WhenPortal 2was released back in 2011, some were curious to see whether it could top the unanimous praise that befell its much shorter predecessor. Fortunately, it was received as an incredible follow-up to the 2007 puzzle game, containingone of the most iconic monologues in gaming. Sadly, a third installment was never made, but the recent Switch port being announced will bring the sequel back into the limelight, and it looks as though some people have managed to unearth well hidden content.
As spotted by Games Radar, YouTuber Ossy Flawol has demonstrated thatPortal 2actually had some beta maps that have remained a secret until now. Thanks to a community ofPortalresearchers, these levels show some earlier concepts, some of which are not far off from what would come to pass in the final release. There were also a number of test maps, such as one that featured the material emancipation grill and a number of cubes in a small room. It seems as though this level was used to test out the effects of the grill on the different cube-like items.
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The video goes on to explain that Valve has been very good at keeping beta content out of the hands of the general public. Evidently, since the launch ofPortal: Companion Collectionon Nintendo Switch, these maps have now come to light, and show some interesting behind-the-scenes of certain aspects of the game during its development cycle. One intriguing change seems to involve the wake-up chamber, where the player first encounters GlaDOS. It seems as though, in the beta version at least, the player was encouraged to jump into the incinerator. This was obviously changed for the retail release, in which GlaDOS picks Chell up and drops her in.
On top of that, there’s also been a recent development that saysHalf-Life 2files have been found inPortal: Companion Collection. The user who found the hidden content was even able to put together a modded, though buggy, version ofHalf-Life 2in thePortalcompilation.
After more than a decade, it’s interesting that files and maps are now being found in the celebrated puzzle Series. Containingone of the most memorable villains in video game history,Portal 2was able to take the bite size nugget that was the original, and stretch it into a full release. It’s a bit of a shame that there wasn’t a third installment, but three entries in one franchise has never really been Valve’s strong suit.
