Sometimes it good to think inside the box

I’m rather late to the Portal party. The guests have left and there’s no sign of any cake. But by all accounts, it was some party. Portal managed to make numerous game-of-the-year (2007) lists, despite being a supposedly minor addition to Valve’s Orange Box collection. While the first-person shooter Half Life 2 was top of the billing – and it did, justifiably, receive a huge amount of critical acclaim in its own right – Portal used the exact same game engine to a very different end, and in many people’s eyes, completely stole the show. Portal’s the reason I recently forked over my not-so-hard earned cash for the Orange Box, and the reason I’d suggest you do the same.

On first appearances, Portal is a fairly standard puzzle game. You push buttons, pull levers and move objects to advance through the levels. The titular portals add variety, allowing you to teleport through walls/floors/ceilings and reach locations inaccessible by conventional, physics-conforming means. As you progress, new puzzle elements are continually added, giving you just enough time to master one concept or technique before moving swiftly on to the next.

It must be said, Portal does its day job incredibly well. It’s a very focussed effort, never feeling laboured or stretched for ideas, primarily because it doesn’t try to overreach itself striving for 20+ hours of gameplay. It’s also very polished: The graphics, though minimalist, are very satisfying. And it should be congratulated for completely foregoing any kind of tutorial section, managing a learn-by-doing approach without leaving the player feeling bewildered.

But to consider Portal only in terms of puzzle gaming is to miss something quite magical. Portal contains a story every bit as focussed, concise and polished as its core gameplay. The plot unfolds organically, through clever bits of scenery, and most importantly, sound. In this way Portal manages to convey more heart and character than any number of lengthy, passive cut-scenes could ever hope to achieve. There’s genuine humour too, from a most unlikely of sources, your guide and nemesis, the computer GLaDOS. To say any more would be to spoil one of the gaming experiences of the decade, but heed this: After playing levels 1 to 18 of Portal you will know the game. After playing level 19, you will love it.