I have never actually finished Portal before, but this game has plagued my Steam library for years, so eventually I gave in this evening to see for myself why it's so universally loved. And now I can see the appeal!

It's a very straightforward puzzle game with the origin of one of the most iconic gimmicks in gaming - the Portal Gun. It's like the coolest thing you can have in a game besides grappling hook mechanics; sometimes I'd just shoot portals and walk through them continuously for fun or freefall for a bit. Portal also wastes no time with cutscenes, it's basically uninterrupted gameplay from start to finish (loading screens obviously excluded). In general, the puzzles are pretty clever and often require you to think out of the box (well, literally). A personal highlight for me were the snarky comments of GLaDOS - an AI assistant that accompanies you throughout the facility. I found the weakest part of the game to be like halfway through, where you have seen a bunch of mechanics a couple time already, but the game does little new to innovate them - before the ending segment, that is. The entire final sequence was a blast to play and felt fresh again after the tedium of some previous puzzles. That's the innovation I like to see.

If you're a puzzle fan or just need something you can beat in one sitting (if you're dedicated), Portal is a great time and I would very definitely recommend it for the low price you can get it on various Steam Sales. Really looking forward to playing Portal 2 soon!