Portal (video game)

Portal
Developer(s)	Valve[a]
Publisher(s)	Valve
Designer(s)	Kim Swift
Writer(s)	Erik Wolpaw Chet Faliszek
Composer(s)	Kelly Bailey Mike Morasky
Series	Portal
Engine	Source
Platform(s)	Windows PlayStation 3 Xbox 360 Mac OS X Linux Android Nintendo Switch
Release	October 10, 2007 Windows, Xbox 360 NA: October 10, 2007 EU: October 18, 2007 AU: October 25, 2007 PlayStation 3 AU: November 22, 2007 EU: November 23, 2007 NA: December 11, 2007 Mac OS X[1] WW: May 12, 2010 Linux[1] WW: May 2, 2013 Android[2][3] WW: May 12, 2014 Nintendo Switch WW: June 28, 2022
Genre(s)	Puzzle-platform
Mode(s)	Single-player

Portal is a 2007 puzzle-platform game developed and published by Valve. It was released in a bundle, The Orange Box, for Windows, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and has been since ported to other systems, including Mac OS X, Linux, Android (via Nvidia Shield), and Nintendo Switch.

Portal consists primarily of a series of puzzles that must be solved by teleporting the player's character and simple objects using "the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device", also referred to as the "portal gun", a device that can create intra-spatial portals between two flat planes. The player-character, Chell, is challenged and taunted by an artificial intelligence named GLaDOS (Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System) to complete each puzzle in the Aperture Science Enrichment Center using the portal gun with the promise of receiving cake when all the puzzles are completed. The Source Engine's physics system allows kinetic energy to be retained through portals, requiring creative use of portals to maneuver through the test chambers. This gameplay element is based on a similar concept from the game Narbacular Drop; many of the team members from the DigiPen Institute of Technology who worked on Narbacular Drop were hired by Valve for the creation of Portal, making it a spiritual successor to the game.

Portal was acclaimed as one of the most original games of 2007, despite some criticism for its short duration. It received praise for its originality, unique gameplay and a dark story and sense of comedy. GLaDOS, voiced by Ellen McLain in the English-language version, received acclaim for her unique characterization, and the end credits song "Still Alive", written by Jonathan Coulton for the game, was praised for its original composition and humor. Portal is often cited as one of the greatest video games ever made. Excluding Steam download sales, over four million copies of the game have been sold since its release, spawning official merchandise from Valve including a model portal gun and plush Companion Cubes, as well as fan recreations of the cake.

A standalone version with extra puzzles, Portal: Still Alive, was also published by Valve on the Xbox Live Arcade service in October 2008 exclusively for Xbox 360. A sequel, Portal 2, was released in 2011, which expanded on the storyline, added several gameplay mechanics, and included a cooperative multiplayer mode.

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