An excellent game and incredible sequel. Not only is Portal 2 a blast to play, it's also particularly adept at making you feel way in over your head, being a small cog in an impossibly large machine.
As a follow-up to Portal, this game does everything and does it better. Portal 2 takes a deep dive into its story, navigating you through time capsules of Aperture's rise and fall. Its humor had me laughing out loud, even if I've heard these jokes dozens of times before. I've admittedly memorized Cave Johnson's rant about lemons word for word, a consequence of being a teenager during my first playthrough. Even so, I was still roaring with laughter throughout his unhinged monologue. While the quipping might have made my eyes roll in other contexts (see: any Marvel movie), they never came at the expense of its narrative. Portal 2 nails its storytelling, making you feel like a fragile test subject bumbling their way through increasingly dire straits.
And ultimately, Portal 2 is fun. Really fun. It's just so satisfying to shoot a gun that makes portals. While it starts off with more traditional puzzles a la Portal 1, new mechanics are mixed in, gradually shifting to more environmental puzzles, and finally deconstructing its own test chamber mechanic by the end.
There's so much more I could say about Portal 2. Its sound design effortlessly weaves together its environment and gameplay. The multiplayer mode reigned supreme as the go-to couch co-op game (that is, until It Takes Two usurped the throne). The level editor is surprisingly robust and stole many hours from my summers a decade ago. And of course, that ending still kicks ass.
As a follow-up to Portal, this game does everything and does it better. Portal 2 takes a deep dive into its story, navigating you through time capsules of Aperture's rise and fall. Its humor had me laughing out loud, even if I've heard these jokes dozens of times before. I've admittedly memorized Cave Johnson's rant about lemons word for word, a consequence of being a teenager during my first playthrough. Even so, I was still roaring with laughter throughout his unhinged monologue. While the quipping might have made my eyes roll in other contexts (see: any Marvel movie), they never came at the expense of its narrative. Portal 2 nails its storytelling, making you feel like a fragile test subject bumbling their way through increasingly dire straits.
And ultimately, Portal 2 is fun. Really fun. It's just so satisfying to shoot a gun that makes portals. While it starts off with more traditional puzzles a la Portal 1, new mechanics are mixed in, gradually shifting to more environmental puzzles, and finally deconstructing its own test chamber mechanic by the end.
There's so much more I could say about Portal 2. Its sound design effortlessly weaves together its environment and gameplay. The multiplayer mode reigned supreme as the go-to couch co-op game (that is, until It Takes Two usurped the throne). The level editor is surprisingly robust and stole many hours from my summers a decade ago. And of course, that ending still kicks ass.