Portal: Revolution
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This article is about a mod. |  |
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The subject matter of this article is an unofficial production that has been created by third-party developers. |
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This article is a stub. Maybe you can help by expanding it. |
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| Portal: Revolution | |
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| Developer(s) |
Second Face Software |
| Release date(s) |
January 6, 2024[1] |
| Genre(s) | |
| Mode(s) | |
| Platform(s) | |
| Input | |
| Engine | |
| Writer(s) |
Stefan Heinz, Dr. Doozer[2] |
| Composer(s) |
Jared Poolaw |
| Next game |
Portal: Revolution 2 |
- "Welcome to Aperture! You can call me Stirling. I'm the facilities manager, and your new supervisor."
- ― Stirling
Portal: Revolution is a free single-player modification for Portal 2 developed by Second Face Software. It is set before the events of the original game, in the dead and decaying Aperture facility.
Contents
Plot[edit]
Between the events of Portal and Portal 2, a Test Subject named Kate[3] is woken up by an unknown voice. She finds herself a candidate for the "Aperture Science Human Response Team" - in order to be hired, she needs to go through a testing track. The subject succeeds, only to find out that the voice is a Personality Core named Stirling, and that there's no actual Human Response Team. Stirling reveals that his intention is to use a powerful device to restore Aperture Science, which is rapidly falling into ruin. After traversing Aperture's back areas and overgrown Test Chambers, the duo manage to reach "the Spire" - a massive structure capable of teleporting matter anywhere in the facility, which is vital for Stirling's plan to rebuild Aperture - reconstruct GLaDOS and restore her to power.
When they test the device, the Spire successfully teleports a Companion Cube, but when Kate tries it herself, the teleporter malfunctions, transporting her to random parts of the facility. She eventually finds herself alone, stuck at the bottom of the Enrichment Center. Wandering around an abandoned facility, the test subject accidentally activates another Personality Core - Emilia Conly - an Aperture neuroscientist who took part in the company's brain mapping experiments, accidentally copying her mind in the process. They traverse old test chambers together, while Conly uncovers the truth about what happened to Aperture Science in her absence. When the duo reach New Aperture, they once again meet with Stirling. Emilia chooses to oppose Stirling's plan of rebuilding GLaDOS, knowing that she had killed the Aperture staff.
After the subject and Conly make their way across more dilapidated chambers, Stirling tries to kill them, intending to rebuild Aperture no matter what. The duo reach the Spire and fight to disable it, while Emilia reveals Stirling had originally been a vacuum cleaner. They successfully shut down the Spire and foil Stirling's plan, but the structure subsequently explodes.
In a post-credit scene, it is revealed that the exploding device teleported Kate and Conly to the Moon. The female core puts the wounded subject back in stasis, this time on a Aperture Science moon base.
Gameplay[edit]
The campaign contains 40 brand new puzzles making use of both new and existing mechanics, including over 15 puzzles using only the blue Portal Device. Innovations include the resurrected Pneumatic Diversity Vent, the Gel Cleasing Field, and the Schrödinger's Cube - a new Discouragement Redirection Cube variant, comprised of two linked Redirection Cubes - a laser entering one exits out of the other. The expected playtime is around 5 to 7 hours.[4]
Characters[edit]
- Kate
- Stirling
- Emilia Conly
- Sentry Turrets
- Cave Johnson (mentioned only)
- Caroline (mentioned only)
- GLaDOS (mentioned only)
- Chell (mentioned only)
Development[edit]
Portal: Revolution uses a modified version of Strata Source, a third-party branch of the Source engine.[5] This allows the usage of many mechanics and improvements to the engine unavailable in the original game.[4]
An update released on the mod's 1st anniversary added a developer commentary mode, alongside a few level design tweaks.[6]
Reception[edit]
Portal: Revolution has received overwhelmingly positive reviews from players on Steam, with 95% of 24,882 reviews (as of Febuary 4th, 2025) being positive.[4]
Morgan Park of PC Gamer also praised the mod, saying that "[Portal: Revolution] is so good that I'm sad Valve stopped making Portal all over again", though he criticised the character of Stirling for being dry, and "mostly a retread of Portal 1's corpo-dystopian humour".[7]
Sequel[edit]
On March 13, 2025, Second Face Software announced that a sequel, named Portal: Revolution 2, is in development.[8]
Trivia[edit]
- The plot point of Stirling trying to rebuild GLaDOS is an attempt to fix an apparent continuity error - at the end of Portal, GLaDOS' remains are seen laying outside in an Enrichment Center parking lot, fragmented into many pieces. Yet, in Portal 2 she is seen back in her chamber, still being mostly intact and able to function properly.
- According to the mod's developers, the Schrödinger's Cube is actually a cut element from Portal 2's Puzzle Maker, which was discovered in the game's code (Valve having allowed Second Face Software access to the source code of Portal 2).[3]
Gallery[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ Portal: Revolution is out Now! on Steam
- ↑ Media Showcase #3 3. January 2022 on ModDB
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Portal: Revolution developer commentary
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2
Portal: Revolution on Steam
- ↑
Portal: Revolution - Trailer on YouTube
- ↑ Portal: Revolution turns 1! - Anniversary Update + In-game Developer Commentary on Steam
- ↑ A fan-made, 7-hour Portal 2 prequel just hit Steam for free and it's so good that I'm sad Valve stopped making Portal all over again - PC Gamer
- ↑ Announcing Portal: Revolution 2 on Official Portal: Revolution website
