If puzzles and questions that need a lot of brainstorming is what excites you and sets you in the move then this is the perfect article for you. This talks about games that are puzzle-related and are somewhat similar to Portal.
Wondering what Portal is?
Portal is a video game that inculcates puzzle-like activities. Developed in 2007, it was published by the Valve and was released in a bundle, The Orange Box, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3.
The said game is also available in Mac OS X, Android Linux.
It has a character named Chell who is challenged by the bots to complete the puzzles displayed in front of him at each stage with a cake offered after completing them. The setting of the game is narrated by an audio-voice only which also guidees chell throughout. The player is who controls the character from the first-person point of view.
Portal though originally very unique is no longer one of its kind. There are many more games developed after its advent which revolve around similar puzzle-solving algorithms.
Some of these games are listed below.
Antichamber
Created by an Australian developer, it is a first-person puzzle game. The main idea of the game is to direct the player towards different paths and questions depending on whichever way he/she turns. Therefore, as understood it gives a three-dimensional (3D) effect within the small screen on your PC. The game streams on Microsoft and isn’t available in a phone version as of now except for supporting Linux and OS X.
Unlike Portal, the character here has no name and starts with standing in a place completely empty except for having surrounded by the four walls. A map is provided to guide the character through the levels or floors of the game where he’ll find different settings to solve his/her puzzles in.
The map is constructed to give the effect of the four walls and thus each wall has something special to offer. One gives the directions, the other shows the hints for respective puzzles and other guides through the exit space.
In order to exit or step out of the gaming screen, the player chases down a black shape using the techniques of solving that he has been introduced to before. Once he/she enters into an expanded area, the shape is converted into a shell which later forms the game logo and fades out into the main screen of the desktop.
The Witness
This is a video game established in 2016 by Thekla Inc. and is inspired by Myst which is an adventure game for solving puzzles.
The Witness is all about an island and exploring it while solving these puzzles that are hidden all across and around that island.
One major factor of difference between Portal and The Witness is that the latter provides no guide or directions to the player on how to go about decoding the questions. The entire game is based on trial and error that keep you interpreting what the symbols and designs stand for so as to proceed further.
It supports Microsoft and Playstation 4 along with being available for Xbox One, iOS, and macOS. The game wasn’t released on PlayStation 3 due to excessive demand for the game engine.
Similar to Antichamber, the character in the Witness also does not have a name. The island on which the entire video game is based is divided into eleven sections with each having a different goal for the player to achieve. The questions are designed in a way that they may or may not be perceived as symmetrical.
Levels or stages in this game are represented through mountains having varied vegetation and thus with every puzzle being solved a bright yellow light is shined on top of the respective mountains to indicate the completion.
The intriguing factor of this video game is that there is no definite way to go about it. The player can play in whichever way he/she wants to and solve whatever he feels like first.
The Talos Principle
A 2014 video game developed by Croteam and published by Devolver Digital, The Talos principle revolves around a philosophical setting. The name is adapted from Greek mythology where a giant man protects Europe from pirates and invaders.
The game is available on Linux, OS X, Windows, Playstation 4, Xbox One.
The Talos Principle can be played from the first-person perspective or the third-person perspective. Being of a narrative nature, this video game has a robot acting like a human solving the required puzzles by overcoming certain hurdles.
These hurdles are about drones that pose harm to the players causing the game to restart if the drones catch up to the player. The following puzzles are made available only after the completion of the previous questions and the jumping to next levels are governed by doors and other security systems.
Quantum Conundrum
Supporting Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Quantum Conundrum was developed by Airtight Games.
The character in the video game is a boy aged twelve working on an experiment. The player can interact with different objects in the game setting and to make it more realistic, he/she can die by falling into a toxic pit filled with liquids.
The levels are divided into rooms and the stage is considered as completed only when the player exits that room. However, these exits are not that easy to locate. The player needs to find certain gadgets or switches that make these points visible to the eye.
The Stanley Parable
It is an interactive platform involving a walking simulator. Developed by an American, the game is available on Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux.
The character is identified by the name of Stanley and the player is required to guide him all through the game. Suggestions are provided to the player by the bots however it is completely at the player’s discretion to abide by them or not.
Not one single specific end is associated with the game, instead of how the game ends depends on what choices the player makes while engaging with the puzzles and hurdles that come his way.
This game like most video games is played from the first-person perspective with the narrator guiding and making the situations understandable to the player.
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