Portal Stories: Mel Introduction:

Portal Stories: Mel, developed by Prism Studios in 2015, is a single-player modification for Portal 2. Much like the official Portal games, it's a puzzle-platformer where players use interconnected "portals" to solve puzzles. The game is set in the Portal universe and follows the journey of Mel, a test subject who awakens after decades of artificial hibernation in an underground facility.


This mod became available on June 25, 2015, for Windows, macOS, and Linux systems and was free for Portal 2 owners on Steam. While reviewers praised the mod's visual design and ambition, they noted its challenging difficulty. Subsequent updates introduced a "story mode" that eased the puzzle difficulty.


Gameplay:


In Portal Stories: Mel, players take on the role of Mel, solving puzzles in first-person perspective using a prototype "portal gun." This device creates linked openings on two different flat surfaces, with certain restrictions on where portals can be placed. Electric barriers can also obstruct portal shooting.

The story begins in 1952 when Mel, a German Olympian, arrives at Aperture Science Innovators headquarters and ends up in a sprawling underground complex after a test gone awry. Mel communicates with Cave Johnson, Aperture's CEO, through pre-recorded messages, and the test lands her in indefinite stasis.

After awakening in the distant future, Mel follows a voice that appears to be Cave Johnson but is actually Virgil, a maintenance core. Virgil helps Mel navigate the decaying facility, explaining that GLaDOS's destruction has caused widespread system failures. As they progress, they encounter the activated security system, AEGIS, which sees them as threats to Aperture's long-deceased scientists. Disabling AEGIS becomes their key to escape.

After overcoming numerous overgrown test chambers, they reach AEGIS's core and successfully deactivate it. However, they discover that AEGIS was flooding the facility to destroy GLaDOS's remains. Mel surrenders her portal gun, exits the facility, and bids farewell to Virgil. At the surface, she finds the town she entered Aperture in, now in ruins.

Final Words:


The development of Portal Stories: Mel took four years by a small independent team of Portal enthusiasts known as Prism Studios. It experienced delays and changes in team members throughout its development. It was released as a free download for Portal 2 owners on Steam on June 25, 2015. In response to difficulty complaints, the developers introduced a "Story Mode" with easier puzzles. The original puzzles were repurposed as an advanced difficulty setting.

In May 2016, Prism Studios released Portal Stories: VR, a virtual reality game using assets from Portal 2 and Portal Stories: Mel. Eventually, the studio transitioned from a mod team to a standalone game development company in August 2016. They released "The Captives: Plot of the Demiurge" in 2018 but later closed down around December 2020.