Skip to main content

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

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.

Recommended Videos

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.

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.

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.

Jon Martindale
Jon Martindale is a freelance evergreen writer and occasional section coordinator, covering how to guides, best-of lists, and…
The robot takeover comes another step closer — at Amazon
An Amazon robot working inside one of the company's warehouses.

Amazon is close to having more robots operating inside its warehouses than humans after the e-commerce giant announced this week that it now has more than a million robots working at its facilities around the world.

Over the years, Amazon has spent billions of dollars on the development and deployment of warehouse-based robots, which handle an array of tasks once performed by human workers.

Read more
This Lenovo ThinkPad laptop is over $1,400 off — hurry while stocks last!
The Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 5 Intel laptop on a white background.

Now's an excellent time to take advantage of laptop deals from Lenovo, which has slashed the prices of a wide range of devices for its Black Friday in July sale. Lenovo's ThinkPad laptops are up to 45% off, and here's one of the most interesting offers available with such a discount — the Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 5 at $1,440 off its estimated value of $3,199, so you'll only have to pay $1,759. That's an excellent price for this fantastic productivity tool, but you're going to have to push forward with your purchase as soon as possible because stocks may run out at any moment.

BUY NOW

Read more
Early Prime Day deal: Samsung’s 27-inch Odyssey G3 at its annual low price
Samsung Odyssey G3 gaming monitor on desk with keyboard and headset.

If you're ready to upgrade your monitor, this Samsung deal over at Amazon just might be your best bet. The 27-inch version of Samsung's Odyssey G3 is $130 right now, a full $100 off its regular $230 price and its lowest price of the year. It's a part of early Prime Day deals and a good sampling of what we can expect for the shopping holiday, which officially lands on July 8th. Tap the button below to see it for yourself or keep reading to see why we like this deal and why this should be your next monitor.

Buy Now

Read more