Can a remaster alteration a video game’s genre? After a mates of hours with Portal’s escaped ray-tracing update, I’m tempted to accidental yes.

The archetypal Portal is connected the abbreviated database for “funniest video games ever made.” Released successful 2007 arsenic a spinoff of Half-Life, this bite-sized first-person puzzle crippled grabbed the wit from its genitor bid and yanked it from the periphery into the spotlight. You play arsenic Chell, a quality laboratory rat, who gradually outsmarts a malevolent artificial quality named GLaDOS who talks similar Siri by mode of Mitch Hedberg. You usage small much than your wits, Chell’s carnal fitness, and a nonlethal “gun” that, alternatively of bullets, shoots a brace of interconnected portals. It’s arsenic thrilling arsenic it is cartoonish, champion remembered for a barroom meme and its closing credits popular opus written by humorist instrumentalist Jonathan Coulton.

Portal with RTX is, successful everything but the visuals, the aforesaid game. The aforesaid puzzles, the aforesaid publication and dependable acting, the aforesaid dessert notation and endgame ditty. Except it looks different. To marque the astir of the latest high-end graphics cards, GPU shaper Nvidia has partnered with Portal’s publisher, Valve, to make an updated variant transmogrified by the graphical wizardry of the moment: ray tracing.

Image: Lightspeed Studios/Nvidia via Polygon

What is ray tracing? Well, however overmuch clip bash you have? If you person 20 minutes, I powerfully promote you to watch this breakdown from the experts astatine Digital Foundry. However, if you lone person a fewer seconds, here’s the elevator pitch. Ray tracing is simply a considerably much realistic method for simulating airy successful video games. With ray tracing, you volition spot reflections and shadows, on with representations of the tiny ways that airy tin bounce off, crook through, and sorb into materials.

Ray tracing is peculiarly noticeable successful environments wherever airy itself is astir noticeable: bedewed surfaces, reflective metals, glass, and mirrors. Portal’s labyrinth of concern trial chambers is simply a earthy fit.

In presumption of making an exceptionally realistic laboratory, the originative squad for Portal with RTX has created a mentation of Portal that prioritizes realism supra each else. Assuming you tin get the happening to tally — it took an Nvidia RTX 3090 with Deep Learning Super Sampling enabled to get thing adjacent to reliable show connected a 4K TV — you volition spot a frighteningly believable mentation of GLaDOS’ laboratory. And I bash mean frightening.

Image: Lightspeed Studios/Nvidia via Polygon

To stress the dynamic lighting, Portal’s laboratory with RTX is darker and moodier; inky shadows capable each corner. Many surfaces present look bedewed and icky, similar if you scraped your genu you’d declaration immoderate uncommon bacterial infection. Balls of energy bounce about, casting a soft, ghostly light. The walls don’t conscionable look similar metallic paneling; they look similar heavy, immovable blocks of steel. The effect is acold much claustrophobic.

We’ve seen a akin effect successful different classical games that person received ray-tracing updates. With earthy airy successful spot of artificial light, things thin to get a spot acheronian and spooky. But the summation of ray tracing has ne'er skewed truthful intimately toward fearfulness arsenic successful Portal with RTX. In this case, it’s not conscionable that the crippled is darker — determination are inactive plentifulness of rooms with sickly bureau fluorescent lighting. By emphasizing realism successful the visuals, Portal’s full vibe has shifted from cartoonish to thing overmuch much sinister.

Valve’s video games from the 2000s person an iconic blocky, grimy, and muted aesthetic, which ends up flattering the corpo-fascist creation absorption of its first-person shooters. While different AAA shooters of the epoch similar Crysis and Call of Duty served arsenic method showpieces that prioritized earthy horsepower, the Half-Life bid emphasized creation direction. Valve’s worlds weren’t arsenic technically impressive, but they were much considered. The look served a function.

Image: Lightspeed Studios/Nvidia via Polygon

In the lawsuit of Portal, that relation was amusive and humor. Yes, you play arsenic a quality laboratory rat, but occurrence ne'er truly feels retired of the question. It was the closest Valve had travel to making a family-friendly game, with nary lethal weapons oregon quality targets. And Valve’s blocky aesthetic acceptable a wide disagreement betwixt the existent satellite and the video game. GLaDOS’ progressively heightened, malevolent monologue popped perfectly against the inheritance of bland, abandoned labs.

But successful these eerie chambers of Portal with RTX, GLaDOS instantly sounds much menacing. The large reddish solid buttons, the Companion Cubes, and the looming viewing chambers utilized to consciousness alternatively silly — but not truthful overmuch anymore. Now, they’re set-pieces successful a firm haunted house. The effect is simply a antithetic acquisition from playing Portal 15 years ago.

Portal with RTX isn’t Portal, not truly. It’s thing else, an alternate imaginativeness that feels a spot person to Half-Life 2’s Ravenholm. You mightiness find the ocular upgrade unsettling, particularly if you’re much of an originalist who likes things arsenic they were “meant to be.” Or, you mightiness beryllium excited by revisiting Portal done a much menacing lens.

Image: Lightspeed Studios/Nvidia via Polygon

Or, if you’re the benignant of idiosyncratic obsessed with the aboriginal of video crippled visuals, you volition admit Portal’s RTX update for what it does best: Prove that ray tracing matters. Ray tracing’s quality to importantly change the game’s temper captures thing almighty astir the exertion that can’t beryllium seen successful screenshots oregon a tech demo video connected YouTube.

If ray tracing tin person this benignant of interaction connected a crippled that was ne'er meant to person it, ideate what artists volition bash erstwhile incorporating the diagnostic from the precise beginning.

Portal with RTX launches connected Dec. 8 connected Windows PC and requires high-end system specifications. The crippled was reviewed connected PC utilizing a pre-release download codification provided by Nvidia. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These bash not power editorial content, though Vox Media whitethorn gain commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. You tin find additional accusation astir Polygon’s morals argumentation here.