Half-Life/Portal Games Ranked

A spinoff that fails to deliver in its relation to Portal and in its purpose.
6.8/10

NOTE: THIS IS A REVIEW FOR THE PORTAL 2 SECTION OF THIS GAME.

Despite Lego Dimensions bringing back all of the cast from Portal 2, it can feel unfaithful to its source material at times. The inside jokes are great for Portal & Portal 2 fans, but fall flat for people new to the games. The character designs are fine, look a little off in some places, but the design isn’t what I’m worried about. The rooms that are from Portal 2 are redesigned and inaccurate, and the level that comes with the Chell figure, Turret and Companion Cube is off in a lot of places. The story of the level feels like it wants to continue Portal 2 instead of retelling it, like other level packs. However, Portal 2 isn;t really something you can continue (with Chell, GLaDOS and Wheatley all present at once). And an excuse for Wheatley and Chell is that Lord Vortech opened the dimensions and then Wheatley went from The Moon (or the wheat field) to the facility, which is fine, except it doesn’t explain everything. The design is still good except it blends Portal and Portal 2 together, which is one of the biggest mistakes possible. Portal and Portal 2, despite being the same series, are completely different games in tone. Portal 2 has a lighter feel in its characters and atmosphere, whereas Portal is sort of a horror game, playing with players’ fear and loneliness. Combining these two doesn’t work at all and it just comes of as Portal with the characters from Portal 2.
7/10

A cool mod that feels connected in some way to Portal 2 but doesn’t quite deliver in feeling like an actual VALVe game.
8/10

Possibly the best Portal 2 mod made by fans. The Cave Johnson impression isn’t amazing but still a cool connection to Portal: The Underground. The premise is simple and doesn’t have the problem of Aperture Tag not feeling like a VALVe game.
8.5/10

Continues Half-Life 2 well yet still could’ve been called Half-Life 3 (yet that will never happen). The gameplay doesn’t stray from Half-Life 2’s, and the story is still good, yet just a little weaker than HL2’s.
9/10

(SPOILERS)
A great spinoff from Portal 2 explaining Cave Johnson’s return (but also de-cannonizes The Underground).
9/10

A great ending and better story than HL2: E1. However, its problem lies with the fact it never was continued properly until 12.5 years later.
9.2/10

A great original story that combines most aspects of sci-fi stories with fun gameplay and cool bosses.
9.3/10

An amazing return to Half-Life after over a decade of silence with Half-Life. Although it BARELY continues HL2: E2, it does make the player excited for Half-Life 3 (?).
9.4/10

(Average of HL2, HL2: E1, HL2: E2, and Portal)
9.5/10

An amazing game that feels so amazing with its atmosphere and new gameplay. Better voice acting and textures make it feel more enjoyable and the game is fuelled with an enjoyable story.
9.8/10

A beautiful atmosphere that plays around with the player’s psychology and fun physics based playing. The momentum levels are so amazing. The idea is so amazingly executed that it feels great to play every time.
10/10

Time for me to rant about how Portal 2 is the best video game of all time.

Portal 2 combines every aspect of what players want out of a video game. Great story, gameplay, characters, graphics, and overall has it all. The story is beautifully separate from Portal’s but also in a way not at all. The idea is perfect, and gives the player a lot of things to think about during Chapters 6 & 7. The gameplay, although strays from Portal’s controls, is still amazing, building on the ideas from Portal such as momentum and High Energy Pellets, and gives us something new to either counter or expand on that, like Aerial Faith Plates and Discouragement beams. The characters, even if there are only around 10, are well written and have great arcs that make them 3D characters. Wheatley’s arc from clumsy sidekick to maniacal villain works so well when you think about it, he is technically thrown around by the player like he means nothing. We never even caught him! GLaDOS’ arc is amazing and truly unique. Learning about Caroline is super interesting and it pays off-GLaDOS saves Chell because she realized deep down that she was Caroline, and that her existence is much more than testing. However, this leads to the deletion of Caroline, the most interesting factor. Most stories would’ve ended with GLaDOS setting out to be a better AI after knowing she’s Caroline, but this game does it better by having the ‘Caroline Deleted’ scene. The graphics are still superb and the design of the game is really great to look at, even if I like Portal’s design better. From overgrown Aperture, to the depths of the facility, to the new Wheatley Laboratories, the design doesn’t ever get old. In general, Portal 2 works and is the best VALVe game because of these factors in a complete picture; a picture of the best VALVe game.
Infinite/10