Portal was a surprising classic. Does the sequel justify its existence? Yeah, probably.

Portal’s appeal was its innovative first-person puzzling, as well as the atmospheric setting and the humour of being tormented throughout the game (although Gruntilda did that in Banjo-Kazooie years before). Portal 2 ramps up the plot elements with more characters and twists, as well as delving into the history of Aperture in some very impressive dilapidated settings. I feel that the puzzles don’t quite have the same feeling of build-up or the difficulty of the first game’s later test chambers, partially due to being somewhat overloaded with new gimmicks, with the gels and whatnot.

Still, it’s nice to have those fresh elements as well as the very well-executed feeling of progression with the frequent plot events. You’ve got Wheatley, his takeover of the facility, going underground to abandoned facilities, the joining up with potato GLaDOS, the progressive Cave Johnson time capsules, and the re-establishment of GLaDOS and Chell’s escape. Sorry, did I spoil it? Why are you reading this?

Anyway all that stuff is great, and the voiceover characters with their distinct personalities spice it up with different kinds of humour (even if GLaDOS is a bit neutered in potato form). I couldn’t figure out how to find the Cave Johnson plot stuff in the Perpetual Testing Initiative, but never mind.

Basically the game builds on Portal in most ways to deliver a very satisfying sequel. The puzzles are quite good, the atmosphere is top-notch. There’s nifty sound design touches (despite some audio glitches on the Mac version… grump), and a sweet new song at the end. Plus I don’t think they mention cake even once, they just introduce new memes that got overused. Yay!

I played this a little out of order. By which I mean the co-op segment, which is a fantastic addition, should come after you’ve done the single player, but I did it a few years ago with my brother. Great times. But don’t neglect it, if you can. The puzzles there really do test you, the teamwork element twisting your brain in all new exciting ways. From what I remember.

What Portal 2 proves is that Valve has still got it (as of 4 years ago, anyway). They really do know how to make a killer game. It’s just too bad they’re stuck on marketplaces, gimmicky tech vaporware, and DOTA 2, of all things. Yeesh. Still, very positive feelings for this game. Accessible, fun, and funny.