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.
Alternate Titles
- "ポータル" -- Japanese spelling
- "포털" -- Korean spelling
Part of the Following Groups
User Reviews
The Press Says
| Common Sense Media |
Windows |
Apr 09, 2008 |
 |
100 |
| Worth Playing |
Windows |
Nov 20, 2007 |
9.8 out of 10 |
98 |
| Gamernode |
Windows |
Oct 16, 2007 |
9.5 out of 10 |
95 |
| GamesCollection |
Windows |
Feb 27, 2008 |
9.5 out of 10 |
95 |
| YouGamers |
Windows |
Oct 15, 2007 |
94 out of 100 |
94 |
| Pelit |
Windows |
Nov, 2007 |
92 out of 100 |
92 |
| Adventure Gamers |
Windows |
May 12, 2008 |
 |
90 |
| Eurogamer.net (UK) |
Windows |
Oct 10, 2007 |
9 out of 10 |
90 |
| Christ Centered Game Reviews |
Windows |
Mar 29, 2010 |
80 out of 100 |
80 |
| PlayDevil |
Windows |
Jan 11, 2008 |
 |
80 |
Forums
| Topic |
# Posts |
Last Post |
| Free until May 25th, 2010! (on Steam) |
14 |
Adzuken (339)
May 22, 2010 |
| Valve re-writes the ending. |
2 |
Adzuken (339)
Mar 05, 2010 |
| Steam can't so I can't play |
3 |
Foxhack (11889)
Nov 19, 2009 |
| Incorrectly grouped |
5 |
Sciere  (206041)
Feb 17, 2009 |
| The Device Has Been Modified |
2 |
DJP Mom (11121)
Jan 17, 2009 |
| Portal and Steam |
14 |
hydra9 (3855)
Apr 29, 2008 |
| Some glitch videos... if you want to look at 'em. |
3 |
Pseudo_Intellectual (42236)
Apr 15, 2008 |
| 2D Flash version of Portal |
1 |
Pseudo_Intellectual (42236)
Jan 27, 2008 |
| Still Alive |
15 |
St. Martyne (3562)
Nov 07, 2007 |
| Portal != Portal |
4 |
Pseudo_Intellectual (42236)
Oct 25, 2007 |
Trivia
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
Generic
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)
- GameStar (Germany)
- March 28, 2008 - Most Innovative Game Mechanics in 2007
Information also contributed by
jean-louis and
LepricahnsGold.
