(Note: I've finished this game on another Steam account.). Many will tout this game as one of the most clever and cerebral shooters of its time but I think that's overestimating its writing and worth a great deal. The game is comprised of clearing a series of first-person puzzles and then escaping the clutches of GLADOS. A portal gun is used to facilitate puzzling, as well as gravity effects and carrying/manipulating objects. Are some of the puzzles clever? Absolutely. Is the game vibe fresh at times? Definitely. But for a game that's a scant 4 hours long, has no multiplayer component and has a nonsensical ending, I think too many people hold this game in excessively high regard.

The title borrows heavily from Human Head's Prey, which had portals (as well as spirit walk), gravity effects (and room manipulation), object manipulation (carrying/moving), and temperature shifts to solve map-travel puzzles. Am I saying that Portal straight-up copied Prey? Not necessarily. Am I stating that Valve probably borrowed heavily at times from Prey? Definitely. Most people never played Prey however and never seem to put two and two together. On a side note I think it's ironic/hypocritical that Doom 3's DLC gravity weapon was accused of being a blatant copy of HL 2's gravity gun, when it was released a scant 6 months later. And yet Portal doesn't get accused of being heavily inspired by Prey, despite releasing a full year and a half later? Double standard much?

Of course we know what happened: Human Head is making iOS minigames and Valve was crowned as the great innovator and that's just unfair and sad. Finally, everyone claims that the "Cake is a lie" meme is clever, but is it really? Assuming that GLADOS had the cake at the end, what exactly is so clever about the ending? Was the whole process intended to serve as a celebratory/affectionate event? The fact that there was a cake was actually irony? Oh yeah, that doesn't work because she repeatedly tries to kill you. So the concept just doesn't work. The plot is just nonsense.

Still the game is worth a download since it's a nice 4 hour diversion, is free, and exists on Windows, SteamOS and Mac OS X.

Recommended.

7.5/10. (Prey would get 8.5/10, btw. Pick that one up if you can for sure.)

(Note: I've finished this game on another Steam account.). Many will tout this game as one of the most clever and cerebral shooters of its time but I think that's overestimating its writing and worth a great deal. The game is comprised of clearing a series of first-person puzzles and then escaping the clutches of GLADOS. A portal gun is used to facilitate puzzling, as well as gravity effects and carrying/manipulating objects. Are some of the puzzles clever? Absolutely. Is the game vibe fresh at times? Definitely. But for a game that's a scant 4 hours long, has no multiplayer component and has a nonsensical ending, I think too many people hold this game in excessively high regard. The title borrows heavily from Human Head's Prey, which had portals (as well as spirit walk), gravity effects (and room manipulation), object manipulation (carrying/moving), and temperature shifts to solve map-travel puzzles. Am I saying that Portal straight-up copied Prey? Not necessarily. Am I stating that Valve probably borrowed heavily at times from Prey? Definitely. Most people never played Prey however and never seem to put two and two together. On a side note I think it's ironic/hypocritical that Doom 3's DLC gravity weapon was accused of being a blatant copy of HL 2's gravity gun, when it was released a scant 6 months later. And yet Portal doesn't get accused of being heavily inspired by Prey, despite releasing a full year and a half later? Double standard much? Of course we know what happened: Human Head is making iOS minigames and Valve was crowned as the great innovator and that's just unfair and sad. Finally, everyone claims that the "Cake is a lie" meme is clever, but is it really? Assuming that GLADOS had the cake at the end, what exactly is so clever about the ending? Was the whole process intended to serve as a celebratory/affectionate event? The fact that there was a cake was actually irony? Oh yeah, that doesn't work because she repeatedly tries to kill you. So the concept just doesn't work. The plot is just nonsense. Still the game is worth a download since it's a nice 4 hour diversion, is free, and exists on Windows, SteamOS and Mac OS X. Recommended. 7.5/10. (Prey would get 8.5/10, btw. Pick that one up if you can for sure.)