Portal Is Getting A Surprise Graphical Makeover From Nvidia

Like several other classic games over the last few years, Portal is getting a big graphical update. Available on July 18, Portal Prelude RTX overhauls the game and adds several new features that Nvidia GPU owners can take advantage of, including full ray tracing, performance improvements via DLSS 3, minimized system latency through Nvidia Reflex, and faster load times for textures through Nvidia RTX IO.

This version of the game will be available as a free download on Steam and playable for anyone who owns the original version of Portal, and new GeForce Game Ready drivers will be available to complete the transformation. An unofficial Portal prequel first released in 2008, Portal: Prelude is a community remaster that is set before the time of GLaDOS and offers a more challenging experience that’s composed of 19 new test chambers, new advanced gameplay mechanics, and a fully voiced story with NPCs.

Nvidia collaborated with Nicolas “NykO18” Grevet, the original creator of Portal Prelude, and modder David “Kralich” Driver-Gomm to modernize the game and add new features such as path tracing. The team of five modders spent eight months upgrading the game, adding full ray tracing, hand-crafted high-resolution textures, and enhanced high-polygon models. To get the most out of these new enhancements, users will need to own one of Nvidia’s newer GPUs such as RTX 4080 and 4090, although previous 20- and 30-series GPUs can still benefit from the Portal upgrades.

Nvidia also announced that new Game Ready drivers will be available for the launch of Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart on July 26, which will give users the option to run the game with DLSS 3, advanced ray tracing, Reflex, and RTX IO. A driver for Remnant II will be available from July 25, and optimizations for several other recently released games will also be made available.