"Portal" is back, though not in the traditional first-person shooter (FPS) format, as the game will now be taking the form of a bridge construction simulator.
Valve, developer of the game has announced that the "Portal" franchise will be returning via "Bridge Constructor Portal." This time, players will be building bridges in a resourceful and creative manner instead of just running around finding ways to solve elaborate puzzles with their portal guns.
In a sense, "Bridge Constructor Portal" is a combination of a bridge simulator and "Portal," giving each title a dynamic twist in their respective formulas. That said, players will still be doing tests in an enclosed area like a lab rat, so "Portal" veterans should feel right at home in the new game.
In "Bridge Constructor Portal," players will take on the role of an Aperture Science employee, where it will be their first day at work in the science company's test labs. Players must then build bridges, ramps, slides, and other infrastructure in as much as 60 test chambers in order to get Bendies (robots) to their destinations. Included in the players' tools are the "Portal" franchise originals such as propulsion gel, repulsion gel, aerial faith plates, cubes, and of course, the orange and blue portals themselves, which provide an instantaneous two-way travel from point A to B.
There will, however, be several obstacles along the way, mostly from "Portal" as well such as sentry turrets, acid pools, and laser barriers, and switch puzzles. To guide players through their construction projects, a familiar voice is present throughout the game. GLaDOS, the sentient overlord operating system of Aperture Science, will see to it that players do their job in a humorously sadistic manner. Players will have to put up with her dark humor and condescending insults though.
"Bridge Constructor Portal" is set to be released on Dec. 20 for Windows, MacOS, and Linux, while console versions are expected to arrive sometime in 2018.
