The Valve Series Portal widely regarded as one of the best puzzle games in recent memory, and both the original and the sequel Portal 2 still over a decade after their original release. Given their continued popularity, it’s no surprise that new content and spin-offs continue to be released for the Portal franchise to this day. Aperture Desk Job was released as a technical demo for the Steam Deck console in March 2022. Just a month earlier, in February, Nintendo revealed that a Switch port of both Portal and Portal 2 was set to come out sometime later in 2022. Then, in June, the Nintendo Switch version of the Portal: Companion Collection fell without warning during a Nintendo Direct Mini: Partner Showcase.
First released in 2007, in Portal gamers play as Chell, a test subject at Aperture Science. Using the Portal Gun, which can place two doorways on surfaces and allow for transport between them, they must make their way through various test chambers, eventually escaping the facility’s AI overseer, GLaDOS. The sequel was released just a few years later, with new mechanics and characters. Portal 2 also included a multiplayer game mode, the Cooperative Testing Initiative, which allowed players to solve puzzles with friends via couch co-op or online gameplay. From that moment on, Portalthe longevity has survived thanks to community-created maps and mods.
Despite its influence on some of the greatest puzzle games of recent years, Portal and Portal 2 surprisingly haven’t been released on very many current-gen platforms. The games are only available for PC/Mac/Linux, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, the Nvidia Shield and, more recently, the Steam Deck. The announcement that Portal: Companion Collection was coming to Nintendo Switch got pretty excited because of that. Now that it’s released, how does it compare to? Portal as it came out on other platforms?
Portal on PC, Mac and Linux operating systems
PC was one of the first platforms Portal was released before, coming out as part of The orange box for both Windows and Xbox 360 in late October 2007. It was well-received, with much-cited Portal like a near-perfect video game, and the following year saw an influx of new content, including the demo version Portal: the first piece and the Xbox Live Arcade game Portal: Still Alive, with new challenges and achievements to complete. The game is native to the Linux operating system, provided users have Steam installed, and was one of the first Steam games to become OS X compatible in 2010. Portal 2 was subsequently released simultaneously for Windows and Mac.
The PC version of Portal and Portal 2 have some of the most customizable graphics options, including anti-aliasing, anisotropic filtering, and higher resolutions. That, plus the ability to install visual enhancement mods for Portal 2, gives it a bit of an edge over console releases. Players may also find it easier to aim and shoot portals quickly and accurately when using a mouse compared to a controller. Access to the Steam community also means that: Portal fans can play through custom maps.
Portal can be played on both Xbox and PlayStation
As was the case with the PC version, Portal was available on Xbox 360 from day one as part of The orange box. The orange box including Half-life 2 and Team Fortress 2provide a kind of safety net for Portal‘s release. The Xbox 360 release includes additional shadows compared to the PC edition of Portal and Portal 2and the deeper shadows help Portal‘s iconic robot characters like GLaDOS stand out more. However, the lack of anti-aliasing and lower resolution prior to scaling is worth noting. Players may notice more jagged edges on certain parts of the Xbox version, as well as sometimes fainter decals. The graphical comparisons between each platform were detailed by GameSpot as follows: Portal 2release in 2011.
The original release of Portal did not contain a PlayStation version. However, just two months after it came out for PC and Xbox, it became available on the PlayStation 3. The PlayStation 3 edition runs at a similar resolution to the Xbox 360 before being scaled up and includes anti-aliasing. However, it loses a little shade, and in Portal 2 in particular, it does not contain rustling plants like the PC edition. if Portal recreated in Unreal Engine in the future or otherwise brought to current generation consoles, perhaps these ports will finally see a significant improvement in visual quality.
What handheld consoles is portal available on?
Portal and Portal 2 are available on a number of other handheld platforms in addition to just the Nintendo Switch. Portal received a port to the Nvidia Shield, an Android handheld, in early 2014. Both games are also available to play on the Steam Deck. On the steam deck, Portal 2 can run at 4K and 60 fps when docked. It was also one of the first games to be Steam Deck verified. Anyone who hasn’t experienced it Portal series for can play both games, as well as the Portal spin-off Aperture Desk Job, either through the console’s handheld functionality or with the use of a monitor for higher resolutions. Given recent rumors that new games featuring the Portal universe can be released in the future, now is a good time to get into the franchise.
How Portal works on Nintendo Switch
The Nintendo Switch release of Portal: Companion Collectionwhich includes both Portal and Portal 2actually came as a surprise. Although it was announced several months earlier, the actual release date was unknown and never provided outside the wide 2022 window. During the Nintendo Direct Mini: Partner Showcase in June, it was revealed that the game would actually be coming to Switch that very same day. The release trailer for Portal on Nintendo Switch can be viewed on Nintendo’s official YouTube channel.
On the Nintendo Switch, both Portal and Portal 2 maintain 60 fps in docked play as opposed to the 30 fps on the PlayStation and Xbox. This puts it above the console ports and much closer to the Steam Deck experience, according to EuroGamer, especially on the Switch OLED. In portable mode, the Switch version of both Portal and Portal 2 run at 720p like the Xbox 360 edition instead of 1080p. The fluidity of the game’s visuals is also consistent on Switch, which is especially important given how essential movement is Portalare puzzles. For all Nintendo Switch users who haven’t played yet Portalthis is a great gateway in terms of availability and visuals, and a worthwhile experience given the near-universal acclaim.
Source: GameSpot, Nintendo, EuroGamer
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