Game Review: Portal 2

The Gameplay of Portal 2

In Portal, players are given a handheld device to place portals on
surfaces to progress through test chambers that steadily increase in
difficulty. As the player progresses, hazards and additional tools are
added onto tests to increase the difficulty (such as cubes, turrets, lasers,
aerial faith plates, hard light brides, and more). Factors such as
momentum, cause & effect, and precise timing are some of the many
things players need to consider for many of the tests they go through.

Portal 2 handles gameplay in the same manner as its predecessor, but

with more polish and fine tuning as well as additional hazards/tools to
give tests more depth than before. Portal 2 also places a much higher
emphasis on story than before, leading to a seamless experience that
balances problem solving and an engaging story with entertaining and
interactive characters.
The Time & Place of Portal
The Portal series takes place in the “real world” within the

massive Aperture Science complex located somewhere in Upper

Michigan. The first Portal is set around the year 2010 while the sequel

takes place during an indeterminate year in the potentially distant future

(the exact amount of time has never been officially revealed, so it could

range from 50 years all the way to 50,000 years).

Although being brought up very rarely throughout both games,

the Portal series the Half-Life series share the same universe and take

place on the same post-apocalyptic Earth. But because the story of both

Portal 1 and 2 take place underground, far from civilization - so the state

of the outside world is hardly relevant to the plot in either game.

 A Brief History of Aperture
Aperture Fixtures was founded by Cave Johnson in the early 1940s as a simple

shower curtain company that would later go on to discover the secrets behind portal technology

and sentient machinery after inadvertently being rebranded as the scientific organization,

Aperture Science Innovators (in an attempt to make their products sound more hygienic).

Aperture Science would become a direct competitor of another science organization known as

Black Mesa, whom Cave Johnson would often accuse of stealing Aperture’s ideas.

After decades of questionably ethical tests (and unquestionably unethical ones) with

no shortage of controversies (such as missing astronauts, using the homeless as test subjects,

etc.) - Cave Johnson, who had become deathly ill from moon rock poisoning, would have his

assistant’s mind transferred into the AI core of the Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System

(more commonly referred to as GLaDOS), to oversee all future testing.

Upon activation, however, GLaDOS immediately became homicidal and flooded the

enrichment center with a deadly neurotoxin, killing facility personnel until an AI core was

installed to limit her actions based on morality. Despite this, however, GLaDOS would

eventually gain control over the entire facility - leading into Portal 1, where the only human

present is the playable character, Chell.

The World of Portal & Half-Life
Due to a failed interdimensional portal experiment conducted by Black Mesa

(the previously mentioned competitors of Aperture), alien creatures from a border

world began appearing throughout the world, leading to the destruction of countless

ecosystems and rendering most of the world uninhabitable.

After this catastrophic event had been quelled by the lone scientist, Gordon

Freeman, an intergalactic force known as the Combine would invade the planet,

crippling the world’s military forces and having humanity surrender in a mere seven

hours. This would lead to the global occupation of the Combine which brought with it

further destruction to the planet and humanity (draining of the world’s oceans, the

suppression of human reproduction, etc.).

GLaDOS acknowledges this offhandedly during the confrontation with her at

the end of Portal 1, saying “Things have changed since the last time you left the

building. What's going on out there will make you wish you were back in here.” and “I

have an infinite capacity for knowledge, and even I'm not sure what's going on

outside. All I know is I'm the only thing standing between us and them. Well, I was.”
The Design of Portal 2’s Setting

The story of Portal 2 takes place inside the Aperture Science

Enrichment Center, having been left to decay for years following the destruction

of GLaDOS at the ending of Portal 1. The overgrown flora and filthy test

chambers are a drastic shift from the clean and simple setpieces so prominent in

the previous game. The visuals are familiar enough to maintain the identity and

feel of Portal while introducing entirely new themes to suit the story and tone.

