Do you need to buy Portal 2 to play the mod?

Yes, Portal: Alive & Kicking installs directly into Portal 2's steamapps folder. The mod itself is free, but Portal 2 is mandatory.

Why did the project have to wait for Valve's approval?

The team had access to Portal 2's source code under a non-disclosure agreement and had modified it. Valve required a Source 1 license before release — a validation that oddly repeated itself before finally being granted on August 27.

Is it available in French?

No, only English is currently offered: voice acting, interface and menus are 100% English. There's no indication of a French localization coming.

Were there any issues at launch?

Yes, some players didn't see the download appear on Steam (a cache issue later resolved), and a multi-core rendering crash was fixed on August 29.

Portal: Alive & Kicking is out, free but English only

The amateur remake of Portal is live. Rhubarb & Rhubarb opened Portal: Alive & Kicking on Friday, August 28, 2026 at noon Eastern time. The download is free, but you need to own Portal 2: the mod installs into the steamapps folder of the latter, on the same drive.

The project replays the 2007 Portal on Portal 2's engine: same story, same test chambers, same Chell and GLaDOS duo, with the sequel's lighting and materials. The puzzle hints have been reworked and the dynamic soundtrack is new.

White turrets lined up behind the glass of a test chamber, red laser sights lit — Aperture Science's turrets, replayed under Portal 2. Credit: Rhubarb & Rhubarb

Valve never commented, the team told the whole story

Developer Dot Operator recounted the holdup on the mod's Steam forum. A license was required: the team had modified Portal 2's source code, obtained years earlier under a non-disclosure agreement.

On August 24, he describes the loop. Non-commercial Source 1 agreement signed, mod sent for build review, review demanding a Source 1 license — the very one he had just signed. Green light on August 27. No one at Valve commented publicly on the matter.

The launch was rocky: some players didn't see the download appear, which the team said it was checking with Steam to fix. A patch on August 29 fixes a multi-core rendering crash and the energy ball in Chamber 18.

Two caveats: Windows only, and a single language on the Steam page — English, voice acting included, with nothing else listed. The soundtrack, 14 tracks, remains marked "Coming soon". The mod arrives the same week as a 12 TB archive of Valve data, which we cover separately: a catalogue leaking on one side, a community keeping it alive since 2011 on the other.