Portal (Xbox 360)
User Review
Product Information:
- Release Date (NA): October 10, 2007
- Release Date (EU): October 18, 2007
- Publisher: Valve
- Developer: Valve
- Genres: Puzzle-platformer
- Also For: Android, Computer, PlayStation 3
Game Features:
Review Approach:
2007 was such a fantastic year for gaming, with many classic titles launching on that year alone. Super Mario Galaxy still holds the title for my favorite game of 2007, but today's subject is absolutely a close second. Born from a small student project called Narbacular Drop, Valve decided to hire the developers of that game to expand upon a concept that caught their attention: teleportation. Held down by a small development team, Portal overcame its limitations. Released in October of 2007, Portal received critical acclaim due to its originality, gameplay, and story.
Portal was truly a game like no other.
It's been 14 years since the launch of Portal, but the reception towards the game remains very positive today. And I would argue that except for its sequel, no other game has managed to capture what made Portal so unique not only 14 years ago but also today. What was it about Portal that made it so special? And is it worth playing today? Without further ado, here is my review of Portal.
You take control of a woman named Chell as she partakes in a science experiment for the mysterious Aperture Science. Guided by an AI named GLaDOS, Chell must complete a selection of test chambers to test the latest innovation by Aperture: Portals. And eventually, the Portal Gun. But as Chell goes from one test chamber to the next, she begins to notice that there's more about Aperture and GLaDOS than meets the eye. She's eventually cornered by GLaDOS and about to be killed. But she makes her escape and manages to confront the AI itself; Which culminates in Chell destroying GlaDOS and ultimately escaping from Aperture. Only to be then dragged away by a mysterious entity into parts unknown.
Just where are we exactly? How did we get here?
While Portal's plot is very simplistic on paper, Portal's excellent writing allows this plot to become much more than that. Portal is one of the best examples I've ever seen of dark humor in a video game to date. From direct and unapologetic dabs made at the player, blunt foreshadowing, to brutally honest warnings of painful side-effects. Portal manages to make you laugh throughout the entire adventure.
Complimenting the writing is the lone star of the game: Ellen McLain, who excellently voices GLaDOS. McLain manages to offer a perfectly robotic voice that would be fitting of AI. While still somehow adding a bit of humanity to GLaDOS as well. This can be seen in the ending dialogue during the final battle. You genuinely feel how GLaDOS goes mad as she is being destroyed, and that's a testament to McLain's acting.
Portal's writing is one of the best examples of dark humor in any video game to date.
Implication and ambiguity are also a strength of Portal's plot. The game throws you into this world with so little context. And this "in media res" approach leaves the player intrigued about a lot of details about Portal's world. "How exactly did Aperture Science begin?" "Who were the founders?" "How did Chell get into this place?" "Who invented GLaDOS?" "Just what went down in this place?" These thoughts lead the player to become invested in Portal's world and leave you wanting more. While accomplishing a lot with very little, this minimalistic plot is still pretty shallow when you stop and think about it. You are just trying to escape from a facility and eventually succeed. Besides the excellent writing and background implications, Portal offers a serviceable plot and nothing more. But it is because of those qualities that Portal's plot is still a morbidly hilarious blast to play today.
Although simplistic, Portal's plot still delivers a great experience today.
Besides the plot, Portal offers a decent presentation. The graphics are recycled straightly from Half-Life 2 and do not especially look that great today. However, the overall clean aesthetic of Aperture Science does allow the visuals to be more pleasing to the eye compared to Half-Life 2. But of course, Portal is not just clean test chambers. There are times where you get to explore much more of Aperture besides the test chambers, and these sections don't look that great in comparison. In particular, the deadly liquid found throughout the game looks about as nice as an actual polluted ocean. The graphics are serviceable, but you can tell these were made over two decades ago. The sound design is pretty atmospheric, with most of the music pieces complimenting the setting pretty well. But that's just the extent of the music here, a few atmospheric pieces. While these do wonders in selling you the isolated atmosphere of Aperture, they are pretty forgettable. The sole exception to this being the credits' theme: Still Alive. Still Alive combines a catchy instrumental with lyrics that scream: "Portal!" Featuring the same excellent dark humor of the game, it's not surprising how iconic the song has become today. Overall, Portal offers a pretty minimalistic presentation that still manages to leave an impact. Portal is a textbook example of how less can indeed be more.
Besides a catchy credits song, Portal offers a pretty minimalistic presentation.
