Get quick and convenient access to just the hints you need for The Orange Box: Portal, without staying on our website. Just download a free trial
version of our UHS Reader software and
a copy of these hints. You will get the
same gradual hints you see here -- unlike ordinary cheats or a
walkthrough that can spoil your game.
You can also buy the full version of the UHS Reader
for Windows or macOS. For just $14.95, you get full access to hints for
hundreds of games and 1 year of free updates. You can also search, decode, or print an entire
game's worth of hints at once.
Ask the Author
If you have questions about a puzzle that aren't answered
anywhere in these hints,
you may contact the author.
The Orange Box: Portal Hints
How do these three challenge types work?
1 of 12: You can only choose one challenge at a time, and as you play through the chamber, there'll be an indicator showing you what your current score is.
2 of 12: For instance, if you choose "least portals," you'll have a portal count on-screen, and you'll be trying to get through the chamber while keeping that count as low as possible.
3 of 12: It works similarly with "least steps" (it's a new step every time you walk forward or drop onto something) and "least time" (measured in seconds).
4 of 12: Each challenge has three different goal levels, and every time you finish a challenge chamber, your score is compared with those goal levels to see if you've achieved any of them.
5 of 12: For example, the "least time" challenge for Chamber 14 has the three goal levels of 50 seconds, 20 seconds, and 10 seconds. If you made it through in 17 seconds, you'd have met the first two goals, but failed the third one. (That's okay, though, since the third goals for "least steps" and "least time" challenges are usually darn near impossible.)
6 of 12: Following are some general tips for the different challenge types.
7 of 12: You should always master the "least portals" challenge for a chamber before you try the other two. I've found that the best "least portals" way is also often the best way for the other two (with some modifications). See the Chamber 14 hints for a good example of this.
8 of 12: When you're doing the "least steps" challenge, always use portals when you can, including in situations like long hallways that you would normally just walk down. Doing so would cost you a lot of steps, so put portals on the floor near you and at the end of the hallway to help save steps.
9 of 12: When you're coming out of a portal, you can sometimes quickly shoot a portal of the same color onto something else before you land in order to land without adding to your step count. For instance, if you're coming up through an orange portal in the floor, quickly fire an orange portal onto the ceiling or a wall after you come up through the orange portal on the floor and before you fall back down into it.
10 of 12: In "least time" challenges, it often helps to not just run along, but to run-jump along. Also, using portals like in the above "least steps" tips can sometimes help.
11 of 12: Run-jumping along can also help a bit with "least steps" challenges, especially if you crouch in mid-air after jumping. You'll end up going a bit farther than if you hadn't crouched.
12 of 12: The "least time" challenges are usually the toughest by far, and you have to already be *very* familiar with a chamber and its quickest run-through strategy before you can make it through fast enough to meet the third goal level.
