Portal

Moby ID: 30616
Windows Specs
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Description official description

Aperture Science is a secret weapons research organization in competition with Black Mesa. Chell is a test subject at the "Enrichment Center" facility who awakens to find an A.I. construct called GlaDOS requiring some tasks to be completed. They are testing the Aperture Handheld Portal Device (aka Portal Gun) which is able to create portals in space, allowing Chell to move from one point to another without actually crossing the distance. Chell is promised cake should she be able to overcome the obstacles and perform the necessary tests.

She has to use her new gun to fling, jump and fall her way through 19 puzzles. These include obstacles but also androids that fire at her. Although the game is played as a first-person shooter, a large amount of strategy and puzzle-solving is involved. After completing the game, two additional game modes become available: Challenge where the game needs to be completed in either as little time, as few footsteps, or as few portals as possible. The other mode is Advanced, where levels are made harder through additional obstacles.

Portal is set in the Half-Life universe and it is considered the spiritual successor to Narbacular Drop, some of whose original developers worked on this game. The Windows game can be bought stand-alone, while the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions are only available in The Orange Box.

Spellings

  • ポータル - Japanese spelling
  • 포털 - Korean spelling

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Credits (Windows version)

171 People (164 developers, 7 thanks) · View all

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 87% (based on 41 ratings)

Players

Average score: 4.2 out of 5 (based on 268 ratings with 6 reviews)

A fun game, but way too short

The Good
The story was amazing, and the fact it used artificial intelligence as the main enemy of the game was exactly what I was looking for at the first time I played it. I would watch every lets-play on youtube as many times as possible as I waited to actually buy the game- and when I did I was so happy to get it that I beat it in a matter of three days. I love how the gameplay was, and how not every 'chamber', or test level, was easy and how you had to use your mind for quite a few of them.

The Bad
I really didn't like how short the game was in general. They could have added a lot more interesting things to the first game and still had it lead up to the seemingly even more popular sequel. Personally, I could play through this game with my eyes closed- I memorized the levels since I played it through so much, and over time it just got flat out boring.

The Bottom Line
Personally, this game is one of the coolest games I've played in awhile. Sure, it has some pros and cons about it and its not all completely amazing. Sure, it gets boring after awhile for people like me, but it is definitely worth getting.

Windows · by Mae Spencer (4) · 2011

perfect design, but the fun only lasts a few good hours

The Good
The game isn't padded at all, everything that's in this game is there because it needed to be there for the game to work. There are no annoying parts between puzzles that drag-on and even the loading screens are incredibly fast. Thanks to this, the game is admirably enjoyable, you never get bored of it because there is always something to do. If you like the game this will mean that you will like it all the way through, but if you dislike the game (which is very hard) this means you won't ever get a break.

I found the story to be quite interesting, mostly because there isn't much revealed to you. All you know is that:
a) You are a prisoner in a science-lab, there is nothing explaining how you got there or why they took you, but whatever they do is unethical.
b) The robot who guides you through the tests has no understanding of human emotion and might be insane. Because the game doesn't reveal too much of the story you can use a little imagination and make it your own, at least that is what I did when I couldn't figure out a way to open a door during a puzzle.

Playing with the Portals is interesting no matter how old you are, I have wasted so many minutes just standing around and discovering new ways to mess with million-dollar science material. Some of the classic tricks are; placing portals behind cameras, endless falls and flying. It's also nice how they introduce you to the portal gun: first you have none, then you can use the blue portal and finally you assemble the whole thing. It spreads the fun a little better because you get more features to mess with as you play.

I had to laugh at most of the jokes, this is probably one of the most overrated part of the game though. People say every line is solid gold, but most of the jokes are good for a quick giggle and not a full three-minute-laughter that will tear your lungs apart. I also hate it when people burst into laughter about cake jokes. Yes. "The cake is a lie" is a very odd things to say, so is "He kicked the Bucket", but they aren't a comedic pot of gold that you can exploit in order to make cheap jokes for several years. Sorry, now I sound negative again, the jokes are pretty good and I liked MOST of them.

The Bad
I finished the game in two hours and maybe less, but considering all the time I wasted with messing around, I can safely say that the story mode will only take you 90 minutes tops. I praised the fact that the game has no padding, but that doesn't mean it can get away with lasting just as long as a movie. There is some extra content in the bonus maps and there are probably user-made levels out there, but this will only double the length of the game once (three hours) at best.

