The New Look For Portal 2’s Heroine Explained

One of the stars of Portal 2, the human heroine Chell, has undergone a few changes during her centuries-long sleep. And during the last year, she’s been given a new makeover by Valve’s art team, ditching her “dressed by machines” look for something more familiar.

When Portal 2 was first unveiled in the pages of Game Informer magazine, returning protagonist Chell was seen wearing a funky full-body suit designed to make her look like a “dehumanized” test subject. Clean and simple, but a little drab.

Chell has since reverted to her previous get-up, her familiar (but still “dehumanizing”) orange jumpsuit, recently seen on the cover of French gaming mag Canard PC. Valve’s art team explains the change to Kotaku.

“Portal 2 takes place well after the events of the original game, but for Chell (and likewise the player) all that time has passed in an instant. She’s also evolved from a lab rat under the facility’s control to the sole cause of its destruction. Her familiar dehumanizing orange jumpsuit is still present, but she’s tied the top around her waist and rolled up her sleeves to give her more freedom this time around. This also helps her stand out more as an individual, as opposed to a numbered, anonymous test subject.”

“In the end, Chell still functions mainly as a representation of the player in the world. We want players to feel it’s their own personal journey they’re embarking on in Portal 2, instead of forcing them into the character of Chell and making them role-play that in some awkward way. That said, we wanted players familiar with Chell from Portal 1 to see evidence of a transformation when returning to the world of Portal 2.”

Chell from Valve’s Portal 2

We’re sure future Chell cosplayers thank you, Valve art team!

Portal 2 comes to the PC, Mac, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in April.