Logical Tips for Solving Portal

Published October 24, 2007

The creative gem in The Orange Box is no doubt the puzzle-heavy, mind-bending Portal. While the very nature of the game and its challenges makes crafting a universally useful strategy difficult, there are a few logical tips that can help you along the way.

Find the logic.

Portal requires the use of logic and patience. Every challenge you face in Portal is bound by a strictly logical progression, and provided you take the time to patiently examine your surroundings, the chain of logic that ties a challenge together should become clear.

The speed at which you enter one portal is the
speed at which you will exit the next.

In short, don't act until you've formed your own coherent solution to the problem at hand. Take the time to really examine each environment, and then, when you're reasonably sure of success, carry out your plan. If the solution does fall short, it should be clear which step in your process caused the problem.

If you can accept Portal's logic from the beginning, you will be able to quickly discard solutions that have no basis in the game's reality, effectively creating a shorter path to the "correct" solution. To that end, pay extra close attention to both the first few training sections, and to the quirky narration, as these opening puzzles set the foundation for every challenge thereafter.

Now, onto a few more tangible, specific tips that should prove helpful throughout your time in Portal.

That's a two portal solution.

Momentum Jump
Beyond coming to terms with the game's native logic, there is another basic principle that will help you more easily navigate the world around you. The speed at which you enter one portal is the speed at which you will exit the next.

Therefore, if you place one portal below you, another above you, and then drop into the first portal, you will be effectively launched from the second portal. This technique is necessary for clearing jumps and reaching otherwise inaccessible sections of a room.

Also, your first try may not provide enough momentum to clear the required distance, so be prepared to shoot another portal after being launched from the second portal. The extra fall time will often give you the speed you need to clear the jump.

Box the Turrets
The A.I.-controlled turrets can cut you down in a hurry, but where there are turrets there are also metal crates. Use these crates to shield you from fire and eliminate the turret entirely. In order to avoid being shredded by bullets, hold the crate squarely in front of you—not too high and not too low.

To get rid of the turret, create a portal directly above it and then another portal on any nearby wall. Walk up to the wall with a crate in hand, line it up with the now visible turret and drop the crate on top of it. Voila. Turret down.

Run through the blue to clear the jump.

White Walls
You can only create a portal on the white surfaces. These are prevalent in the early stages of Portal. But later, you will find unfamiliar territory where the walls, floors, and ceilings are impervious to portals. Keep your eyes sharp, and look for a scrap of the familiar white wall surface. It'll be there somewhere.

Backtrack
There are times in the game where the solution to a problem can be found in previous areas. For example, you might find a powered-down "switch" that requires one of those flying energy balls so often used in the game's puzzles, yet there are no balls to be found in any of the immediately available rooms. Backtrack to a previous hallway or room, track down an energy ball, and then create a portal in the ball's path. Then, simply head back to the original room, and create a second portal lined up directly with the switch in question.

Achievement Unlocked
While many Portal achievements will unlock as you play the game, there are a couple unique achievements.

• Terminal Velocity: While initially you may be on the lookout for a 30,000 foot long pit to jump down, the solution to this achievement is much simpler. Place a portal onto a ceiling directly above you and then another directly below you. Once you drop into the portal and begin your cyclical fall, it's time to grab some lunch, get a cup of coffee, or spend some quality reading time on the can. It can take a while to generate 30,000 feet.
• Friendly Fire: For this one, instead of using a crate and dropping it on an active turret, substitute an already defunct turret for the crate. Easy as pie.

Portal is a different breed of game altogether than what even veteran gamers are used to, and for that, Valve should be commended. This wildly original but wholly logical puzzler stands alone. If you keep these tips in mind and practice a little patience, you should have a blast unraveling the mysteries of Portal.

P.S. Stick around for the end credits. Best … song … ever!

Article by Ryan Treit