Portal with RTX review: Ray tracing makes Valve’s puzzle FPS spooky

Could a remaster change the video game genre? Hours later PortalA free ray tracing update for .

original Portal is on the short list of “The funniest video games ever made.” Released in 2007 as a spin-off of his Half-Life, this bite-sized first-person puzzle game borrowed humor from its parent series and garnered attention from the periphery. You play as Chell, a human lab rat who gradually betrays his malevolent artificial intelligence, GLaDOS, who speaks like Siri via Mitch Hedberg. You use little but wits, Chell’s health, and his non-lethal “gun” that fires two interconnected portals instead of bullets. It’s as thrilling as it is cartoony, and is best remembered for its cake meme and closing credits pop song written by humorist musician Jonathan Coulton.

Portal with RTX in all However Visually, same game. Same puzzles, same script and voice acting, same dessert references and endgame ditties. Except it looks different. To get the most out of the latest high-end graphics cards, GPU maker Nvidia has Portal‘s publisher Valve has created the latest variant transformed by the latest graphical wizardry, ray tracing.

Ray tracing, how much time do you have? 20 minutes please Check out this breakdown from the Digital Foundry expertsBut if you only have a few seconds, check out the elevator pitch. Ray tracing is a fairly realistic way to simulate light in video games. Ray tracing shows reflections and shadows along with a representation of the tiny ways light bounces, bends, and is absorbed by materials.

Ray tracing is especially noticeable in environments where the light itself is most noticeable, such as wet surfaces, reflective metals, glass, and mirrors. PortalThe industrial test lab maze is a natural fit.

In terms of creating a very realistic laboratory, the creative team Portal with RTX created a version of Portal Prioritize realism above all else. For near-reliable performance on a 4K TV, you’ll need an Nvidia RTX 3090 with Deep Learning Super Sampling enabled. And I mean horrible.

Image: Lightspeed Studios/Nvidia via Polygon

To emphasize dynamic lighting, Portal‘s lab with RTX is darker and moodier. Black shadows everywhere. Many surfaces appear wet and sticky. For example, if you scrape your knee, you may get a rare bacterial infection. Balls of electricity bounce around and emit a soft, ghostly glow. Walls don’t just look like metal panels. They look like heavy, motionless chunks of steel. The result is much more claustrophobic.

Similar effects can be seen in other classic games that have received ray tracing updates. Using natural light instead of artificial light tends to make things a little darker. But the addition of ray tracing has never been more horror-biased. Portal with RTXIn this case, it’s not just the game that’s darkened. There are still many rooms with poor fluorescent lighting in the office. By emphasizing the realism of the visual, Portal‘s overall atmosphere changed from cartoonish to something more ominous.

Valve’s video games from the 2000s have an iconic blocky, grungy understated aesthetic that ultimately complements the first-person shooter’s Corp Fascist art direction. While other AAA shooters of the era, such as Crysis and Call of Duty, served as technical showpieces that prioritized raw horsepower, the Half-Life series emphasized art direction. Valve’s world wasn’t as impressive technically, but it was better thought out. Appearance served its function.

Image: Lightspeed Studios/Nvidia via Polygon

in the case of Portal, the feature was fun and humorous. Yes, you play as a human lab rat, but success can never truly feel out of the question. It was the closest thing to making. Valve’s blocky aesthetic also makes a clear distinction between the real world and video games. GLaDOS’ increasingly heightened and malevolent monologue burst out perfectly against the backdrop of a bland, abandoned lab.

But in these spooky rooms Portal with RTX, GLaDOS soon sounds more menacing. Big red glass buttons, companion cubes, and looming viewing her chambers used to feel pretty silly, but not so much now.Now they’re set pieces for a corporate haunted house. The result is a different experience than playing Portal 15 years ago.

Portal with RTX is not Portal,it’s not. It’s something else, another vision that feels a little closer. half life 2of Ravenholm. Visual upgrades can be confusing. Especially if you’re an originalist who likes what “it should be”. ormight get excited by revisiting Portal Through a more frightening lens.

Image: Lightspeed Studios/Nvidia via Polygon

Or, if you’re the sort of person who’s into the visual future of video games, you’ll love it. Portal‘s RTX update: Proving that ray tracing matters. The ability of ray tracing to drastically change the mood of a game captures something powerful about this technology that you don’t see in screenshots or tech demo videos on YouTube.

If ray tracing could have this kind of impact on a game it wasn’t originally intended for, imagine what an artist would do when incorporating this feature from the start.

Portal with RTX Launches December 8th on Windows PC, needs high-end System specificationsThis game was reviewed on PC using a pre-release download code provided by Nvidia. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not affect editorial content, but Vox Media may earn commissions on products purchased via affiliate links.discoverable Additional information on Polygon’s Ethics Policy can be found here.