Thanks to Valve’s welcoming approach to its modding communities, its already successful titles likePortal 2have been made even more popular through the dozens of unique mods that completely rework the game. Between a fan base with endless creativity and passion for their favorite games and Valve openly embracing mods on Steam, it’s not surprising that the modding communities surrounding games likePortal 2have thrived. The result is a breadth of different mods that range fromimproved graphics withPortal 2: Desolationto practically new games in their own right, complete with new mechanics, puzzles, and more.
As many fans ofPortalknow, its design can be scaled down into several core components, such as the straightforward mechanics leading to head-scratching test chambers, its recognizable aesthetic, or even its own lore. YetPortal 2mods have found ways of going further beyond these core concepts, creating games that give fans a fresh perspective on the series, with new mechanics, interesting twists on traditional puzzles, and experimenting with visuals. In each instance,Portal 2’smods take these core concepts and build upon them, reinventing the game in innovative ways.
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Aperture Tag: The Paint Gun Testing Initiative
Arguably,Aperture Tag: The Paint Gun Testing Initiativeis an ideal example of aPortalmod that could be a spin-off, able to stand on its own while loosely connecting to the series. Doing away with the familiar Portal Gun, players are instead given a Paint Gun that shoots both Repulsion and Velocity Gels. Not only does this open up brand-new possibilities for puzzles, but it scratches that itch players had fromPortal 2that drove them to cover every surface inPortal 2’s gels. The mod focuses more on gameplay and design than story, but it demonstrates fresh potential under the Aperture banner for future Valve games.
Dilapidation
WhileAperture Tagcould be a spin-off,Dilapidationcould be a contender for aprologue toPortal 2were it not for Wheatley.Dilapidationis true toPortalform in its puzzles and mechanics, except it further incorporates Aperture’s visual decay and disrepair seen early on inPortal 2. The story follows Chell as she tries to again escape the rundown facility, with the gameplay accompanied by an excellent atmosphere built through music, visuals, and level design. From malfunctioning elevators and collapsing structures, it better captures Aperture’s ruin thanPortal 2itself, and there’s even a “sequel” calledReconstructionthat iscurrently being worked on by the same developer.
Eidolon
A stark contrast to the functional, cubic design ofPortal,Eidolonis a significant departure from other mods. At its core, the mod serves to completely reworkPortal’sgeometry from hard angles to smooth curves, swapping industrial aesthetic for futurism reminiscent ofMirror’s Edge’sown style. Were it not for the lifted mechanics of portals, lasers, or such like, players could likely believe that it was an entirely different game. However, per the developer, the mod was more an exploration and experimentation inPortal’sformula as it challenged how level design could direct a player, provide cues to solutions, and not detract from the overall experience.
Memories
WhilePortal 2’s Perpetual Testing Initiativelet players finally design their own test chambers,Memoriesis possibly the better showcase of what fans would have achieved if given the creative freedom for level design. The mod wasan episodic-style gamethat had players visiting distinctive areas in every chapter, each with its own theme, visuals, gimmicks, and more, all completed with a branching storyline. Though it retains the core mechanics ofPortal,Memoriesoffers a smorgasbord of different styles and experiences, ranging from forests and levels set in outer space to unique mechanics like controllable platforms and fire hazards.
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Portal Reloaded
One ofPortal 2’smore popular mods,Portal Reloadedintroducestime travel to thePortalformula and opens up possibilities with this different dimension in level design. The player’s Portal Gun can now shoot three portals: the two traditional orange and blue portals with a new third green portal. This new portal allows the player to step through time, switching between two time periods several decades apart. Complete with its own story that takes advantage of its time travel and alludes to the events ofPortal, the mod provides an easy-to-understand yet difficult-to-master take onPortal’slevel design.
Portal Stories: Mel
Another popularPortal 2mod and likely the most well-known,Portal Stories: Melis a well-developed, engaging story set prior to the events ofPortal 2.It follows Mel, a German Olympic athlete recruited during Aperture’s heyday who is woken up from stasis afterGLaDOS’s end inPortal.As Mel traverses the collapsing Aperture facility, they’re confronted by an emergency security system AEGIS that was accidentally activated and mistakenly attempts to eliminate her. LikeDilapidation,Portal Stories:Melcould serve as a standalone prologue toPortal 2,taking over from the Rattman comic as a gaming alternative to bridge the gap betweenPortalandPortal 2.
Thinking with Time Machine
Though it’s another mod that introduces time travel toPortal’sgame design,Thinking with Time Machineis instead a blend between Portal 2’s design andtime control mechanics like those inBraid. Revisiting Chell right after the events ofPortal 2, the mod lets players record their actions and create a duplicate in order to solve “co-op” test chambers solo. Its story doesn’t significantly expand onPortal 2, as its ending is akin to the “just a dream” trope and circles back toPortal 2’sending, but in terms of creativityThinking with Time Machinegives a new dimension to puzzle-solving and seems like it could be DLC.
Unreal Chambers
Possibly one of the more ambitious and mind-bendingPortal2mods,Unreal Chamberschallenges players with test chambers that get creative with non-Euclidean space. Comprised of four parts, each chamber provides reality-warping puzzles that range from corridors changing when not observed to areas hidden atop one another depending on where the player is or where they’ve moved. Though it has a steep learning curve, once players adjust the overall experience is very rewarding, allowing players tosolve fun puzzles with impossible physics. AllUnreal Chambersis missing is a decent story to explain away the science and give the mod some character.
Portal 2is available now on PC, PS3, Switch, and Xbox 360.
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