Cover artwork I generate from the game data. I do not use publisher artwork.
Game profile
Portal
In an abandoned test facility, players solve tricky spatial puzzles using a portal gun while a sarcastic AI constantly comments. Compact, clever and darkly funny, it remains a genre defining classic.
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What kind of game this is
At its core this is Puzzle, set in a science fiction world. Visually it is deliberately stylised rather than photorealistic, and the overall tone stays somewhere between light and heavy. The structure is guided rather than open, so you are moved along instead of dropped into a map. Sessions of an hour or two sit at the sweet spot here.
The difficulty is moderate and fair, demanding attention without punishing you for it. The story matters and gives the mechanics a frame, without taking over. It is a single player experience from start to finish. It is available broadly, on 5 platforms. It sits in the budget bracket.
What stands out
- brilliant portal mechanic
- sharp AI humor
- short and tight
This fits you if
- you enjoy being made to think
- you play alone and want a complete experience without other people
- you are watching your budget
- you want to actually finish something for once, 3 hours and done
Look elsewhere if
- you want something that lasts, this is over after 3 hours
- you want to play it side by side with someone
- you want either a pure challenge or pure relaxation, not the middle
What it costs you in time
About 3 hours in total. That is roughly 2 evening(s), so you can realistically finish it this week.
How the rating ranks
Critics settled on 90 out of 100, which puts it above 85 percent of the 1206 games here and at rank 158 overall. That is a strong score, comfortably above what most releases manage.
For comparison, Puzzle averages 83 points across the database, so this one sits 7 points above its own genre. The figure rests on 3967 collected ratings.
Released in 2007, which makes it 19 years old. A genuine classic, and worth checking how the version you buy holds up today.
The facts
- Release year
- 2007
- Genres
- Puzzle
- Playtime
- approx. 3 hrs.
- Difficulty
- Moderate, fair
- Story weight
- Present and relevant
- Play with
- Solo
- Setting
- Sci-fi
- Visual style
- Stylised
- Price bracket
- Budget
- Platforms
- PC, Switch, PlayStation, Mobile, Xbox
- Critic rating
- 90 / 100
Direct comparison
If you liked this, try these
- Portal 2 Shared: Puzzle, Sci-fi, longer, rated higher
- Deathloop Shared: Puzzle, Sci-fi, longer
- Rue Valley Shared: Puzzle, Sci-fi, longer
- Cocoon Shared: Puzzle, Sci-fi, longer
- The Entropy Centre Shared: Puzzle, Sci-fi, longer
- Planet of Lana II: Children of the Leaf Shared: Puzzle, Sci-fi, longer