I found everything up to level seventeen to be very easy, level eighteen was probably the hardest and Nineteen was decent, but all the maps before that were very easy. I could solve most of them just by looking at them for a few seconds and looking for the box or switch required to move forward.The last-boss wasn't that bad, but the only thing that can lead to your "Game Over" screen is a very generous time limit. A little extra difficulty would have made the game better for me, but I wouldn't be surprised if somebody else thinks this game is one of the hardest out there and that my suggestion would make it impossible.

The Bottom Line
Portal is a really great game, but not the holy grail of video games, I like letting kids or parents play it due to its charming puzzles and jokes, but it just leaves me with a little problem: I bought a game that only took me two hours to finish. That is hard to justify. The lack of difficulty is also a little deal-breaker to me, but the last few stages are rather challenging, so that only counts for the first part of the game.

Aside from its length though, Portal is a very nice game with a funny story and very interesting design. I am glad I played it because it showed me how to design a game without using arbitrary padding. I was never really bored while playing this game, so this is a recommendation for everybody in the world, just try it once, only nine euros in the Steam Store.

Windows · by Asinine (957) · 2011

Interesting idea, but not much of a game.

The Good
I haven't seen a fresher idea for a game mechanism in years. And to find one that actually leaves much up to the player's imagination is rare. The portal weapons work like a charm, as does the physics in the game.

The Bad
However, I can't shake the feeling that I'm playing around with a tech demo. I have a hard time calling it a game. Most gamers will probably finish it in a couple of hours and that only adds to the demo feeling of the "game".

The story is thin, vague and not much to spur the player on. I got this game for free but had I payed money for it I would have felt even more cheated. It's fun to play around with and the gameplay is superbly executed - but I just don't see a whole game in there.

The Bottom Line
Imagine a typical 3D shooter without weapons. Instead you have the ability to shoot portals on almost any solid surface. If you shoot one portal on the right wall, and the other on the left and then go through the right one - you will come out of the left portal. These portals can be applied to ceilings and floors as well.

Now, the traditional shooter becomes a puzzle game where you need to use the portals - and your imagination - to get from point A to point B.

Windows · by Thomas Helsing (182) · 2011

[ View all 6 player reviews ]

Discussion

Subject By Date
Free until May 25th, 2010! (on Steam) Patrick Bregger (298416) May 23, 2010
Valve re-writes the ending. Starbuck the Third (22608) Mar 5, 2010
Steam can't so I can't play Arachia Botanical Nov 20, 2009
Incorrectly grouped vedder (70661) Feb 17, 2009
The Device Has Been Modified xroox (3895) Jan 17, 2009

Trivia

1001 Video Games

Portal appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

German version

In some German versions, the colour of blood was changed to grey.

GLaDOS

According to a boardroom projection in the game, GLaDOS stands for Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System.

Awards

  • Eurogamer (UK)
    • December 28, 2009 - Game of the Year 2007* Games for Windows Magazine
    • March 2008 - #1 Game of the Year 2007 (PC Game Awards)* GameSpy
    • 2007 – Best Puzzle Game of the Year
    • 2007 – Best Character of the Year (for GlaDOS)
    • 2007 – Best Sidekick of the Year (for The Weighted Companion Cube)
    • 2011 – #8 Top PC Game of the 2000s
  • GameStar (Germany)
    • March 28, 2008 - Most Innovative Game Mechanics in 2007

Information also contributed by jean-louis and LepricahnsGold.

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Related Sites +

  • A Piece of Cake
    An Apple Games article about the Macintosh version of Portal (May, 2010).
  • ApertureScience
    website of the fictional Aperture Science company with an alternate reality game
  • Design Language: The Portal Paradoxes
    Noah Falstein presents a comprehensive design critique of Portal - from intro to 'Still Alive'.
  • MacGamer Review
    A review of the Mac version of Portal by the news and review site, MacGamer (May 18th, 2010).
  • Portal Is for lesbians
    A look at the female cast and the influence on the theme, on Heroine Sheik (17th October 2007)
  • Portal flash pack
    A pack of custom maps for the game, based on the unofficial 2D flash version.

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Dakota Bob.

Android added by GTramp. Linux added by Sciere. Macintosh added by Kabushi.

Additional contributors: PCGamer77, Sciere, Foxhack, Zeppin, lee jun ho, Patrick Bregger, FatherJack, Harmony♡.

Game added October 16, 2007. Last modified February 21, 2024.