There are those in the gaming community who enjoy challenging themselves, often by attempting to speed through a game as fast as they can. Oftentimes this is done with goodness in-mind. With Summer Games Done Quick raising more than $3 million last month, speedrunning is very much alive and well. There are so many titles to choose from when it comes to doing a run. One of these is Valve's 2007 puzzle masterpiece Portal, and while it's already a pretty short game, there are those who can speed through it insanely fast.
Take runner Ethan29, who not long ago was able to achieve a new speedrunning world record in Portal, by getting to the end in less than six minutes, with the actual time being down as 5:55:320. That is an eye watering achievement, beating the number two spot by just milliseconds. The category they ran for this is "out of bounds." This means that runners can find ways to break through the physical attributes of a game's world, such as walls and floors, in order to shave off precious frames. Watching the video shows the insane precision and speed at which Ethan29 moves.
Not that long ago, user Shizzal was able to set the record by speedrunning through Portal in 5:56, which is still insane. At the time of writing, this is now the number three spot, and it remains to be seen whether this latest world record holder will be knocked off their mantel. It also shows that this is a game that's more than suitable for those who wish to attempt a run. As mentioned earlier, the base experience is already quite short, with it lasting around two and half to three hours depending on the player, so seeing it being defeated in less than six minutes shows the enormous skill and dedication of some people.
As for the game itself, Valve's puzzle series briefly came back into the limelight when Portal: Companion Collection surprise launched on Switch a few weeks back. This edition comes with both Portal games, and marks the developer's first launch on a Nintendo console.
As great co-op games for family game night, Portal and Portal 2 have enjoyed a lot of praise over the years. Both were well-received upon their respective releases, and continue to be enjoyed today. Many have noted not only the puzzles themselves, but also the overall story, character development of the first game's main protagonist GLaDOS, as well as stellar voice-acting from J.K. Simmons, who played the disembodied Cave Johnson in the sequel.
Portal: Companion Collection is available now for the Nintendo Switch.
Source: Speedrun