Are you a puzzle solver? Are you interested in video games? Portal may be the game for you. The video game series, Portal, is made by the company Valve. Portal; Still Alive was released in 2007 and Portal 2 was released in 2011. It is a first person puzzle game for teens and adults. The Portal series can be played on Xbox consoles, Playstation, and PC. Portal has won several awards like Best PC Game, Best End Credit Song, Best Puzzle Game, and Most Innovative Design. 

Portal: Still Alive was the first game of the series. It has an estimated gameplay time of three hours and 15 minutes. The storyline includes characters like Chell, Glados, turrets, and much more. The credit scene song was written by Jonathan Coulton. The song is called “Still Alive.” It has won a major award for being the best end credit song. Portal contains 19 levels to play through with many puzzles and dialogue from the villain, Glados. Also turrets are used to try to kill your character if you don’t knock them down. If you play it on the Xbox consoles, you can do achievements for rewards on your custom Xbox character. Portal: Still Alive is like a practice/warmup for Portal 2. 

Some new characters were put in Portal 2  like Wheatley, Cave Johnson, and Caroline. Chell, Turrets, and Glados return into the game again. Portal 2 is a much longer game. The estimated gameplay time is six to ten hours. You can easily find this game in stores like Walmart or Best Buy rather than the first one. Also Portal 2 is on Steam for PC players. You can still play it on all the consoles besides Nintendo. There are multiple sets of levels rather than Portal: Still Alive only having one set. The graphics are much better than the first game. The levels are harder, though. Portal 2 does have many more locations in the storyline like the actual testing chambers, new lairs, a new relaxation room, and old parts of the laboratory. Portal 2 has changed some things since the first game, for example, Chell has a new style, turrets are used more, new characters, a huge plot twist, and much more! 

Both of the Portal games have similarities, too. Each game is full of puzzles and challenges for you to complete even with some fun twists. The main villain, Glados appears in both games and the main character you play as, Chell. You can earn achievements on both. The end credit songs were both written by Jonathan Coulton. Each of the games had huge successes causing the whole fandom wanting a third to the series. 

Now the question is, will you go play it? I play it every month. That is how great the games are. Valve did a great job on the success of the Portal series. This series of games will get you thinking hard but definitely worth it!