10 Most Shocking Video Game Sidekick Betrayals

6. Wheatley - Portal 2

Portal 2 Wheatley
Valve

Man, this one still smarts and I don’t know who I’m more mad at about it, Wheatley or the game.

The world of Portal is pretty cold and unfriendly as it is, so when Wheatley the wise-cracking personality core rocks up in Portal 2, it’s a real relief. It’s nice to have a quirky pal along for the ride and Stephen Merchant’s voicework makes the little dude all the more delightful. That is right up until he takes GLaDOS’s place and power corrupts him. At this point he totally turns on you and the worst part is we did not see it coming.

Fighting him also sucks because you still really want to have his back, but ultimately you have to boot him into space. Sorry, buddy. Still feels awful to see him floating through space all remorseful.

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Contributor
Contributor

Jess has been a journalist and content creator in the games industry for over 15 years and has been WhatCulture's resident Australian import and sorry cop since 2020, upping the quotient of swearing and apologising in WhatCulture Gaming's annual blooper videos considerably. She previously worked at GameSpot for 10 years, most notably hosting GameSpot News in addition to E3 live shows, and PAX panels. She regularly livestreams a variety of games on her 'jessmcdonell' YouTube and Twitch channels and hosts the 'Do It On The Day' podcast. She has won awards for her news and feature work in gaming as well as an accolade for her comedic writing (likely an admin error). She can be found on X at @jessmcdonell and Instagram at @jessicamcdonell sharing her current videogame fixations, industry insights, and videos of her cat, Karma.