Why Portal is Better than Portal 2

Comments · 931

• IN

  @InfiniWolf · 7 months ago

  I always kinda hated how the 2nd game felt more restricted, like the physics, can't hop over things as much, can't pick up as many objects or even interact with them, like in the behind the scenes part of the game you could pick stuff up in the first and then the 2nd you couldn't.

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• ZE

  @zenithquasar9623 · 4 years ago

  Portal 1 had accomplished something I never thought I could experience again, the feeling of isolation amongst some industrial complex/liminal spaces that I had gotten from Half-Life 1 that I loved so much. Valve had managed to capture that again. And if you subtract Cave Johnson from the old Aperture, you sort of get that feeling as well. But CJ undercuts that atmosphere.

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• MA

  @MauricioJara · 5 years ago

  I’ve always preferred Portal 1’s tone and atmosphere. I like how grounded and real it feels as well. OST is definitely moodier, and it has a very desolate feel. Portal 2 is great don’t get me wrong, but I wish Portal 2 continued the tone that Portal 1 set.

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• CL

  @clamdove3292 · 1 year ago

  something i find interesting is how a couple of the chambers you go through before glados wakes up still have the same disconcerting tone as portal 1. i see this as being a result of the facility's state of disrepair, and the soundtrack. in particular, the song "the future starts with you" always gives me the creeps. it's great

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• BL

  @BlueCat201X · 4 years ago

  I have to say, I didn’t expect to see someone touch on this subject. I played Portal 1 first, and I enjoyed it immensely, took my time with it, did some achievements and challenges. I really didn’t want to let it go too soon, because I heard that the sequel was better in every way, and I already liked the original. I thought I woud stop appreciating it after playing the second one. And when I played Portal 2, I was of course having a great time too, but to my surprise it wasn’t the same, and bizarrely, I still preferred the original.<br><br>The vagueness and creepiness of the first game gave it this unique charm where you could fill the gaps with your own experience. It made the story feel more personal – less like I was playing a role, and more like as if I, the player, was the one trapped in Aperture. In the sequel, although I still loved GLaDOS’s sassy remarks, it didn’t feel like <b>my</b> GLaDOS. In Portal, GLaDOS talked to me, in Portal 2, GLaDOS talked to Chell.<br><br>The atmosphere of the first game is also what, in my opinion, made the Companion Cube work so well there. Many players got attached to an inanimate object just because of how lonely and isolated they were in the chambers, with the cube not only being the first being that didn’t want to kill them in this harsh environment, but a helpful asset throughout an entire chamber as well. I denied being attached to a glorified metal box, until in a challenge chamber it was replaced by an incredibly annoying and uncooperative ball that made me curse it to hell, and want my cube back. In the secong game, the Companion Cubes are not only numerous, as GLaDOS states herself, but they don’t ignite the same feelings because we have a much more sentient and animate ally on our side in the form of Wheatley. We are not alone anymore, so we don’t need to pack bond with an inanimate object.<br><br>In summary, from my perspective, Portal 2 was the same journey that everyone experienced and loved the same way, but Portal 1 was an individual journey that was unique for everyone, and because of that, it had an individual and unique impact on each person.<br><br><br><br><br>Plus &quot;Still Alive&quot; is easier to sing than &quot;Want you gone&quot; if you&apos;re not a trained vocal artist, fight me

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• FI

  @FisOffline · 4 years ago

  If I were to draw a parallel, portal one is more akin to HL2 and portal two is closer to TF2

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• MA

  @Matkatamiba · 5 years ago

  I generally agree. The first one is more cohesive and the way the difficulty of the puzzles is the groundwork that most puzzle games are based off of, at least partially. <br><br>I definitely got stuck a couple times in the overworld looking for tiny portal spots in what felt like an art showcase. The difficulty of the puzzles in the second one was more often discovering the different areas they wanted you to work with than puzzling out the solution with all the pieces in front of you.

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• MO

  @monarchofthesea9395 · 4 years ago

  Couldn&apos;t agree more. One thing I&apos;d add to this is, that Portal 2&apos;s aperture science feels much more organic, given that the panels and everything move around all the time. For me the fact that in Portal 1, it feels more manmade, more like an actual abandoned building makes it far creepier. The impossible architecture of 2 just doesn&apos;t feel as intimidating given the tone, with maybe the exception of some parts of old aperture. While in 1 you&apos;ve got this crumbling facility that&apos;s just a bit off, with you only starting to realise that slowly.

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• FL

  @Fluddulation · 4 years ago

  I absolutely LOVE this video because it completely nails and emphasizes the criminally overlooked parts of the first game. The dark tone, incredible learning curve, and flexibility of the solutions from Portal 1 are so underappreciated. I often tell my friends that I prefer Portal 1 over 2, but I often look silly because it&apos;s a bit hard to truly articulate why that&apos;s the case. This video really summarizes just what makes Portal 1 so special! I do think the humor of 2, despite it being more blunt and comedic, is still incredibly appealing and it in itself is what most people associate with Portal nowadays. 1 definitely just nails it in every aspect, however, and I really do agree with pretty much all of the points made here!

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• DX

  @DxGamer6767 · 1 year ago

  This is kind of the same reasons why i think dishonoured one is better than 2 even if two has more gameplay variety and is overall more fluid

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• SP

  @spacegirlproduction9506 · 2 years ago

  At least we have portal stories mel! The challenge there is hard since puzzle are complex

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• JA

  @jackpijjin4088 · 1 year ago

  I still start up P1 every now and then just to faff around and experiment with puzzles and physics. I played P2 once or twice and haven&apos;t really been interested in going back.<br><br>I remember back in the old GameInformer magazine days, when they were hyping up ruined and old Aperture- oh I LOVED that. Exploring through decaying 1970s office spaces with cracks in the ground that separate one place from another and derelict equipment still trying to perform tests... it was my favorite part. And it lasted for maybe like... 30 minutes in the final game before going right back to &quot;overly polished Aperture&quot;. After the old Aperture parts I just didn&apos;t feel as intrigued anymore. No more secrets or story to uncover, it was just &quot;ride out until conclusion&quot;.

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