Portal 1 took the gaming industry by surprise. Portal 2 didn't have that surprise, but it was a worthy sequel.
A friend of mine argued that the simplicity and purity of Portal 1 gave it an existential feel as a timeless concept. Another friend of mine said that Portal 2 due to its content and characters is better as it expanded on Portal 1 so much.
Portal 1 is superior as a work of art and as a concept
Portal 2 is superior from the perspective of gameplay
I may be in a minority, but when I first played Portal 1, I liked it, but I didn't love it. Portal 2 is when I fell in love with it.
