New Escape Simulator DLC brings Portal to the quirky puzzle game in September as a free add-on via Steam. This Valve-approved Portal update gives you the chance to put your hands on all manner of Aperture Science technology in Escape Simulator. The first-person escape room sim is a great way to test your skills either solo or in co-op with friends, and now you’ll be able to take a trip to one of the most iconic puzzle houses of all time.
Portal Escape Chamber is a free DLC that takes you behind the scenes of the Aperture Science Computer-Aided Enrichment Center. Created by the game’s developer Pine Studio with the approval of Valve, you’ll find yourself in the shoes of Aperture test subjects when the labs go on lockdown following “a minor workplace incident involving thermal discouragement beam emitters.”
The DLC supports co-op with up to nine other players, if you really want to embrace the chaos in service of trying to make your way out of this Portal-themed escape room. Of course, you can expect all the usual aspects of Portal to appear – as the trailer below shows, Pine Games has done an excellent job of capturing the Aperture Laboratories look in its own style, with Companion Cubes, Personality Cores, lasers, platforms, pressure plates, and – of course – the trusty Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device (or Portal Gun, to you and I).
The Portal Escape Chamber DLC for Escape Simulator releases Thursday, September 7 on Steam. It will be available for free to all owners of the base game.
Anyone into puzzle games has likely already played Portal and Portal 2 (and if you somehow haven’t, just stop reading right now, put the article down, and go and play the pair immediately) so seeing them adapted to other puzzlers is always a delight. I’ll definitely be giving this one a look, and Pine Studios even promises that “this time around, the cake is not a lie.” Let’s just hope GLaDOS doesn’t make an appearance.
If you’ve yet to check out the base game, it’s a rather delightful twist on the escape room genre, with plenty of clever puzzles spread across all manner of imaginative themes and locales ranging from ancient Egyptian labyrinths to spaceships and everywhere in between. It also supports player-built custom rooms, with over 3,500 already made using the in-game editor, so you’ll truly never be short of challenges to tackle.
Alternatively, take a look through more of the best co-op games for plenty of fun with friends, along with a wealth of our favorite charming indie games from smaller developers.