In a way, this change is mirrored by the manner in which GLaDOS

interacts with Chell throughout the earlier sections of the story. Rather than

maintaining the robotic and semi-polite tone that she spoke in throughout the

majority of Portal 1, GLaDOS is far more snarky and bitter as a result of being

stripped of the cores that inhibited her personality along with having been

“murdered” by the Chell. Despite claiming that she has no desire for revenge, it’s

clear that GLaDOS takes joy in tormenting the player - whether it be taking jabs

at Chell’s weight and the fact that she has no parents, reminding them that

they’re a horrible person, or simply fizzling a cube right as they pick it up.
The Design of Portal 2’s Setting (cont.)

Along with this, Portal 2 offers a far deeper look into the inner workings

and history of Aperture than ever before, rather than the occasional passing

glance that was offered through secret rooms in Portal 1. The spaces outside of

test chambers are vast, seemingly infinite in scale and depth with fog obscuring

the horizon after a certain point. It’s the moments when you are given the

opportunity to gaze out into the distance at the countless hulking structures and

machines lining the walls that really aids in showing you not only how

unfathomably massive Aperture is - but also how miniscule you are in

comparison.

This sense of scale is only increased once you reach the deepest

depths of Aperture Science and discover Test Shaft 09, an old flooded testing

track where the aforementioned “questionably ethical” tests were carried out and

overseen by Cave Johnson. Whether it’s the giant asbestos testing spheres

towering over the toxic waters or the catwalks lining the cavernous walls,

everything about Test Shaft 09 conveys scale so well that it’s almost unsettling

to think about.
Act 1 - A Minor Case of
Serious Brain Damage
The beginning of Portal 2 follows Chell as she awakens from a
deep sleep and meets the personality core, Wheatley. After successfully
using her “relaxation chamber” as a battering ram to access an old
testing track, the two begin their search for a way to escape the confines
of the withered Aperture Science Enrichment Center. After navigating
through the series of overgrown test chambers, Chell and Wheatley
arrive at the central AI core where GLaDOS lies, seemingly “dead”.

However, in the process of trying to find a switch to activate a lift

to the surface, Wheatley accidentally ends up reactivating GLaDOS
along with the rest of the facility and the two are separated. As Chell
proceeds through a series of tests, Wheatley attempts to find brief
openings to speak to her, but is often either interrupted or closed off by
GLaDOS (or a very pissed off bird in one case).
Act 2 - NOT a Moron
Chell is eventually freed from the cycle of testing by Wheatley, who
interrupts one of GLaDOS’s tests in order to open up a path where she cannot
reach the two of them. As Chell and Wheatley traverse the dark hallways
between the test tracks, the core discusses methods to rendering GLaDOS
powerless. With this advice, the two manage to fill the turret production line with
defective turrets and destroy the neurotoxin pumps before embarking toward the
central AI core once again.

After failing to kill Chell, GLaDOS is forced into a core transfer with
Wheatley - transferring him onto GLaDOS’s body and gaining full control of the
facility. But before Chell is able to ride the escape elevator out of Aperture,
Wheatley, overcome with his newly gained power, turns on Chell. GLaDOS,
after snapping back at Wheatley, is stuck inside of a potato battery as a form of
humiliation. GLaDOS then reveals that Wheatley was an “intelligence
dampening sphere” created with the sole purpose of coming up with horrible
ideas to slow her down. In a fit of rage and denial, Wheatley smashes the
elevator, sending Chell and GLaDOS into a freefall.
Act 3 - Don’t Make Lemonade
After a long descent, Chell lands in the abandoned depths of Aperture
Science - Test Shaft 09. After reopening the sealed up entrance to the long forgotten
test spheres, Chell is met with a pre-recorded greeting from Cave Johnson and his
assistant, Caroline, cheerfully welcoming test volunteers to Aperture Science. After
taking part in a number of tests involving locomotion altering gels with Cave
Johnson’s pre-recorded messages, Chell reunites with the potato battery GLaDOS,
rescuing her from a bird. GLaDOS informs Chell that with Wheatley in control of the
science facility, the entire complex is at risk due to his programmed stupidity and
incompetence and proposes a truce in order to save the facility.

