I paid for Portal 4 times across 3 platforms. The first 2 were on Xbox 360: Orange Box disc and the digital release subtitled Still Alive, the first game I got all the Xbox achievements for. Then I got a Steam account and buying Valve games seemed like a no-brainer. Finally, seeing Portal Companion Collection for Switch dirt cheap during a sale, I got curious about whether this port comes with the patched-in-during-2010 sequel tease (The answer turns out be to yes.) and bought it.
Originally released as a deal-sweetener for Half-Life 2 and Team Fortress 2 console ports, Portal turned out to be a hit on its own. Even within the Orange Box package, it managed to outshone Half-Life 2 Episode One as shorties of the group. A strong and relatively more definitive ending is its secret sauce, if you ask.
In Portal, player plays as Chell, a human works as an expandable “lab rat” for Aperture Science. The thing Aperture is currently working on would be the Portal gun. Pop one here, another there, and the wielder of Portal gun can reach unimaginable places as long as said unimaginable places are visible and have surfaces subjectable to portal opening. But Aperture is haunted by a ghost in the machine and Chell would be the one to exorcise it.
In many ways, Portal’s success is due to it practically being a mascot platformer in the year 2007 when mascot platformers were few and far between. While the whole game is played in first-person, the wonderful Portal tech lets player see the lady in orange jump suit they are playing. Not to mention how all robotic er, character types are all rounded and non-threating looking despite the danger they pose. Also, no fall damage here, but drowning is still present.
For another thing, Portal is equal measure brain tease and thrill ride. The momentum enabled puzzle solutions would let player move faster than they ever can in Half-Life games. And for those who want more brain tease, the game has bonus maps that are modified to be more challenging.
I suppose the best departure of Portal from Half-Life would be it ending. The Half-Life series is notorious for rushed end games. So Portal ends much better at least in comparison, with the puzzle disguised as final boss fight and cut scenes that would let the game end on a crescendo. Don’t the boradline deranged fandom discourage you, this is just a short and entertaining ride worth taking.