STORY | Both a sequel and a standalone experience, Portal 2 weaves together the first game’s signature momentum-based portal puzzles with exploration of new areas within Aperture Science life as one of many machines; learning about its original mission where deeper truths exist in plain sight.
Valve released the first Portal Slot game, a cult smash built around innovative mechanics and some of their funniest ever writing in 2007. The scope of Portal 2 is far beyond that of its predecessor, and it successfully achieves progression in narrative depth as well as gameplay complexity without sacrificing the clever writing or humor most loved about the first. It is considered one of the greatest games of all time, featuring a perfect mix between difficulty and fun puzzles, character development in terms of its two protagonists Chell and Glados but also story.
Expanding the Portal Formula
At its heart, Portal 2 carries on with the singular approach that made the original a blockbuster: an ingenious new action– using a portal gun to ensure nonstop fun wherever you go. The series is based on a clean and brilliant mechanic at its foundation, which has been fleshed out even more in Portal 2 by the inclusion of several new components that help build depth to the puzzles.
The largest of those is new gameplay styles, like gels and light bridges which constitute upgrades to the sport scene emulator tool. Each of the gels—Repulsion Gel, Propulsion Gel and Conversion Gel — add an extra dimension to how players previously interacted with that environment. Repulsion Gel, for instance, lets players bounce off surfaces; Propulsion Gel allows them to run at faster speeds. The Situs Slot game adds light bridges, excursion funnels that can move objects and help players safely traverse gaps granting the puzzles a new layer of strategy.
Puzzles are well-crafted, starting simple but growing more challenging as the story unfolds. Portal 2 is an able-bodied purveyor of introducing new concepts to the player and then running them together in clever ways demanding unorthodox solutions from the gun-slinging riddle solver. There is great joy in finally having hashed out a way to solve a particularly tricky puzzle, and each solution does feel well-earned thanks to such logical reasoning (along with some small helpings of frustration).
Deeper and more emotionally engaging story
The original Portal was lauded for its minimal but effective storytelling, and Portal 2 follows up on that perfectly. While the game’s story is set in the world of its predecessor, that legacy winds up getting a much closer look thanks to all sorts new information about Aperture and their entrance into everyone else’s impressive portal party. Reprising her role as the mute protagonist Chell, she awakes in a derelict Aperture Science facility several hundred years after Portal.
In Portal 2, story is character-driven (or the other way around), picking up particularly from where we left off concerning AI systems in Chell’s path. Chief among these is GLaDOS, the villainous AI from the first game and once more a centerpiece in this story. GLaDOS is still just as snarky and sarcastic in the sequel, delivering some of that humor with her biting wit, but Portal 2 also dives into who she was before actions to her origin story.
Likewise, Wheatley — a bumbling but likable AI core (voiced by Stephen Merchant) On account of his antics, Wheatley takes over as a mysterious guide to Chell in the first half of Portal 2 and further complicates things by managing witty banter with both her and GLaDOS. That trope-avoiding transition from an occasionally useful yet bumbling sidekick to a far more layered character becomes one of the true high points in the narrative of this game.
Players next get a run-down of Aperture Science history from Cave Johnson, the company’s eccentric and larger-than-life founder with J.K. Simmons delivering his voice-work in Portal 2 as well Johnson’s pre-recorded messages and the history of Aperture Science, are sprinkled throughout the game to add back-story as well to give Portal one its best memorable lines.
Bursting at the seams with surprises, it moves from comedy to thriller to suspense in a cinched breath. The narrative ending does eventually bring these components together into a twist that is simultaneously rewarding and surprising, given how the dynamics between Chell and GLaDOS evolve alongside with Wheatley over the course of the game.
MORE: Co-Op Mode Adds a Fresh Layer of Puzzle-Solving
And along with that solo campaign, Portal 2 brings a full-fledged co-op mode to the table — which is an achievement unto itself. The game is a two-player cooperative puzzle where the players control robotic avatars named Atlas and P-Body, each of whom can create its own portals. These are some of the hardest puzzles in the game and will push players to effectively work together while communicating and coordinating their movements.
Lumberhill features a co-op mode which piles on an entirely new level of difficulty to the game, not only must you complete each puzzle but also consider how your actions affect others. Battling through obstacles and solving the puzzles together is an extremely satisfying experience, with co-op play offering hours of additonal content over what would already be quite a lengthly single player campaign.
The co-op narrative is disconnected from the main story, though GLaDOS oversees each test chamber. Her banter, especially as pertains to Atlas and P-Body is every bit as snappy here in coop mode; likewise the foil that plays out over those levels offers a few surprises of its own.
The King Of The Seesaw Jungle
Developed by: ValvePortal 2 is a visually amazing game, from the sterile high-tech test chambers inside Aperture Science to the labyrinthine ruins of their forgotten facilities overgrown with creepy plants. These two areas are a useful metaphor for the game’s development: one is highly designed and controlled, while outside in between levels things have decayed into chaos.
Whether it’s the cold, sterile lighting of a test chamber or the faintly unnerving glow from an abandoned corner of the facility, Portal uses light and environmental effects to its advantage. The changes in levels are not only functional but also narrative, as the varying environments reflect different portions of the story.
Portal 2 also broke ground in terms of sound design, offering an elaborate audio landscape smartly integrated into the game by dynamic soundtrack composed by Mike Morasky changes based on your and other player actions. The music ranges from ambient, atmospheric tracks to more intense and energetic pieces during key moments which just compounds the emotional impact of this game. The voice acting is also a pleasure to listen with Ellen McLain, Steven Merchant and J.K Simmons reprising their roles as GLaDOS,Wheatley and Cave Johnson respectively.
Legacy and Impact
Upon its release, Portal 2 was lauded for taking the original game’s innovative play on puzzles and combining that with masterfully sharp writing and a fun story. It has won multiple Game of the Year awards and is frequently considered to be one between surely the excellent video games ever made. This was clear from the way it has since influenced other puzzle based, narrative driven games that have also adopted some of both Portal 2’s mechanics and storytelling style in their own design.
The games success also set Valve as one of the most innovative and respected development companies in the industry. Portal 2 characters, quotes and gameplay mechanics have since gone on to become iconic in gaming culture.
Conclusion
Apparently, Portal 2 is simply the apex ashes of game design, storytelling and comedy. Valve took what was innovative about the first game–stimulus-response gameplay, five weapons on a two-weapon limit system that is now more balanced and depthy than ever before–, expanded it with new types of mechanics (levitation deserves special mention), added several characters to be given customizable dialogue thanks largely in part to its “dynamic conversation” editor, put them all together into something phrase as gorgeously simple yet eye-watering intricate for players who take advantage over analyzing things like play techniques Autodesk developed prior creation titles when you do an overview Google search from MSDN. Portal 2 combines the brilliant puzzles, untrustworthy laughter every time GLaDOS is around and invaluable cooperation with one other player all sandwiched in a game that works great alone but can be even more of an event than most games if played accompanied. It remains one of the best examples to this day of what video games can do when they get gameplay, narrative and humor singing in chorus.
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