Take two very interesting puzzle solving games and this is what you get. Bridge Constructor Portal is a game which can be described as the offspring of Bridge Constructor and Portal. Now, both those games are great on their own and both have very unique and interesting takes on gameplay. Developed by ClockStone and published by Headup Games this game is available on most major platforms which includes Windows, MacOS, Linux, Android, iOS and now is being realeased on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. So is this game a good mashup of the ideas of both these games or is it just a weak bridge that fails from holding onto the expectations of fans of both these titles, let’s find out.
Bridge Constructor Portal is first and foremost a Bridge Constructor game with the Portal skin on it. But thankfully it’s more than that because now you have to think with portals. Each stage is divided into 10 levels, all within the Aperture Science Test Facility and you play as an Aperure Science Employee. I didn’t really think they had employees but they do and you’re one of them. Your task is to create bridges to transport vehicles across levels. By Using Portals. While avoiding hazardous obstacles.
If you’ve played Bridge Constructor before, get ready for a lot more fun since this game just builds on the fundamentals of the previous title while also adding new mechanics which helps this game to not just be a re-skin of the original game with a Portal theme. The only shortcoming that I felt was that we never got to actually place portals ourselves and experiment with portal placements since all the portals were always pre-placed. But maybe the developers thought that it might up the difficulty considerably if they included the ability for players to place their own portals instead of having pre-placed ones.
The game doesn’t have much of story but the writing was good especially since they got GLaDOS back who well, is GLaDOS. The humour is well written and helps cement the Portal feel that the game is going for but without really overdoing it. The visuals are very neat and crisp which doesn’t distract you or feel odd. It mixes the Aperture Science Test Facility setting quite well with the Bridge Constructor art style to give the player the best of both worlds.
The visual information that you get from the various elements was presented in a way that fit in with the aesthetics but didn’t blend in so much that it made it hard for the player to know if it was interactable or not. Visual information is key in games like this and they did not screw it up. Audio wise there isn’t much happening in this game but the ambient sounds along with the lean soundtrack and sound effects do a good enough job.
Bridge Constructor Portal is in a way a sequel to the original game since it adds new elements to the game which also uses the systems pre-established in the Portal games. It does a great job of bringing both of titles together without making a mess or losing the identity of either of those games and makes for a fun, unique and interesting title that I feel should scratch the itch for all the people out there who are looking for a decent or good puzzle solving game.