Chell and GLaDOS continue upwards through the old test spheres,
experiencing the descent of Aperture Science into bankruptcy and controversy. Upon
hearing Cave Johnson’s messages, GLaDOS finds herself acting very strange,
talking along with Caroline at times. She is momentarily overwhelmed, having to take
time to collect her thoughts as Chell continues through the test spheres. Eventually
the two reach the top of Test Shaft 09, listening to Cave Johnson’s rambling before
finally leaving old Aperture behind with GLaDOS offering her farewells to “Mr.
Johnson.”
Act 4 - Wheatley Science
Upon returning to the main Aperture complex, GLaDOS and Chell are
reunited with Wheatley after failing to fry his mind with a paradox (on account of
his stupidity). As expected, the facility is in complete disarray with warnings
regularly sounding off and ominous rumbling coming from deep within the facility.
Despite this - Wheatley, who is plagued with an “itch” to test, disregards the
warnings, forcing Chell and GLaDOS to complete tests to “scratch” his itch. With
each test solved, however, the pleasure begins to dissipate - frustrating Wheatley
more each time as the facility continues to fall apart at the seams.

As GLaDOS prepares a plan to escape Wheatley’s testing, Wheatley

discovers a pair of robots GLaDOS built for testing and realizes that he doesn’t
need Chell anymore, launching her into a trap and initiating “The Part Where He
Kills You”. Chell and GLaDOS escape Wheatley’s trap and make a run for the
central AI core to confront Wheatley while dodging his numerous attempts to kill
them. Eventually, Chell and GLaDOS reach the central AI core and proceed to
install corrupted AI cores onto Wheatley until he is corrupt enough to initiate a
core transfer. Upon trying to initiate the core transfer, however, Chell is nearly
killed by Wheatley’s rigging of the stalemate resolution button to set off bombs. In
a last ditch effort, Chell fires a portal at the moon, creating a vacuum below
Wheatley which pulls both him and her into space. Before Wheatley can make
his way back through the portal, GLaDOS tears him off of her body and rescues
Chell, leaving Wheatley trapped in space.
Act 5 - Caroline

In the final act of Portal 2, Chell awakens in

the central AI core with GLaDOS who shows
genuine relief over her survival. She then states
that the emotion she felt upon rescuing her
revealed where her human personality, Caroline,
was located in her brain - before proceeding to
delete that part of her (or at least claiming to) and
activating the lift to release Chell to the surface,
giving her a smug yet warm farewell before sending
her off for good, ending Portal 2 (and as of now, the
series as a whole).
Analysis of Portal 2’s Story
The story of Portal 2, in many ways, is a story about self
discovery and coming to terms with who you are.

GLaDOS does this through discovering her past life as

Caroline in old Aperture. Despite how much it disturbs her, she appeals
to the humanity inside of her and decides to set the past aside, working
with Chell and allowing her to leave Aperture once and for all after
dethroning Wheatley - having appreciation for the lessons that her
human conscience taught her.

Wheatley, on the other hand, discovers the purpose behind his

creation and does everything he can to deny and ignore it, leading to
his poor attempt at taking control of something far greater than he is
capable of controlling. By the time he realizes and regrets the error in
his ways, he’s already stuck floating in space.
Spatial/Environmental Storytelling
Portal 1 is a prime example of proper environmental
storytelling, sprinkling subtle hints throughout the world so that
observative players can have a chance to get an idea of what’s
really going on at Aperture before finding out from GLaDOS upon
confronting her.

Portal 2 is no different when it comes to building up the

story using spatial elements. Since GLaDOS’s true nature and the
demise of Aperture’s human personnel are out of the bag from the
start of the game, a lot of that environmental storytelling is done to
build on top of previous concepts established by Portal 1.

Examples of this include (but are not limited to): the

vitrified test doors located in Test Shaft 09, the graffiti discovered
throughout various parts of the early game, the “Bring Your
Daughter To Work Day” projects, and the various posters and
billboards located throughout the 1970’s segment of Test Shaft
09. While the tone of most of these examples are handled in a
comedic sense, they often carry with them some dark
implications.
Highlights