Portal Stories: Mel

Years ago when I played Portal 2, I really enjoyed the game and wanted more. I don't call myself a puzzle master but those puzzles in that game were really fun to do. When I saw this pop up on Steam randomly I thought I'd try it out. Hell, I was not disappointed at all. I played this Mod in Story Mode, I haven't touched Advanced Mode yet and not gonna lie these puzzles mind boggled me (a nicer word to say compared to mind f... haha). Sadly I had to get help from some videos on how to complete some because I literally spent 10 minutes trying to figure out a test chamber (yet to figure out it was in my vision all along) but overall what a fantastic mod. Once I started the game I felt like I was playing Portal 3 or even a pre-sequel. I love all the subtle easter eggs throughout the entire mod and references to the Portal games. The level design and the 3D models of the areas are great, and the writing of the Virgil was great also, it has a very different comedic relief compared to GLaDOS and Wheatley. It really felt like an actual AAA title game from Valve. To be honest, everything was spot on. I was even quite surprised by the voice acting, I thought it was just gonna be gameplay but that also left me in awe. Other than minor bugs where I couldn't save multiple times or overwrite a save file (had to rely on auto-save), it was great... A solid 200+ FPS. Portal Stories: Mel is truly a unique mod experience that you can't get anywhere else.

If you got Portal 2 on PC/Steam, GET THIS IMMEDIATELY! I discovered this after it went through various updates and improvements, and in the version I saw, it just wows me straight up and down! This is one fan mod that freaking blows my mind with its new story, new characters, new puzzles, and sheer compatibility with Valve's official canon!

At least as good as the original game. Mooders did great job and I would certainly pay for this mod even 10$ but they generously decided to make it free for everyone.

Loved it so much that I played the game for a day with no breaks and now have permanent eye injuries.

A nice addition to the portal games. Brings interesting additions to the lore with a few new gameplay mechanics and a good story. Right after the introduction passage of the game you are thrown right into puzzle solving and the story gets kind of forgotten. For an indie dlc the puzzles are great, but doing puzzles over and over again for 8 hours gets very boring. Which **** because if there were more story passages in between the gameplay the great ending couldve had a good buildup.

Pretty cool for a free game. The tests are quite challenging on advanced mode. I feel it needed more playtesting, though, as I got stock on some very stupid things sometimes. I can recommend it to Portal fans.

I completely appreciate the effort that was put into this game, but for me it will always feel "less-than". Though I like that the modders of this game chose to set the story to when Aperture was in it's golden age, they really did a bad job of setting themselves up to be critiqued in this light. Modders: you don't have JK Simmons to perform your script as Cave Johnson--that is acceptable and understandable. HOWEVER the script they wrote for his character is so clumsily written. What I mean is, the dialogue feels completely unnatural. If you're trying to allude to the face that Cave Johnson is lying, you only need one line that establishes an obvious cover-up. Repeatedly saying OVER, AND OVER, "Here in my 1950's computer, in my 1950's folder, because it's the 1950's," is insulting to your player. I would argue that even as talented of an actor as JK Simmons would have a hard time performing the dialogue and actually making it sound good and natural. It's just super awkward. My second big criticism is with the opening. We ride a train car for so long that even the dialogue of Cave Johnson's greetings ends before we reach the station platform. Then! It is only to walk to an elevator that we ride for a very, very long time. And to cap it all off: this loooooong ride on the elevator and train is TO BE PUT IN A CRYOGENIC SLEEP. This is the such a slow-paced beginning, that by the time I got to the part where I actually get to, oh you know, PLAY I was done. You lost me. I didn't care anymore. Either set something relevant up to the user during these long opening sequences, or just skip to the character waking up from a cryogenic sleep. Instead of referencing Half-Life/Half-Life 2, just go right to the Portal throwback. I'm not even sure if I'm going to keep this in my library anymore.