Portal Stories: Mel

Portal Stories: Mel is a 2015 fangame developed and published by Prism Studios. It serves as a prequel to Portal 2.

The story begins in 1952, when Aperture Science is still in its early days. Mel, a German Olympic athlete recruited as a test subject, arrives by tram at the Aperture Science Innovators facility in Michigan. After passing through the company town and descending into the vast underground complex, she listens to pre-recorded announcements from CEO Cave Johnson, who explains that she will participate in a trial of the “Short Term Relaxation Vault.” The experiment quickly goes awry, leaving Mel trapped in stasis indefinitely.

Like the official Portal games, Portal Stories: Mel is a first-person puzzle-platformer in which players guide Mel through a series of test chambers. The character of Mel actually originated at Valve — she was considered first as the protagonist of Portal 2 and later as a possible co-op character — before being abandoned and eventually revived by Prism Studios for this fangame.

Gameplay follows the familiar formula: Mel wields a prototype portal gun capable of creating a blue and an orange portal to traverse puzzles and environments.

The game includes 22 levels and offers a playtime of roughly six to ten hours.