Screenshots & trailers
What players say
Why the number is what it is: aspect mentions counted across 411 sampled Steam reviews (404 positive / 7 negative), recent and most-helpful. Plain keyword counting, fully reproducible; nothing here is written by a machine.
What positive reviews talk about
- Story & writing11% mention it
- Visuals & art4% mention it
What negative reviews complain about
- Story & writing43% mention it
Satisfaction by hours played
Same score, different games: see how sentiment holds up the longer people play.
Under 5h
99%
195 reviews
5-15h
97%
145 reviews
15-40h
100%
60 reviews
40-100h
100%
10 reviews
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (Metacritic) | – | 90 | 6 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 99% | 95 | 1298 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | 92 | 12 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 98% | 94 | 444 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 300 reviews sampled · 1269 total reviews in window · weighted 171 up / 4.4 down · computed 1h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (27)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 90
“For anyone with even a modicum of action gaming ability, then, deciding to pick the game up should be a no-brainer.”
read full review ↗ - 100
“Just as Valve's Half-Life 2 is the moody loner to Halo 3's high-school quarterback, Portal is smarter, cooler, funnier, and more sinister than almost any game this year.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“One of the most interesting and delightful things Valve's ever done, but also one of its least fulfilling. If only we had our own portal gun to bridge the gap to the first infusion of new content, perhaps we could forget it.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“With delightfully unique gameplay and fantastically witty writing, Portal is a huge success.”
read full review ↗ - 100
“Portal, tucked neatly alongside four other games, outshines them all and ensures itself a place in posterity.”
read full review ↗ - 91
“Portal is a sum of contradictions: it’s an FPS game with no weapons, no human characters, no complex scenery, but one that uses a simple and incredibly fun concept, with a well thought-of story and accessible to people of all ages (given they have minimal notions of moving the character around with the mouse and keyboard).”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Skilled players will portal their way through the nineteen levels in just a few hours, but this little puzzle game / tech demo provides plenty of entertainment and makes a great addition to The Orange Box.”
read full review ↗ - 92
“Portal is a magnificent puzzle game. The titillating wrongness of every solution and the wonky thinking required to get there make you feel like a space-folding genius, and yet you'll almost never get stuck.”
read full review ↗ - 95
“From beginning to end, it's hard to find something not to like about Portal. Everything from the gameplay to the presentation are top-notch.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“Portal is really good. It’s an excellent appetizer for the likely future of the series, be it on a more intricate sequel, additional contents (that are already a certainty), or even the integration of the idea on Half-Life.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Ine of the most unique, funny and satisfying games of 2007, and we can't wait until Valve produces more of it.”
read full review ↗ - 82
“The idea behind Portal ends up being more brilliant than Portal itself. Regardless, we definitely had a lot of fun with what is there and appreciate the level of polish and thought that went into the presentation.”
read full review ↗
The A.V. Club
Eurogamer
GameSpot
PC Gamer
IGN…and 15 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Portal - UpdateJun 27, 2025
- Portal - UpdateMay 28, 2025
- Portal - UpdateMay 23, 2025
- Portal - UpdateMay 19, 2025
- Portal UpdateFeb 14, 2025
- Portal UpdateFeb 13, 2025
- Portal - UpdateJan 5, 2024
- Portal UpdateJan 17, 2023
- Portal - UpdateNov 19, 2022
- Portal: UpdateAug 29, 2022
- Portal - UpdateApr 13, 2022
- Portal - UpdateFeb 28, 2022
- Portal Update ReleasedDec 8, 2014
- Portal Update ReleasedDec 8, 2014
- Portal Update ReleasedJun 24, 2013
- Portal Update ReleasedJun 24, 2013
- Portal Beta updatedJun 4, 2013
- Portal Beta updatedJun 4, 2013
- Portal Beta updatedMay 24, 2013
- Portal Beta updatedMay 24, 2013
- Portal Beta updatedMay 7, 2013
- Portal Beta updatedMay 7, 2013
- Portal Beta updatedMay 3, 2013
- Portal Beta updatedMay 3, 2013