Portal is a pretty unique beast when it comes to the gameplay. At its core, Portal is a puzzle game that tasks you with solving a collection of problems through the use of portals. Besides a simple jump, Chell cannot do a lot without the Portal Gun. One of the most iconic items in gaming, the Portal Gun shoots two portals into any white surface. Colored blue and orange, Chell can come out of any of the two portals at a bunch of angles. This concept does put a lot of focus on Portal's physics, which are also excellently handled. Much like Half-Life 2, Portal's physics feel very realistic and plausible. This is very important for the game since, without a robust physics engine, Portal's gameplay would suffer significantly. And Valve thankfully succeeded with flying colors. Portal also does quite well in teaching the game's mechanics to the player at an impeccable pace. By the end of the third chamber, the player becomes familiar with the concept of going through portals as if it was second nature.
Portal does wonders in teaching the player on a quick pace.
The level design is also carefully and thoughtfully constructed in such a way that everything has a purpose. The levels complement the mechanics pretty well, showing a gradual and logical increase of difficulty in the number of challenges you will need to complete. However, Portal's gameplay is also pretty much on the dry side. There's not a lot of substance to analyze here. Portal's gameplay truly does amount to just manipulating the ability to create a portable door. While enjoyable, the gameplay gets rather old pretty quickly. The excellent tutorialization also makes Portal's challenge to fall flat in no time. Even the infamous chamber 18 can be easily completed with simple knowledge of the mechanics and patterns shown throughout the game.
While enjoyable, Portal's gameplay lacks when it comes to substance and challenge.
Another downside is that these levels are quick to complete, yet they are too few of them. Nineteen small chambers go by fairly quickly, and you'd be hard-pressed to not make it to the end in a few hours on your first playthrough, even less on subsequent playthroughs. So yes, on paper, Portal offers a very shallow and brief experience that ends too quickly. But it is a testament to the plot's quality that you manage to overlook these aspects simply because of how entertaining the story is to play. So while Portal is a short game, it's one of the most tightly designed and memorable experiences ever created in gaming. And the excellent tutorialization leads to a game that's very simple to pick up and play, as well as the best game to introduce someone to 3D games in general.
While short, Portal is one of the most tightly designed games I've ever played.
For a game that is as short as Portal, some bonus content can do wonders in adding more replay value to the game. So how does Portal fare in this regard? By far, the best bonus content is the Developer's Commentary mode. This mode allows you to replay Portal's level with the addition of text bubbles that, when pressed, give you a brief recording made by one of the developers. These offer a fascinating insight into how Portal was created and gives you an appreciation of how the developers carefully constructed this experience. The rest of the content does not fare as well, sadly. The main addition made to the Still Alive rerelease of the game is, well, the Still Alive levels. These are a collection of 19 brand new levels that are significantly more difficult than those found on the main game. At least, in theory. In practice, these levels are not that more demanding than something like chamber 18. Due to the player becoming so familiar with Portal's design, these levels begin to fall into pieces in no time. And somehow, the Still Alive chambers are just as short as the main game, but with one decisive difference. On the Still Alive levels, there is absolutely nothing short of dead silence. Portal's shallow gameplay was disguised by the excellent story and GLaDOS' amusing dialogue. But without that, the Still Alive amount to rudimentary levels that fail at offering a more challenging experience. While also being quite dull to play overall. But in case you enjoy these levels, you can also partake in a challenge mode of sorts. You can try to beat the level as fast as possible, with the fewest amount of Portals possible, or with the smallest amount of footsteps possible. But besides bragging rights, there's no real reason to do these challenges due to how boring these levels are. And that's it when it comes to bonus content. Portal's extra content mostly falls flat due to how shallow the core gameplay is. You're honestly not missing much by skipping these. I can honestly only recommend the Developer's Commentary.
Portal does not offer a lot of worthwhile content thanks to how shallow the gameplay is.
Portal is one of the weirdest games ever made. It's a short game that leaves a strong impact. And it's also a shallow game that offers a lot of substance. By all accounts, something this paradoxical shouldn't even be possible. Yet somehow, Valve managed to do just that. The main adventure is, without a doubt, one of the greatest experiences I've ever seen in gaming and something everyone should play at least once in their lifetimes. Yet, it does not have a lot of substance to keep the player returning to anything besides the main plot. And even the small substance of the main adventure comes just from the plot, which can get old eventually. And despite all that, Portal still manages to be one of 2007's most beloved titles. It left the audience captivated and wanting more out of this universe. And honestly, that's exactly what makes Portal so great. It transcended its limitations and became something much greater than anybody could have imagined. As stated before, Portal is a textbook example of how less can be more. Even in a world where Portal 2 exists, the original Portal still manages to be a phenomenal experience that I can easily recommend anyone to play. Thinking with portals is, indeed, just as fun today as it was 14 years ago.
Portal is still a fantastic experience 14 years later.
Verdict
- Timeless plot.
- Excellent writing.
- Original, and innovative gameplay.
- Impeccable level design.
- Excellent tutorialization.
- Shallow, and dry gameplay.
- Lack of challenge.
- Worthless extra content.
