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Portal Stories: Mel gives virtual reality headset owners their first taste of Portal in VR

Jon Martindale
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Portal Stories: Mel - Launch Trailer
Since Valve announced it was co-developing a virtual reality headset with HTC, there are two things fans of the long time developer/platform provider have clamoured for — a Half Life VR game and a Portal VR game. While some may still hold out hope for one of those to appear on the headset’s official launch day in early April, we do know that Portal Stories will be coming to virtual reality, offering a unique take on the modification.

Portal Stories: Mel, is a fan-made mod for Portal 2, released for free back in mid-2015. It tells the story of Mel, who gives us a look at the Aperture facility in its heyday, and after. During her travels, she discovers a new personality core which as we know from Portal 2, is an event that has real potential for adventure.

The mod received an overwhelmingly positive response from fans of the series when first released, and will make a great addition to Valve’s VR line up considering the interest in Portal VR.

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It’s not just a straight port to virtual reality. Valve has said that the mod has also been retooled for its VR release, with new music, extra voice acting, new effects and even a new area for visitors to explore.

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All of it of course will be somewhat new, as this will be the first time anyone has fully experienced Aperture’s facility in virtual reality. If the short Robot Repair demo was anything to go by, it might be quite intimidating. GLaDOS sure looks a lot bigger in VR and the facility itself can only be really appreciated for its gigantic expanse when you’re straining your own neck to stare at the towering ceilings above.

Portal Stories: VR will release for free in early April when the Vive begins shipping. A HTC Vive headset will be a requirement for play, which funnily enough, makes this the first Valve announced ‘exclusive,’ despite its claims otherwise.

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Jon Martindale
Jon Martindale
Computing Coordinator
Jon Martindale is the Evergreen Coordinator for Computing, overseeing a team of writers addressing all the latest how to…
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