Review (2025 December)

Introduction

Portal is a series of first-person puzzle-platform games developed by Valve. The series has only 2 games in total: for convenience, I will call them Portal (instead of Portal 1) and Portal 2. Note that Portal with RTX is only an enhanced version of Portal, visually different but with the same content. Portal and Portal 2, same price on Steam to this day with obviously different volumes, it is a hot debate among players as to which Portal game is better.

Though titled as the second and last game in the series, Portal 2 is very different from the previous one. While Portal (with Rtx) is a pure and simple 3D puzzle game with a relatively compact volume and a short story, Portal 2 is much longer and tries to tell a story. As a 100% completionist player, the difference in playtime is even larger for me.

• As a rather compact game, Portal (with RTX) only took me 20+ hours to complete everything that I wanted to do with it. That was after completing every Steam achievement, as well as researching and practicing in the Challenge Mode.

• While for Portal 2, the main story already took me around 20 hours to finish. Additionally, the Challenge Mode got much crazier – which I am going to explain in a moment – as well as the famous coop mode. I am not saying that this additional content is total garbage, but it is not worth the time required. By comparison, it took me close to 100 hours to complete Portal 2 – way longer than Portal and simply tiring.

Right after I completed Portal in 2022 and Portal 2 in 2023, I praised Portal as a unique and decent puzzle game but disliked Portal 2 with some specific reasons that can seen in my Steam review. As time goes by, my comments on Portal stay the same, while some of my criticism towards Portal 2 has changed to some extent. As this is the page for Portal 2, please move here for Portal (with RTX) stuff.

Story

Similar to Portal (with RTX), the story is not focused on the main heroine, Chell, who was designed simply to be an observer to help players understand the world. Instead, the focus is on GLaDOS, Cave Johnson, and the discussion of humanity. Apart from knowing that our main heroine has an incredible perseverance, no more information. There are not many characters, but they are all memorable with outstanding personalities, unlike some games with so many characters that you only remember the hero in the end. In particular:

• What are the similarities and differences between GLaDOS and Wheatley? And are these related to their intended endings?

• How does the relationship between Chell and GlaDOS change throughout the plot?

• How does the relationship between Chell and Wheatley change throughout the plot?

• How do you define "humanity" in GlaDOS and Wheatly separately?

• How do you title Cave Johnson? A mad scientist, a revolutionary businessman, an emotionless person, or something else? Do you think he had a successful life?

• Who is cave johnson in the eyes of Caroline? And why is it Caroline in the end?

Some of the above have no definite answers to me, they are just worth thinking about in a relatively deep way. Apart from being a little too long, it is a decent plot – or more accurately, it is only "too long" when compared to its predecessor. Without the existence of Portal (with RTX), Portal 2 would not feel that long at all.

After completing it, I did not feel much. After grinding the long story-based levels again and again in the Challenge Mode, I felt a bit disgusted. But years after completing Portal 2, I looked at the thumbnails of this game again – like the one on the top of this page – and I felt something different. The first meeting with GLaDOS, falling into deep hell, reuniting and learning the history together, returning to the surface, fighting together, and then going back to square one – back to the relationship of "enemies". How do you link the whole storyline to the keyword "humanity"?

And in the end, is that individual looking up at the broken GLaDOS, or rather, looking down on "you" as someone who is also looking at him or her?

Updated System

As a new game in the series, new features were reasonably introduced in Portal 2, making the system more complicated. As a rigorous development team, even elements that are easily bugged – like the gels – were designed to a high standard. Nothing feels too janky, which is a great quality factor. They also corrected the "hopping jump" from Portal (with RTX) to some extent, something that was simply a glitch to me but essential for speedrunning. In short, though it became more complicated, it was a definite upgrade in terms of the system.

Challenge Mode

As I mentioned in my Steam review, having a Challenge Mode for every single level was an extremely awful idea. At least they removed the "least steps" rule, but come on – some levels are essentially story-based, long, and tedious. It makes little sense to speedrun them unless you are a die-hard fan. The leaderboards also push you to grind unnecessarily: imagine thinking you did a great job on a level, only to see yourself sitting in a low-tier position at the end?

There are simply too many levels compared to Portal (with RTX), requiring much more time to complete, and many are not even tied to achievements. While a few levels were unique and fun, the experience overall was a slog. Considering Portal already has its RTX version – which I have already finished – I sincerely hope we never get Portal 2 with RTX! Otherwise, I would have to repeat this long and painful journey again. Thank you Valve, but let's call it a day.

Coop Mode

To most players in the community, the addition of a Coop Mode in Portal 2 was a long-awaited success. However, as a strictly solo player who prefers to finish everything myself, it was more or less just another mode. The good news is that you can play Coop by yourself using 2 sets of controls. For example, I used a controller and a mouse/keyboard to clear everything on my own. It is a relief that this is allowed, who wants to rely on some strangers you never met before to complete some tough challenges or achievements? Of course, a few tasks cannot be done with only one pair of hands, but fortunately, there are not many. After asking for help on the discussion forums, it did not take long for me to finish those remaining parts with a few helpful partners.

I did not mean the whole mode was a disappointment. Even if Valve had blocked the "fake Coop" option, I would still value the mode to some extent. Unlike the singleplayer story, the Coop Mode features incredibly smart designs. When you have a reliable partner – whether it is just yourself in 2 controls, a friendly player from the forums, or a helpful stranger – the experience can be great.

However, as expected, shit players do exist. Even though Portal 2 was released in 2011 and I was playing in 2023, I still encountered a few toxic players whose behaviour that I will never ever understand. In the end, still not a perfect match for me:

• A solo player in a Coop Mode;

• A 100% completionist player in a casual and entertainment-focused mode.