This review contains spoilers
Decided to revisit this classic after many years. I originally played this on The Orange Box on the 360. Back then, I actually played og Portal after playing Portal 2 and like most people I thought Portal 2 was superior in every way. However, after revisiting this gem I don't think that's necessarily the case. Here me out.
ALSO INCLUDES SPOILERS FOR PORTAL 2:
What I love about Portal 1 is that it's a lonely game. It's creepy and given how it's made by a smaller team with a smaller budget it feels raw and gritty. Replaying this game genuinely had me a little anxious. The only friend you make is a companion cube and once you're done with it, you're forced to dispose of it.
The turrets add to the feelings of melancholy and loneliness. They're just as much victims as Chell is. They're programmed to kill which obviously is a no-no for the player, I just can't help but feel bad when a turret dies. I did not take pleasure in killing the turrets.
Portal established a tone that isn't carried onto it's successor which seems to be a common thing for video game sequels. While both games have humor, I'd say this one is more of a sardonic dark comedy while Portal 2 goes all in with the comedy, not really taking itself that seriously and it suffers for that. I think a good way to put it is that I can see Portal being in the Half-Life universe but I can't say the same for Portal 2. Probably not the best decision to have them all together but I'm not Valve's writing team and I don't know their intentions (please hire me Valve, I love your games).
The way GLaDOS is characterized in Portal 2 makes her way less menacing (same with her design), especially given that her jokes are not in the same vain as the first game. Maybe that's because for the latter half of Portal 2 she's not really the main antagonist but I love when her and Wheatley bounce off each other. Also like others have pointed out, the second game has a lot of disparaging remarks against Chell that are quite fatphobic. So in that regard the game hasn't aged well.
Wheatley for the second game is funny at best and barely tolerable at worst. The second game's atmosphere is fantastic but the mood gets soured because Wheatley makes a quip every five seconds like an MCU character. It doesn't help that his voice is unmodified so you can hear the expensive comedian they got. You get no room to breathe and take in what's going on in the second game but in the original Portal that's not the case.
That's not to say that none of the jokes land in the second game, a lot of them do hit and I quite like the jumping one in the beginning. The implications of that joke alone are hilarious and kinda sad. Also Cave Johnson feels out of place in the sequel; don't get me wrong I love J.K. Simmons, he's one of my favorite actors ever. However, CJ is mainly there for jokes, there's lore stuff to be explored but his presence in the game is relegated to strictly humor. It works for Portal 2 but again, Portal and Portal 2 don't feel like they're a cohesive universe apart from the setting, characters, and the portal mechanic itself.
However, this is not an essay for why Portal 2 is bad because it's not, it's one of the best games of the 2010s. I just prefer the tone, the writing and the atmosphere in the original game more. I think Portal 2 has a lot to offer but having more doesn't equal higher quality in every department. I really like the puzzles in the second game, some being massive brain busters. Although Portal 2 has it moments where it's a railroaded roller coaster ride (albeit a really fun one) with the conversion gel, making some puzzles trivial. That's not to say all the puzzles with the gels are easy, some are actually pretty difficult for your first playthrough or after coming back after a long time.
My criticism against Portal 2 doesn't mean I dislike the game, nowhere close. It's one of my favorite games of all time, I played it on Xbox 360, on PS3, and on Steam. I'd say the community support, the modding scene and co-op in Portal 2 definitely makes it the better overall experience to revisit (I also love watching Portal 2 speedruns). The original Portal doesn't have anywhere close to the amount of replay value that it's successor has and for that I'll concede and say that Portal 2 is the "better" game. As for both of the games' single player campaigns I think the original Portal takes the cake.
ALSO INCLUDES SPOILERS FOR PORTAL 2:
What I love about Portal 1 is that it's a lonely game. It's creepy and given how it's made by a smaller team with a smaller budget it feels raw and gritty. Replaying this game genuinely had me a little anxious. The only friend you make is a companion cube and once you're done with it, you're forced to dispose of it.
The turrets add to the feelings of melancholy and loneliness. They're just as much victims as Chell is. They're programmed to kill which obviously is a no-no for the player, I just can't help but feel bad when a turret dies. I did not take pleasure in killing the turrets.
Portal established a tone that isn't carried onto it's successor which seems to be a common thing for video game sequels. While both games have humor, I'd say this one is more of a sardonic dark comedy while Portal 2 goes all in with the comedy, not really taking itself that seriously and it suffers for that. I think a good way to put it is that I can see Portal being in the Half-Life universe but I can't say the same for Portal 2. Probably not the best decision to have them all together but I'm not Valve's writing team and I don't know their intentions (please hire me Valve, I love your games).
The way GLaDOS is characterized in Portal 2 makes her way less menacing (same with her design), especially given that her jokes are not in the same vain as the first game. Maybe that's because for the latter half of Portal 2 she's not really the main antagonist but I love when her and Wheatley bounce off each other. Also like others have pointed out, the second game has a lot of disparaging remarks against Chell that are quite fatphobic. So in that regard the game hasn't aged well.
Wheatley for the second game is funny at best and barely tolerable at worst. The second game's atmosphere is fantastic but the mood gets soured because Wheatley makes a quip every five seconds like an MCU character. It doesn't help that his voice is unmodified so you can hear the expensive comedian they got. You get no room to breathe and take in what's going on in the second game but in the original Portal that's not the case.
That's not to say that none of the jokes land in the second game, a lot of them do hit and I quite like the jumping one in the beginning. The implications of that joke alone are hilarious and kinda sad. Also Cave Johnson feels out of place in the sequel; don't get me wrong I love J.K. Simmons, he's one of my favorite actors ever. However, CJ is mainly there for jokes, there's lore stuff to be explored but his presence in the game is relegated to strictly humor. It works for Portal 2 but again, Portal and Portal 2 don't feel like they're a cohesive universe apart from the setting, characters, and the portal mechanic itself.
However, this is not an essay for why Portal 2 is bad because it's not, it's one of the best games of the 2010s. I just prefer the tone, the writing and the atmosphere in the original game more. I think Portal 2 has a lot to offer but having more doesn't equal higher quality in every department. I really like the puzzles in the second game, some being massive brain busters. Although Portal 2 has it moments where it's a railroaded roller coaster ride (albeit a really fun one) with the conversion gel, making some puzzles trivial. That's not to say all the puzzles with the gels are easy, some are actually pretty difficult for your first playthrough or after coming back after a long time.
My criticism against Portal 2 doesn't mean I dislike the game, nowhere close. It's one of my favorite games of all time, I played it on Xbox 360, on PS3, and on Steam. I'd say the community support, the modding scene and co-op in Portal 2 definitely makes it the better overall experience to revisit (I also love watching Portal 2 speedruns). The original Portal doesn't have anywhere close to the amount of replay value that it's successor has and for that I'll concede and say that Portal 2 is the "better" game. As for both of the games' single player campaigns I think the original Portal takes the cake.