When comparing Portal 2 vs Goat Simulator, the Slant community recommends Portal 2 for most people. In the question“What are the best local co-op PC games?” Portal 2 is ranked 2nd while Goat Simulator is ranked 65th. The most important reason people chose Portal 2 is:
While Portal 2 requires focus and logic, it does not punish players for causing a bit of mischief. The instant respawn system means trolling your friend will affect almost nothing in the game, as there are no in-game setbacks when you die. Being able to stop at any point in the game to just goof around is great for releasing some steam, even when it is at the expense of your co-op partner.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Co-op does not punish when you want to goof off with or troll the other player
While Portal 2 requires focus and logic, it does not punish players for causing a bit of mischief. The instant respawn system means trolling your friend will affect almost nothing in the game, as there are no in-game setbacks when you die. Being able to stop at any point in the game to just goof around is great for releasing some steam, even when it is at the expense of your co-op partner.
Pro Huge selection of user-generated content that should appeal to any use-case
The game has more than 60,000 co-op puzzles created by users through the Steam Workshop and through mods. Because it is user-generated content, the quality and size of these puzzles vary widely, including everything from simple, one-off chambers to full-fledged expansions with high-quality stories, voice-overs, and new gameplay elements (for example, Mel). By having such a selection of content, there should be something that appeals to just about anything someone is looking for.
Pro Entertaining and well delivered voice acting
Voice acting for Wheatley the AI robot is done by Stephen Merchant (Extras, The Office UK, Life's Too Short) in humorous fashion. His delivery is well executed on all dialogue. On top of this specific experience, the rest of the voice acting of every other character in the game is performed just as well, in part due to the fact that the dialogue was written in a funny smart and entertaining cool fashion. This makes for a top quality listening experience that shows a lot of care was taken with the acting of the game.
Pro Creates a sense of accomplishment through a high level of teamwork
Game is shit
Pro Challenging puzzles that require creative thinking
Pro Witty and funny character driven story
Four major characters drive the single player poop campaign, and they are amazing. Three of which have explosive personalities, bring humor, suspense, sadness, and empathy. The other being Chell, who doesn’t speak but her interactions with the rest of the cast make her all the more mysterious and interesting. Most of the time you don’t even see or directly interact with the characters, but that just shows how great and cool they are.
Pro Cross-platform co-op
As long as both players have a Steam account, the co-op is able to be played even if one user is playing on the PS3 while the other is on a PC.
Pro Well implemented tools that improve teamwork
Pro So large in scope that it takes multiple playthroughs to see everything
Portal 2 is larger in every way when compared to the first title, from the longer and more detailed story to the larger levels and new game mechanics. This makes for a title that will last 8-9 hours minimum, with many elements that are worth revisiting, not to mention the co-op section of the game, which is separate from the single player story.
Pro Versatile selection of co-op multiplayer
It’s possible to play a multiplayer game for free online using the Steam servers, as well as locally on your machine using split-screen (the second player must use a gamepad controller if playing locally). This keeps the multiplayer options versatile to any players needs.
Pro 4 player local coop
Pro Physics-based sandbox design allows for a ton of mayhem
Goat Simulator is a basic sandbox game where the point is to just cause as much destruction as possible. The actual physics of this sandbox are actually designed to be buggy, which can lead to plenty of ridiculous outcomes.
Pro Stumbling across the many easter eggs adds a nice level of "happy accidents"
With the smattering of easter eggs hidden around the open world, it can be quite fun to try out different methods of finding them.
Pro Multi os support (Linux/Mac/Windows)
Pro Wacky freestyle parkour movement makes for a satisfying way to traverse the game
It's extremely satisfying to land that triple back-flip combo when running around the open environments of the game.
Pro Intuitive controls makes for an easy game to pick up
It does not take long to figure out the basic controls of the game. This way just about anyone can pick it up in no time, allowing themselves to enjoy the gameplay over worrying about learning difficult controls.
Cons
Con Main co-op campaign is short
The co-op campaign in Portal 2 is about 4 hours long for experienced players, meaning it could be beaten in a just a couple days. With almost zero replayability, this makes the game feel incredibly short. Luckily, hundreds of hours of user-generated content is available.
Con It's already on every coop list since 2011
Con Steep co-op learning curve
Although the single-player campaign features a gradual learning curve, co-op offers no mercy. The puzzles start off hard and only get harder. It’s highly recommended that you play through single-player first if you are not familiar with Portal's mechanics.
Con Sense of accomplishment is often onesided
Con Frequent motion sickness trigger
Con Late game single player can be quite difficult
While the single player learning curve is quite gradual, late game the puzzles can become quite difficult, sometimes leading to the player being stuck for long stretches of time. While not impossible to solve, some creative thinking will need to be done in order to finish.
Con Becomes boring without buying DLCs
After exploring all there is to see in the game, it can become quite dull to the point that you will probably not play it that much anymore. There are DLCs available to extend the gameplay, though they do cost extra money.
Con You quickly run out of things to do
There is not much to do once you explore the game for a minute or two. It is mostly an open sandbox, but it can get repetitive due to how little there is for you to do.
Con Quirkiness of the game is definitely not for all audiences
Some people will take one look at this game and wonder "what's wrong with kids these days". It certainly isn't for everybody thanks to the quirky and pointless gameplay and purposefully horrible graphics