10 Video Game Mechanics We Can't Believe Were Left To Die

8. The Portal Gun

Seen in: Portal, Darksiders

A very specific thing, but the "portal gun" here represents that idea of playing around with a 3D space, in some way that isn't just climbing or surmounting it.

Obviously we have the almighty Portal and its immaculate sequel to go off, but out of nowhere, the first Darksiders included a portal gun for War to blast from place to place with - albeit in a far more restrictive way.

Having gone back through both Portals recently, I was reminded how momentum, inverting perspective and thinking of open spaces in non-linear ways is a fascinating and rewarding experience. These games even play with using the weapon in combat too, letting you rig portals to drop items on enemies from above, warp behind them to gain the advantage, or open one on the floor to dodge some bullets.

The likes of The Talos Principle had minor teleportation aspects, and Outer Wilds works wonders with artefacts and ruins only being seen at certain times of day, but the fully-named "Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device" deserves to be iterated on in so many new ways.