Portal Revolution is a full-fledged prequel campaign for Portal 2 that will launch in January and feature original characters in an eight-hour story
There’s a reason Portal 2 is still the most popular game on Steam more than a decade after it was released. The Valve puzzler has it all: a fantastic, memorable campaign full of cleverly designed challenge rooms and an entertaining, exciting story. A complete, separate co-op campaign for you and a friend to enjoy. A more extensive user creation toolset that allows players to create their own puzzle rooms. And now, thanks to a small group of dedicated fans, a complete eight-hour prequel campaign, fully voiced, will be released as a free game in early 2024.
Portal: Revolution is a free-to-play mod for one of the best PC games of all time. This Valve-approved fan project from a small team known as Second Face Software takes place before the events of Portal 2 in the ruins of the dead and decaying Aperture Science facility, and requires only that you own Portal 2 on Steam (which we hope you already do, but it’s well worth buying if you don’t).
The plot introduces new characters, with Stirling, a personality sphere, serving as your primary companion. You’ll set out together with the goal of restoring the Aperture station to its former glory. Portal: Revolution’s developers were able to “to introduce many mechanics and improvements to create an experience that would be impossible in Portal 2.”by using a modified version of the Portal 2 Community Edition engine (a custom, Valve-licensed branch of the CSGO Source engine).
The team claims that the puzzle difficulty “starts where Portal 2 stops,” but that you’ll be taught mechanics and portal tricks, and that they’ve “ensured through vigorous playtesting that every player can solve the puzzles.” “Although very few chambers require portals to be fired mid-air, no puzzles require advanced, tricky movement.” it continues. So don’t be concerned that you’ll need to be an expert speedrunner to see the story unfold.
Only seven people are involved in the project: core developers Stefan Heinz, Rory Lambert, Dusty Oakley, and Tristan Snartt, composer Jared Poolaw, and voice actors Will Neal and Sarah Jacklin. Nonetheless, Portal: Revolutions includes 40 new puzzles throughout its fully voiced campaign, which the team claims is now “99% complete.”
“I can’t express how exciting and relieving it is to release this trailer,” Heinz says. “The last few months have been difficult for us. We could no longer stick to our comfort zone, and it’s scary to finally share something with the world that you have poured your soul into for so long. Getting this trailer out feels like the first step to finishing this game and we’re excited for the actual release!”
Portal: Revolution will be available on Steam on Friday, January 5, 2024. It will be free to play, but you will need a copy of Portal 2 to do so. Visit the Steam store page for more information and to add the game to your wishlist if you want to be notified when it becomes available.