The news that Portal: Companion Collection would shadow drop shortly after the Nintendo Direct Mini: Partner Showcase made us nearly wee our pants with excitement. After all, Portal and Portal 2 are two of the finest games ever created, and we can now enjoy them either at home or on the go - wonderful!
In our review of the title, we said that "if it weren't for the frequent load screens punctuating the experience, we'd have absolutely nothing to complain about" and gave the collection a solid 9/10.
Now, Digital Foundry has provided its own technical analysis on the release, diving head first into the nitty gritty to give us its take on the game's resolution, frame rate, and how it stacks up next to the original Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 release, along with general performance on the Steam Deck.
First off, DF clarifies that the games - particularly the first Portal - are not especially graphically intensive, relying on simple, flat textured walls and repetitive art work. Given that the first game was developed by an exceptionally small team, this is to be expected. The sequel improved on its predecessor significantly, however, adding foliage and natural light to the environments.
With the Switch version specifically, it visually looks nearly identical to the original Xbox 360 release, but with much improved resolution; the original release ran at 720p, whereas the Switch rerelease clocks in at 1080p while docked, putting it very much in line with the Steam Deck. In terms of performance, both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game ran at 30FPS, which was perfectly fine for a puzzle title at the time, but the Switch doubles this to run at a super smooth 60FPS.
DF did note that frame rate can take slight hits when shooting portals, or looking directly through a portal; after all, doing so essentially means the game needs to render the same room twice over, so it's natural to expect some minor disruption here. All in all, however, the general consensus is that Portal: Companion Collection is a fine way to experience two classic puzzle games, Switch hardware limitations be damed.
What do you think of Portal: Companion Collection on Switch? Did you notice the technical improvements? Let us know!
[source eurogamer.net]
Comments 22
Removed - inappropriate
If it ran badly I’d be generally confused. Still good to know tho I guess
It should be noted that every version of the game has distracting and long load times, even on super fast PCs. It’s just a limitation of the engine at the time. A shame that it was never improved on subsequent releases, though.
@StarPoint I fully agree, but the load times probably remain because it is a port of the source engine instead of a full remake. But it doesn't deter from these classic games anyway, so glad we finally got port(al)s!
I have a problem with Portal 1 on the Switch where there doesn't seem to be any consistency to where "I" am in relation to my view, and it makes it really difficult to line up portals on the floor or to do anything that requires timing. I don't remember this being an issue when I initially played it 100 years ago or whatever. Is anyone else running into this?
Played so much of the original on Xbox getting all gold medals, which was no easy feat with joysticks, that I think I'm good. Second one was good but way easier as it relied on story more. Both excellent games and gyro aiming would be fun to try so maybe if it drops to $10 one day even if I'm sure I could finish the first in 20 minutes still sans load times.
It’s a potato. slow clap
Edit: thank you to the person that got that.
I think the Nintendo Life writers were promised cake for this article.
Well if you like it so much why don’t you marry it well I won’t let you!
I am currently playing it and enjoying it. My kinda thang.
I’m enjoying this. As someone who missed big chunks of non Nintendo gaming as life stepped up, portal, Witcher 3, and shadow of the colossus were always on my wish list. It’s great to be able to finally experience this classic. Now if switch can just port SoTC I can die happy lol.
They aren't graphically demanding games so it's not surprising the switch can run them lol
@solarwolf07 how? How could these issues be easily fixed?
Removed - trolling/baiting
Physical version plz! <3
Lots of fun playing these again! The only problem I have come across is the tiny font for the subtitles. A stupid and common mistake in Switch ports.
@GASEOUS
My bad I was typing before i think...
You're right, they're tough issues to fix. It's likely due to being direct ports and not a remake in a different engine. I will edit the original post.
@timp29 All I can say is find a way to play SotC one day, you won't regret it. It's in my top five all time games. Nothing else quite like it.
Only reason I haven’t bought it yet is because I spent a lot of money on my wishlist over that recent sale. When I get paid in a few days, I’m buying his finally—can’t wait to play it again! It’s been forever and I only beat the games once.
Always been intrigued by these games as they look like fun puzzlers and it looks like they did a good job with it.
Just hoping on a physical collection coming out
The impressive part isn't that the games run it's how well they run
Portal and Portal 2 only did 720p 30fps on Xbox 360 with imperfect frame pacing. And yet here on Switch, they pull a full native 1080p docked at 60fps, with excellent frame pacing.
It's essentially the exact same experience you'd get on the Deck, except with a far superior OLED screen and more battery life on a lighter, more portable system that can also easily dock and play in tabletop mode.
It's the definitive version of two of the greatest video games of all time.
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