It's only been a few days since we reported that the immensely popular platforming puzzler Portal would be receiving a sequel in the shape of Portal 2. The title was unveiled by Game Informer magazine when they announced that they would have an exclusive look at it in their forthcoming April issue.

The April edition of Game Informer has now hit shelves and lucky for us gamers, the internet has been hard at work picking out new details about Valve's upcoming puzzler from it. We here at Game Rant have assembled the juiciest information nuggets we could find on Portal 2 for your viewing pleasure.

It's worth noting that some of the following could be considered minor spoilers, so if you wish to avoid spoilers on Portal 2, I suggest you avert your eyes now.

  • The game takes place hundreds of years after the original Portal, resulting in the Aperture Science Lab becoming overgrown and jungle-like.
portal 2 lab jungle
  • GlaDOS will return as the game's main villain, while Chell, the original protagonist, will also be present.
  • The co-op campaign is separate from the main story in the game. It lets you play as two bipedal robots who like to hold hands.
portal 2 bots
  • Split-screen will be available for people playing on the 360, whilst PC and Mac gamers can expect a 'picture in picture' feature. This allows gamers to easily communicate with their partner and combine efforts for puzzle solving.
  • Remember those personality cores you threw into the fire at the end of the last game? They’ve shut off areas of the Aperture lab and made it their own, and are concerned about the its decaying state.
  • Physics will play an even bigger role this time around. One demo showed that a portal could be used to suck air from one area to another through an air vent.
  • There is a new painting mechanic that features various liquid substances that each have a unique effect. The demo showed an orange substance on the floor that caused Chell to be propelled upwards. This sounds very similar to IGF 09 winner Tag: The Power of Paint.
  • Reflection cubes have been added to the game for solving laser-based puzzles.
  • Valve had no idea Portal would be so big and it was only planned to be a,"test bed." The sequel will be a fully fledged title.

It sounds like Valve has another winner on their hands with Portal 2. If they manage to expand upon the mechanics from the original, and offer up a larger variety of puzzles and locations then they really can't go wrong in my eyes. Then again Valve can never do any wrong, can they?

Portal 2 is due for release this holiday season for PC, Mac and Xbox 360.

Source: VG247, PAL Gaming Network