Portal is a game that’s carved out a place in my heart forever.

Valve started with a very original and very interesting game mechanic, they introduced said mechanic to the player through an easily-understandable step-learning process, but it was still difficult enough that you felt like you were playing a PUZZLE game. Which you were, naturally, but it was easy to forget you were playing a puzzle game when you were running through a labyrinth of eerily deserted corridors, in possession of a piece of technology many would commit genocide for, listening to the ravings of a mad cake-obsessed artificial intelligence. The entire portal experience was, for the lack of a better word, deranged, but in a similar way to how when you are surrounded by mad people who all treat each other normally, you start to question whether it is you yourself who is mad. That, my friend, is MADE of immersion.

Although I wasn’t very clear about it, that paragraph was meant to say that portals atmosphere and character development are superb. I think somewhere along the way I got sidetracked by the opportunity to gush. Whats more is that the character development, atmosphere, and game-play (revolving around a single mechanic) are the only things to talk about in this game, because its a very short single-player experience which takes place in perfect isolation.

There isn’t very much to portal, but everything thats there has been polished to the point that one might impair their eyesight by looking at it too long. If you know anybody who hasn’t played it, feel free to leave me their address in the comments section.