 2 which has a bunch of random useless attachments that the game makes you use EVERY SINGLE CONTROL that's one the system to destroy boxes.
...You accidently destroy the entire storage facility and are sent to Aperture Jail, only for Grady to come and rescue you as your parole officer. Here in the jail part the game wants you to speak into the systems microphone, input your name via typing, later signing with your ACTUAL SIGNATURE (though you can just scribble everywhere if you want).
A bit of gameplay for you.
Grady later shows you the Mark 3 Turret Toilet which specially only has Gatling guns on it's side, and tells you he got an interview appointment with Cave Johnson to show off both of yalls invention.
On the way you fight against turret washing machines and while your turrets get destroyed, Grady made sure to make a spare.
You head to the top of Aperture Science and Grady mentions no one has seen Cave Johnson for a while... when enter his office we see that he's now a giant head.
Cave Johnson is once again played by the legend him, J.K. Simmons.
Cave explains that he was dying from an illness which was terminal and asked for the best scientist and engineers to save his life any way possible, so the scientist made him a robot body and insert his conscious into it only problem is the amount of memory needed to remember everything didn't fit the human sized robot... so they made a GIANT ROBOT HEAD of Cave Johnson and were able to fully upload his entire conscious and personality into it.
Cave asks to see your invention and you shoot him with it. Cave wants to die and asks Grady and you to kill him to end his misery, after you destroy the stone cover on Cave it reveals his full metal head with glowing eyes, and later Grady see's his power supply and tells you to shoot it to help Cave. You do so and Cave... slowly... and thankfully... starts to die and thanks you for the help... before entering peace.
... Only for the backup powersupply to turn on bringing him back to life causing Cave to fire you and Grady. However because of the damage from the turret Cave falls deep into the depths of Aperture where he remains eternally bounded to life because of greed and ego.
Grady tells you that because they technically were accomplices in murder he tells you that you'll both probably get life and prison and proceed to leave.
The game's epilogue is you and Grady are now still working in Aperture under witness protection with different names and you 2 continue to do so... in the delipidated, destroyed, and abandoned Aperture Science.
The game pans down to the depths where we see Cave Johnson's Giant Robot head where him and a couple of toilet and washing machine turret make an instrumental song as credits role.
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While a developer confirmed that this game is NON-CANON to Portal/Portal 2/Half Life, there's nothing really stopping it from being canon as you can half it take place after the Caroline Incident, after Portal 1, but before Portal 2, or during all events considering that a lot of time passes throughout the transition periods within the game, especially in the time you're in jail.
Overall there isn't much "gameplay" in the game but it's still a very fun experience to see the world of Portal once again, even if it's to a quick lesser capacity.
This game is a great introduction to your steam deck, and because it's free it's a great thing to own.
The game can take at max about 30-40 minutes, but it's meant to be a fun introduction to your steam deck and the different options of gameplay the system has.
The "gameplay" is essentially to press buttons to make sure Aperture Toilets are regulated correctly, at least you think so, in reality you only make 3 toilets and then the game jumps to you 6 months later in terms of the story.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
From this point I have to sort of blend the gameplay with the story so to essentially start:
You're a brand new worker in Aperture Science and your job is to be a new revolutionary scientist/engineer for the company! Your ideas will be so helpful for both people and societ- wait sorry, that's meant for the innovators of Aperture... in reality you're hired as another blue collar worker who's job is to regulate/test Aperture toilets. You meet your supervisor personality core Grady who has a southern accent.
When you get to your 4th Aperture toilet, Grady notices that the toilet is smoking and accidently falls into the toilet and you help him out while he accidently breaks an ammo pipe turning the toilet into a toirret (get it Toilet + Turret).
Anyway 6 months pass and Grady shows you the Mark 1 Toilet Turrent and has you test it out, only for it to break, and later shows you the Mark 2 which has a bunch of random useless attachments that the game makes you use EVERY SINGLE CONTROL that's one the system to destroy boxes.
...You accidently destroy the entire storage facility and are sent to Aperture Jail, only for Grady to come and rescue you as your parole officer. Here in the jail part the game wants you to speak into the systems microphone, input your name via typing, later signing with your ACTUAL SIGNATURE (though you can just scribble everywhere if you want).
A bit of gameplay for you.
Grady later shows you the Mark 3 Turret Toilet which specially only has Gatling guns on it's side, and tells you he got an interview appointment with Cave Johnson to show off both of yalls invention.
On the way you fight against turret washing machines and while your turrets get destroyed, Grady made sure to make a spare.
You head to the top of Aperture Science and Grady mentions no one has seen Cave Johnson for a while... when enter his office we see that he's now a giant head.
Cave Johnson is once again played by the legend him, J.K. Simmons.
Cave explains that he was dying from an illness which was terminal and asked for the best scientist and engineers to save his life any way possible, so the scientist made him a robot body and insert his conscious into it only problem is the amount of memory needed to remember everything didn't fit the human sized robot... so they made a GIANT ROBOT HEAD of Cave Johnson and were able to fully upload his entire conscious and personality into it.
Cave asks to see your invention and you shoot him with it. Cave wants to die and asks Grady and you to kill him to end his misery, after you destroy the stone cover on Cave it reveals his full metal head with glowing eyes, and later Grady see's his power supply and tells you to shoot it to help Cave. You do so and Cave... slowly... and thankfully... starts to die and thanks you for the help... before entering peace.
... Only for the backup powersupply to turn on bringing him back to life causing Cave to fire you and Grady. However because of the damage from the turret Cave falls deep into the depths of Aperture where he remains eternally bounded to life because of greed and ego.
Grady tells you that because they technically were accomplices in murder he tells you that you'll both probably get life and prison and proceed to leave.
The game's epilogue is you and Grady are now still working in Aperture under witness protection with different names and you 2 continue to do so... in the delipidated, destroyed, and abandoned Aperture Science.
The game pans down to the depths where we see Cave Johnson's Giant Robot head where him and a couple of toilet and washing machine turret make an instrumental song as credits role.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
While a developer confirmed that this game is NON-CANON to Portal/Portal 2/Half Life, there's nothing really stopping it from being canon as you can half it take place after the Caroline Incident, after Portal 1, but before Portal 2, or during all events considering that a lot of time passes throughout the transition periods within the game, especially in the time you're in jail.
Overall there isn't much "gameplay" in the game but it's still a very fun experience to see the world of Portal once again, even if it's to a quick lesser capacity.
This game is a great introduction to your steam deck, and because it's free it's a great thing to own.