Choose Portal
Choose Portal if you want the Includes Source SDK and Subtitle Options side of the pairing. On Steam, it's a focused single-player run rather than a multiplayer commitment. 81,472 Steam reviews back the pick.
Portal vs Portal 2
Portal and Portal 2 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 4 years older than Portal 2 (2011). Both sit near 99% positive on Steam (Portal: 81,472 reviews, Portal 2: 169,764). 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 Portal 2
Choose Portal 2 if you want an Adventure game with Multi-player, Shared/Split Screen, and Online Co-op. On Steam, it's the newer release (2011) and ships with the modern feature baseline. 169,764 Steam reviews back the pick.
Both Portal and Portal 2 sit in Action on Steam and both list Camera Comfort, Custom Volume Controls, and Stereo Sound, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Steam reviews are nearly tied (98.7% vs 98.9% positive), so genre fit is the cleanest tiebreaker — scroll the table for the feature-by-feature view.
Side-by-side comparison
 Portal |  Portal 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2007 | 2011 |
| Genres | Action | Action, Adventure |
| Platforms | Windows, Linux | Windows, Linux |
| Steam Deck | Deck Verified | Deck Verified |
| Price | 9.99 USD | 9.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 98.7% positive (81,472 reviews) | 98.9% positive (169,764 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Multi-player, Online Co-op, Shared/Split Screen Co-op |
| Developers | Valve | Valve |
Side by side
- Both are Action games on Steam.
- Portal (2007) is 4 years older than Portal 2 (2011).
- Both sit near 99% positive on Steam (Portal: 81,472 reviews, Portal 2: 169,764).
- Portal 2 is currently ~0% cheaper on Steam than Portal (9.99 USD vs. 9.99 USD).
- Portal 2 has co-op; Portal does not.
- Both are Deck Verified.
Portal vs Portal 2 — FAQ
- Which is better, Portal or Portal 2?
- On Steam reviews the two are nearly tied: Portal sits at 98.7% positive (81,472 reviews), Portal 2 at 98.9% (169,764). The choice usually comes down to genre fit and the platform features each one supports — see the comparison table above.
- Should I play Portal or Portal 2 first?
- If you want chronology, Portal (2007) came out before Portal 2 (2011). 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 Portal 2 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.
- Does Portal have multiplayer like Portal 2?
- No. Portal 2 supports multiplayer on Steam (Multi-player, Online Co-op, Shared/Split Screen Co-op), while Portal is listed as single-player only.
- Do Portal and Portal 2 both run on Steam Deck?
- Yes — both are Steam Deck Verified, meaning Valve confirms they run with full controller support, legible text, and default settings out of the box.