Chell, the protagonist of the first Portal, wakes in the decayed ruins of Aperture Science. Chell tries to make her escape along with a humorous artificial intelligence named Wheatley, but accidentally restarts her old nemesis, the psychotic AI GLaDOS, who promptly throws her into the bowels of Aperture with Chell’s old portal gun so she can perform pointless and deadly rests for GLaDOS’ amusement. Chell and Wheatley have to escape Aperture and GLaDOS again, using only the portal gun.
Chell has to go through four different types of testing to complete the game. All the puzzles use Chell’s portal gun in some way. The portal gun can create two connected portals on any human-sized white surface and transport anything between them instantaneously. This means Chell can move herself to the other side of a deep gorge, or up on a ledge as long as she shoots a portal up there.
Usually the exit of the testing chamber is in an area where portals cannot be placed, or has to be opened by placing a cube on a button that’s in an area where portals cannot be placed. To get around this the player has do something like place a portal in a bit and another high up, jump off a cliff, and use the momentum to shoot Chell through the portal and out the other side.
Those are what the first set of tests is like, and they are all pretty easy and unmemorable. The second type involves using portals to redirect lasers so they hit targets. These are the hardest puzzles, a aiming the lasers can get difficult.
The third set of puzzles use gels that Chell has to plaster the walls with using the gel dispensers and the portals. There are three gels, a bouncing gel, and super speed gel, and a gel that supports portals. These are the most enjoyable puzzles, since the solutions are the most creative and messing around with the gels is fun.
The last set of puzzles by tractor beams. They are not really interesting, and since they are near the end of the game it is hard to care about them.
What is nice about the puzzles is that they can be somewhat difficult at times, but they never feel cheap. All the different tricks the portal gun and other tools Chell has at her disposal are explained to the player or are demonstrated with a simple puzzle. There is never an impossible idea the player just barely pulls off that only the developers who had been building the game and seen it from all angles would consider. However, most of the puzzles are not that hard to figure out, and it usually takes a couple of tries and some patience to beat them.
There is also the problem of how unsatisfying actually completing the puzzles feel. Since they all take place in test chambers that just keep going on with the only goal being to get to the next one, it does not feel impressive to solve them. There are only two times when Chell goes behind the scenes at Aperture and uses her portals to mess with stuff, and those are the most enjoyable puzzles, or at least the most memorable, even though they are not difficult.
Portal 2’s story is interesting, if a bit parse among all the test chambers. It also has the problem of raising more questions whenever it answers one. GLaDOS carries most of the story and is a very developed character, but half of it is spent making petty insults at Chell. The best part is the voice of Cave Johnson, the founder of Aperture Science whose voice is heard during the gel puzzles. Hearing his insane ideas for scientific experiments and casual disregard for others is hilarious. Wheatley is okay as a bumbling counterpart to GLaDOS.
There is also a co-op mode where two people use two portal guns and all the different tools to complete challenges as two robots that GLaDOS is directing. These are amusing puzzles that are not too difficult to complete for two people who have played the game. Even GLaDOS is more amusing. The problem is finding another person who has either not played through the co-op mode, which the chances decrease with each passing second, or someone who is willing to play through it again, which given its linearity is really hard to find.
Portal 2 is a fun game, even if it has flaws. Anyone who wants a nice puzzle game with some humore should be satisfied with it.
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