Portal 3 is nearly as mysterious and sought-after as the practically mythical Half-Life 3, as Valve, even after all these years, continues to withhold any and all official word on its iconic puzzle and FPS series. But the dream is, if you’ll pardon the pun, still alive, as Portal and Portal 2 GLaDOS actor Ellen McLain says she “wants to do a Portal 3”, encouraging fans to email Valve.
Launching all the way back in 2011, Portal 2 ended with a tantalising cliffhanger regarding the future of Half-Life 3, as you stumbled across the dry dock that apparently housed the missing research ship Borealis, spotted in Half-Life 2: Episode 2. It seemed that the two series were destined to become entwined, with the groundbreaking portal gun potentially becoming a new toy in the sci-fi FPS. But, so far at least, nothing has materialised – the Half-Life-Portal universe remains largely neglected, with the exception of Aperture Desk Job and the superb Half-Life: Alyx, and we’re still waiting on any news regarding full sequels.
A voice actor, voice coach, and singer, McLain not only provided the brilliant, deadpan VO performance for GLaDOS, but also delivered the vocals for the two classic Portal songs, “Still Alive” and “Want You Gone”. Speaking on the YouTube podcast Kiwi Talkz, McLain says that fans still waiting on Portal 3 have “got my blessing”.
“Write in, email Valve,” says McLain. “You’ve got my blessing. Say ‘Ellen wants to do a Portal 3’”. McLain also discusses her experiences working alongside Valve on Portal 2, explaining how she was part of the game’s creation from the start.
“Usually a voice actor is one of the last things to be added to a game. But with Portal 2, since the creators were so used to hearing my voice, they brought me in at the very beginning of the process because they didn’t want to listen to anybody else. Normally they would have a stand-in voice. They didn’t do that with Portal 2.”
As noted by Nintendo Life in its report of McLain’s interview, Portal and Portal 2 have recently been ported (again, not a pun) to Nintendo Switch, adding speculation that perhaps a new Portal game could be in the works. There has also recently been discovered some previously unseen legacy artwork for Half-Life 3, adding more fuel to the fandom fire around Valve’s definitive series. So – for the third time, not a Portal 2 pun, I promise – watch this space.
You can find out everything we know about Valve’s most elusive FPS in our guide to whatever happened to Half-Life 3. As the years and indeed decades roll by, you may also want to spend some time with the other best FPS or best adventure games on PC, which includes classic puzzlers like Grim Fandango and Monkey Island.