*Spoilers from the get go*

*Really, don’t read any further if you haven’t played it*

*You have been warned*

*It’s only about 3 hours long though, do yourself a favour, go play it, and then come back when it’s over*

* Finished? Good. Well done*

*Now, continue*

 

“This was a triumph”

Above is the opening line of ‘Still Alive’, the song that plays over the end credits of Portal. Never a truer word has been spoken about a game, it’s almost like Valve knew that they’d finished making one of the most perfectly crafted games ever created and wanted us all to know how happy they were with it.

I first played Portal in 2008 when I was lucky enough to receive The Orange Box as a present that Christmas. To be honest, I hadn’t paid much attention to it and had always seen it as just a filler element to the set. I was more interested in the saga of Gordon Freeman and his battle against Black Mesa in the epic Half Life games that are also included with it.

At that time, I’d played it for about half an hour and the only reason I can think of as to why I didn’t continue with it was because another title came along and distracted me. It’s a common failing of mine and the reason why my partly finished games pile is so large. Honestly, I can plough hours into a game but, show me something shiny and I’m off after it like a dog chasing a squirrel.

My interest in it grew again with the impending arrival of Portal 2. Speculation and rumours of content were everywhere as the release date approached. I had to stay away from them having never completed Portal but I thought it was the ideal opportunity to crack open The Orange Box again and give it another go. A proper go this time.

Oh, how I wish I’d done it sooner.

What I played through was a marvel in game and puzzle design shot through with a wonderfully black sense of humour.

At just over three hours long, it could feel to some like there’s not much to it. To me, the game length was just right. It was almost like playing through the equivalent of a short story rather than a 500 page behemoth of a novel.

The minimalistic look of the levels, with lots of very white whites punctuated by the odd red or blue LED here or there, also suited it perfectly. Anything more than that would have distracted and detracted from the main game.

Overall though, it was the personality that the game had that caused me to warm to it. Little things like the service notices at the start of each level, placed to advise you of the dangers and tasks that lie ahead and normally containing at least one icon of a small man dying. Or, the gun turrets that you meet later on, their voices plaintively asking where you are as you stealthily try to make your way past them. The star of the show though is undoubtedly GLaDOS. A lone voice, her guidance turns to mockery as the game goes on. Trying to solve each puzzle, no matter how maddening, is always an absolute treat thanks to her running commentary.

After starting it again, I ended up playing through it in a couple of sessions, the promise of cake coming ever closer. I’d been enjoying it up until now, feeling more and more pleased with myself with every level that I passed. Then the last level kicked in and the game took a different turn. It was almost like breaking the fourth wall or seeing behind the Wizard’s curtain. It gave you a glimpse of the actual world that the game was taking place in (one that players of Half Life will know only too well) and it certainly wasn’t a pleasant one. It was quite clear that these challenges were never supposed to be completed, that you’d ruined things by beating them and GLaDOS made sure that you were more than aware of how furious she was because of this.

The game culminates in a boss fight with GLaDOS, which, whilst still employing elements form the main game, does stick out a bit considering what has come before. It doesn’t ruin things though as it gives you the chance to come face to face with your tormentor and do some tormenting of your own.

And, after all of this, comes the finale. I still don’t know how I got through the past 3 years without knowing about what happens. I would have been glad with it just ending with the cake being presented to you and a nice, final goodbye screen but, as I mentioned at the start, Valve take it one step further and bow out with a message from GLaDOS, a final “Gotcha!” from the faceless menace that taunted you all the way through the game. And only Valve could have done it like this:

A massive grin spread across my face as those end credits played and the lyrics sank in. What a perfect way to end a near perfect game. Near perfect? Or, is it actually.....perfect? I don’t know, but any game that has you just about weeping at the destruction of a box, must be doing something right.

Farwell Companion Cube, you will be missed.