Portal 2 Mod Adds a Time-Travelling Third Portal

Anyone who's an ardent PC gamer knows that the modding community is rife with creative and interesting ways to keep games going past their expected shelf lives. No more is this true than with Valve's Portal 2. Having recently celebrated its tenth anniversary, the humorous first-person puzzle game is still a favorite among PC and console fans and a new, and free, mod aims to potentially change how the game is played.

Released on April 19th, Portal Reloaded is, as the name suggests, a PC mod for the 2011 classic Portal 2. The modification adds new content to the main game, but one thing in particular stands out is the implementation of a third portal. According to the mod's Steam page, players will get to control the Triple Portal Device, with the new green portal opening up two different timelines.

This means players will have to travel between different timelines, one in the present and one set twenty years in the future, in order to solve some of the puzzles, effectively thinking in four dimensions. It's a potentially mind-bending experience and the mod couldn't come at a better time as not only was it launched exactly ten years after the game was officially released, but Valve also announced earlier in the year that it had launched updates and bug fixes for the main game.

With new maps and mods a-plenty, as well the game's iconic GlaDOS antagonist-cum-ally, Portal 2 is arguably a masterpiece of game development, combining challenging puzzles, memorable characters and a humorous yet dark plot. It's hardly surprising that it's still held to high regard even after all these years.

Valve has been known for putting out quality and groundbreaking games from its very beginning—be it single-player or multiplayer. The Portal games are widely regarded as one of the best puzzle games to this date and a jarring gap of 9 years makes it one of the best times for the series to make a return.

Valve, most famously known for its online marketplace Steam, had not put out a single-player game for a long time, until very recently. Half-Life: Alyx released in March of 2020 and quickly went on to become one of the best games in its class. Gabe Newell, CEO of Valve has stated that the success of Half-Life: Alyx has led to work on newer projects, set to be announced sometime soon. Perhaps among them is Portal 3.

Among the various titles the giant has under its belt, the Portal series is the safest bet for a return. The games don't rely too much on storytelling and overarching narratives, though not to say that it's bad by any means, but it avoids scenarios that other more story-oriented games could fall on their own sword. Furthermore, most of the leading officials who worked on these games have long left the company, including most major writers. Erik Wolpaw, known for his work on Portal 2 and Left 4 Dead games, has left the company to work for Double Fine Productions and is currently working on Psychonauts 2. Some others such as Marc Laidlaw, writer for the Half-Life series has also left the company some time ago.