It’s time to think with portals! Disclaimer: You can’t think with portals.
“Portal 2” is the 2011 sequel to the cult classic “Portal,” both developed and published by Valve. Like the original “Portal,” “Portal 2 became a cult classic beloved by many including myself when I was younger.
“Portal 2” was one of my favourite games. If you asked me back in the day what my favourite game of 2011 and favourite Valve game was, I would’ve automatically answered “Portal 2.” However, I don’t know if it has stood the test of time.
I first played "Portal 2" on the Xbox 360, but for this retrospective I'll be playing it on Steam.
General Synopsis
“Portal 2” is about Chell, a human made to do obstacle course experiments for a corrupt artificial intelligence named GLaDOS, built by Aperture Science. Despite Chell killing her in the previous game, GLaDOS is reactivated and is ready to test again.
Chell uses the Portal Gun, a device that can place two portals of different colours for Chell and objects to go through. For example, if Chell places a portal on the floor and a portal on a wall, when she goes through the wall portal, she comes out of the ground portal. Although, portals are only place-able on white walls.
Chell will use the Portal Gun to not only complete the puzzles, but also find a way to escape, discovering the background of Aperture Science while she’s at it.
What still holds up?
A lot.
Right off the bat, the Portal Gun is a nifty and unique gun that the game makes excellent use of.
The Portal Gun is used to solve puzzles in a variety of ways. Whether it’s jumping from a high spot into a portal on the ground to reach a ledge when leaving the other portal or using portals to get to places Chell normally can’t reach by running there.
What compliments the Portal Gun are the objects and mechanics built around it.
There are lasers that can go through the portals and be aimed with Reflective Cubes, there are Tractor Beams that can travel through the portals that float Chell and items in a direction, and more.
There are even three different gels to play with. Propulsion Gel (blue gel) that makes Chell bounce, Repulsion Gel (orange gel) to make Chell run faster, and Conversion Gel (white gel) to create new Portal surfaces.
They’re not only great but can add good complexity to some of the puzzles when multiple gels are used.
There are also obstacles to get in the way, such as large pools of water the player can drown in, electrical fields that disintegrate items that pass through them and eliminate portal placements, turrets that shoot at the player, and more.
However, if the picture above is anything to go by, it shows these obstacles can be conquered/bypassed with the use of portals. It always comes back to portals.
These mechanics help keep the player engaged and always apply new solutions to solve the puzzles. It’s amazing game design. Even better is the reward you get for completing them, that being more story/jokes.
The story from the outside can look plain, but it’s tragically hilarious. With GLaDOS cleverly insulting the player, Wheatly’s hilarious dialogue, and Cave Johnson’s hilarious comments on the experiments. The voice actors also help to bring these characters alive.
However, sometimes the reward is that the player learns more about the characters, Aperture Science, and the background of the company.
Sometimes the story is delivered through comedy. Despite a lot of the stuff Cave Johnson says being hilarious, there are dark undertones to them that are chilling when the comedic elements are taken out.
Another example is that Chell is a mute, yet it seems to have been caused by brain damage or the experiments, which is tragic. Despite this, the game is funny about it when it teaches the player how to jump.
It’s incredible the game can communicate something so tragic as comedic without coming off as jarring.
Yet, it can still deliver an engaging and serious story. To the point where it’s easy to feel sympathy for the turrets due to their cute voices and design, and what they say when they’re knocked over. These are things that try to kill me, why do I want to hug them?
And have I mentioned the game looks good? If you answered no, good, that means the portals didn’t scramble your brains like it did with one test subject, or at least that’s something Cave Johnson would say.
The facility can come off as plain, with a lot of grays, whites, blacks, and browns. However, for an abandoned facility where the rooms you go into need white walls for the Portal Gun to work, it makes perfect sense. And hey, it looks nice to boot.
In fact, the facility hosts a lot of secrets and Easter Eggs. Such as Ratman dens that belong to the Ratman, a character in the Portal lore.
Sound effects also have a good punch to them.
Finally, there’s the multiplayer… I didn’t play this for the retrospective because I have no one to play with.
However, it's a good thing I have memories. From what I remember, it’s a fun mess having to work with four portals where the biggest obstacle is your partner even when they really shouldn’t be.
Newfound appreciations
Going back to the game, there’s two major things I never really took note of back in the day. Those being the atmosphere and music.
The atmosphere in “Portal 2” is phenomenal as it perfectly nails exploring the ruins of a fallen research facility. From the facility’s broken state as you do experiments for GLaDOS to Aperture Science’s eerie underground facility. The atmosphere really hits.
The music also helps with the atmosphere as it gives off that mystic/lonely vibe. I never really paid much attention to the music outside of the iconic Want you Gone before this retrospective, but the music adds so much.
Vitrification Order is a beautiful track that really captures the atmosphere of the underground facility.
The music also changes as Chell interacts with the environment, such as being shot at by turrets or using the gels. For example, the final boss theme, Throwing Bombs at You, changes if gel is being used during it, such as with the Propulsion Gel.
On the Steam version, there’s a challenge mode and extra content. The challenge mode is where the player beats a puzzle as fast as they can or with as few portals as they can. It’s a neat addition. Also, convenient since I still have a craving to go fast after the Sonic marathon of reviews I just did.
There’s also extra content like demonstration videos and even the Ratman Comic Book, which are cool extra goodies.
A Missing Cube
Despite all “Portal 2’s” positives, the game suffers greatly for me. While these gripes are personal to me, it is heartbreaking to write this section. Portal 2 isn’t fun for me, not anymore.
The puzzles are too easy since the solutions tend to be obvious, so they end up not being rewarding. The puzzles are also too short, so they also don’t leave any impact.
At first I thought that it was because I replayed the game so much that the puzzles in the story mode had grown stale or that it's because I've gone through these puzzles before.
I didn't remember any of the puzzle solutions, but that's a possibility. So I did a few custom maps. However, this lack of interest persisted.
One custom map called UNREAL CHAMBER 2 had a unique mechanic that I can only describe as an optical illusion, but it was no fun for me.
That’s on me, not the map creator.
I’m genuinely dumbfounded how one of my favourite games has become so soulless to me with its gameplay.
It’s objectively a phenomenal game, it does so much right, yet I just can’t get into it. I can’t even blame anyone for this, not even aliens.
It might just boil down to replaying it so much that I became permanently bored of it. Maybe it’s just age, since I played it when I was a kid who couldn’t tie his own shoes, but now I’m an adult who knows how to put duct tape around his shoes to prevent tripping.
Regardless of the reason, “Portal 2” isn’t the same for me anymore which I find to be a huge shame.
Overall (S/D)
Being objective, “Portal 2” is amazing in many aspects. Its story is well done, its characters are lovable, its atmosphere is nailed, its presentation is great, its music is nice, its voice acting is brilliant, and the gameplay is beautifully executed. It’s an easy S ranking.
However, it’s honestly just a D putting my own feelings into the mix. It’s such a well-made game, yet I can’t find any enjoyment in its gameplay, it’s just not fun for me.
Although, despite my personal feelings, there is still no doubt in my mind that “Portal 2” is a good game, and it forever will be. I also highly recommend "Portal 2," since my personal ranking of the game is purely personal.
The only thing for me to do now is guide others to a treasure I cannot possess.
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