To be fair, it’d be very hard to outdo the original game, because of how fresh and novel it was. It's been pretty much the first of its kind as far as first-person-puzzle-platformers go, it brought something new to the table with the portal gun, had a very unique setting along with unconventional at-the-time storytelling methods (both with the malfunctioning AI and messages hidden in the “cracks”), then there was the story twist half-way through, and finally, the memes. I think it’s pretty undisputable that Portal made a huge impact on the gaming industry and its audience, and it’s hard for me to imagine how a sequel could ever exceed that.
On the other hand, Portal 2 really didn’t need to go so far to be a successful sequel. The original was such a unique game that it took a while before other developers would figure out how to scratch similar itches, so even just a decent continuation of the story and a bunch of new levels would be enough - and in fact, they were. The first game’s ending was somehow completely satisfying in resolving its plot while simultaneously ending on a completely open-ended cliffhanger, so the sequel could’ve went literally anywhere. Continuation right where we left of? A timeskip? A complete non-sequitor? Before Valve revealed their choice, they patched in a secret ending to Portal 1 that showed just a couple more seconds before turning to black, drumming up the excitement while also roughly suggesting the direction. And when the sequel finally came out, I wasn’t disappointed with the opening - being led through what’s left of Aperture by the manic Wheatley was a quite fun, and then the game kept changing the status quo, recontextualizing our efforts. The sequel was able to expand on the setting while remaining within what feels like the contour of what makes a Portal game a Portal game - so we were off to a great start.
There’s a couple of neat mechanical additions - boxes used to redirect lasers, hovering tunnels, infinite catwalks and three types of gels affecting whichever surface they cover. However my favorite change to how the puzzles are designed was how huge and sparse some of the levels got, finally allowing us to breathe after the claustrophobic chambers that dominated the first game (which was great and fitting, but, y’know, variety is spice of life and all that). And then of course there is the full support for mods (not that I didn’t know how to load custom maps with developer console in first game, but, y’know, convenience), a great map editor that should prove to be a great practice tool for any aspiring puzzle designer, and then the entire second co-op campaign with cute robots at helm that opened way to crazy 4-portal puzzles. And I’ll jump right ahead to the ending and say that the final act of the player made me gleeful, and I maintained that state for the rest of the slightly esoteric ending.
Portal 2 is a fantastic example of an ambitious sequel that manages not to stray away too far from the original. Whenever we talk about creative processes, there’s often the dichotomy between “safe choices” and “taking risks”. But when I play something like P2, I feel that this dilemma doesn’t apply here - that the developers are so good at their jobs that they just knew what the correct decision was every time. That the design wasn’t fueled by experimentation and making guesses, but by pure expertise and craftsmanship. Is that naive? Perhaps. And yet this is how Valve’s last non-VR single player game made me feel, almost the swan song of one of the most beloved first person game developers.
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