Choose Portal
Choose Portal if you want the Includes Source SDK, Subtitle Options, and Camera Comfort side of the pairing. On Steam, it carries the stronger Steam consensus at 98.7% positive across 81,472 reviews.
Portal vs The Talos Principle
Portal and The Talos Principle both land in Action on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both are Action games on Steam. Portal (2007) is 7 years older than The Talos Principle (2014). Portal scores higher on Steam reviews (98.7% positive) than The Talos Principle (95.5% positive). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.
Which should you pick?
Choose The Talos Principle
Choose The Talos Principle if you want an Indie and Adventure experience. On Steam, it's the newer release (2014) and ships with the modern feature baseline. 16,978 Steam reviews back the pick.
Both Portal and The Talos Principle sit in Action on Steam, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Use the side-by-side table for the feature view, or follow the "Games like" links below to see ranked alternatives for either title.
Side-by-side comparison
 Portal |  The Talos Principle | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2007 | 2014 |
| Genres | Action | Action, Indie, Adventure |
| Platforms | Windows, Linux | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Steam Deck | Deck Verified | Deck Playable |
| Price | 9.99 USD | 29.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 98.7% positive (81,472 reviews) | 95.5% positive (16,978 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Valve | Croteam |
Side by side
- Both are Action games on Steam.
- Portal (2007) is 7 years older than The Talos Principle (2014).
- Portal scores higher on Steam reviews (98.7% positive) than The Talos Principle (95.5% positive).
- Portal is currently ~67% cheaper on Steam than The Talos Principle (9.99 USD vs. 29.99 USD).
- Steam Deck: Portal is Deck Verified, The Talos Principle is Deck Playable.
Portal vs The Talos Principle — FAQ
- Which is better, Portal or The Talos Principle?
- On Steam reviews Portal scores higher (98.7% positive) than The Talos Principle (95.5% positive). Both have enough reviews to trust the signal, so for players using reviews alone, Portal is the safer pick. Genre fit still matters — check the side-by-side table for the categories each game lands in.
- Should I play Portal or The Talos Principle first?
- If you want chronology, Portal (2007) came out before The Talos Principle (2014). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.
- Are Portal and The Talos Principle similar?
- They overlap on Action on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.