Is Portal 1 or Portal 2 better?

Both Portals are good. But here's the completely unnecessary and pointless argument on which one is better.

Portal was a game released in 2007, and it quickly became really popular. From the success, Valve released Portal 2 that expanded on the concept even further but made a lot of changes. So this video looks at the differences between the two games. All opinions are subjective, so whether you like one over the other is on you.

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Downloads:

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Music:
(In order of appearance)

.Kevin MacLeod - Sneaky Adventure
.Opposing Force - Planet (Soundtrack)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

[Laxhoop]

Out of all of Valve’s franchises, Portal is the only one that I would argue doesn’t need another entry. The story is complete, and the main puzzle idea seems to have run its course over the two games.

[DaxMarko]

I'd say Portal 2 is definitely more polished and has a soul to it. But man, I'm just so over-attached to the Portal 1's isolating atmosphere. The lonely feel of Source-engine was never creepy to me, but very soothing and relaxing. Works best for Gmod when I'm building something, and especially for Portal 1 when solving puzzles. Mostly community-made ones, which can take very... Very long time, just to solve one chamber. But I also might be biased in nostalgia for Portal 1's aesthetic.

[chickentwink]

One of the reasons I love portal is simply that I feel like it’s one of the very few puzzle games to actually have replay value.

[pknepps]

I've always found that portal 1 as a bit more freedom. In portal 2, a large portion of the walls are black, and as such it limits you to only one solution to each chamber. While in portal 1, the walls are majority white, and I have a lot more fun playing through it and finding creative solutions to each chamber.

[wisemysticaltree]

Portal 1 seems to be more in tone with Half-Life 2 and the overall creepiness of the Source Engine. But Portal 2 added a lot more color and charm to the characters and the puzzles, the amount of new lore kind of gave Portal its own name other than just being related to Half-Life.

[TheBlackSamurai]

Normally less is more but Portal 2 is one of the few rare exceptions. It added co-op, more humor, setpieces and charm. Portal 1 had a great atmosphere but I prefer everything else about portal 2.

I don’t really like puzzle games but portal 1&2 are some of the greatest games I’ve ever played

[Twten]

i have to agree with you on Portal 2, it had such a great plot twist that really made Portal as a series become what it is today.

[londonisforeverblue]

only valve could make a puzzle game be one of the greatest games ever made

[BlackMesaS]

Fun fact: The original way to get in the vent and brake the fans was to destroy the glass pipe using the rocket turret to get some cubes, then use that same cube you used to get to to the vent to disable the fans.

[Winterreise]

Portal 1 has a more ominous story, but Portal 2 between Wheatley and GladOS the story and voice acting banter is just so good. Also when you go and take the old tests and go all outside and see how huge the place is, it was just to me amazing when it came out. Portal 2 takes the cake (is a lie) for me

[sefrautiq]

I love Portal 1 more, because of isolation, loneliness and that RED GLOW that haunts you, revealing the inner gut of the facility. So I prefer Portal 1 for the atmosphere and Portal 2 for the story

[NympoGaming]

When I played Portal in 2007 I realized that I was playing something special. Fast-forward 15 years from now and it's still my favourite game of all times.
I remember first entering chamber 10 and "Self Esteem Fund'" started playing. It was one of those moments you experience once in a lifetime...

[SnrubSource]

I think Portal 2 has a better story and it's obviously more polished and longer since it's a full game compared to Portal 1 which was more of an experiment, but i'd say Portal 1's puzzles were more challenging. In Portal 2 they really go out of their way to help you and don't make use of reaction time based mechanics Portal 1 used (multi-portal flinging, energy balls, etc).

[IOSARBX]

LamWarp, This is great! I liked it and subscribed!

[Saihalji]

Portal 2 for mechanics and workshop, Portal 1 for the tone and official puzzles

[CripplingMemeAddict]

Postal is the true portal 3 we all want

[IAmUnderscore]

The one main issue I have with portal 1 is the complete lack of challenge in the puzzles. It feels like each puzzle is simply going through the motions rather than something you have to really sit down and consider, before having a eureka moment. It does keep the pace of the game flowing but it also hurts to see that portal 1 missed the potential to have some more rewarding puzzles, without all of the extra mechanics in portal 2.

[ClankyOtter]

This might be a silly deciding factor.

But I gotta give it to two for setting the bar for valve games/and for modern linear-narrative games as a whole

1 is remarkable in it’s original ideas, puzzles, and it’s compact but interesting story. It’s an A+ proof of concept

2 arguably delivered on the full potential of portal as a game. More and better puzzles, more and better story, multiplayer, player creation.


Also for what it’s worth, Portal 2 was basically the “final edition” of the source engine, and I think that P2 exhibited source at it’s absolutely best for gameplay, visual experience, and cinematic/narrative functionality.

This feels a bit idealistic, but when HL2 and the episodes come to Switch, I really hope they get the “source 1.5” treatment

[Wyte_Knight]

I buyed the "Snuggable Plush" companion cube on Valve Store after finishing Portal 1.
After having to relocate, it ended up in a moving crate with some other plushs that I kept. I played Portal 2. Finished the game. And the first thing I did, obviously, was sort all of my crates and cardboards to find this plushie.
Now, it's always close to my setup, with the Razer Sneki leaning on it.

10/10, would play both of them again, and again, and again.

[coltforceplayer]

The Day Half-life’s 3rd entry comes out is the day I live in peace
Edit: Honestly tho, Portal VR could be really cool