Why Portal Is My Favorite Game | Teen Ink

Why Portal Is My Favorite Game

January 19, 2023
By Anonymous

If you haven't already seen or played Portal, or any of the Portal series games go ahead and play it before reading this but essentially what it is, is it's a Steam/Xbox video game that has you, the player, wake up from a stasis pod in the future trapped in an abandoned research facility and to escape you have to go through 19 different levels of escape rooms or “Test Chambers'' made by a robot named GLaDOS (Genetic Life Form and Desk Operating System). Who is purposely keeping you there to do tests. But the catch is to get from one place to another place that you normally aren't able to get to, you get on the first stage, a “Handheld Portal Gun”, which allows you to make 2 different portals that connect with each other with a press of your left click for a blue portal and right click for an orange portal but you can only have 2 portals active, if you try and place another blue portal somewhere else the other one is removed. And you can only place portals on white surfaces. So already when you play the game the concept of having to get different objects through your portals to get to a particular place to succeed at specific tasks like teleporting a cube through the portal over to a button to open a door for you to go through stuff like that is really cool. It gets really complex with different portal placements and game mechanics. The gameplay is cool but there's also lore and an overarching story that takes place throughout the series as well that isn't too complicated to understand is an actually interesting story! While you progress through the levels you have an unseen robot named GLaDOS, who as you go through the first game have no idea why you’re even where you are or what your end objective is. All you know is there's a weird lady talking to you who insults you and makes witty mean jokes which makes the game entertaining and hilarious. Portal’s ost compliments the game beautifully with this melancholy nostalgic feeling as you play all alone with this ambient and desolate music playing, it gives you an immense feeling of loneliness but it's peaceful at the same time. Last but not least going back to the puzzle-solving aspect of Portal it is honestly so good. It is a perfect balance of knowing exactly what to do and being completely stuck with barely an idea. 



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on Nov. 2 2023 at 10:28 am
Shorthairdontcare SILVER, Houston Area, Texas
5 articles 0 photos 75 comments
I once had 3 dreams about portal (I had never played it or consumed content about it before) and then i woke up and bought portal. the valve advertising team is really good huh