GLa DOS - Reception and Analysis

Reception and Analysis

Paste Magazine's Jason Killingsworth listed GLaDOS as the sixth best new character of the decade; he wrote that she "may just be the most likable villain in video-game history" and that "we only killed her because we had to". An editor for GamesRadar also called her one of the best new characters of the decade.

Epic Games design director Cliff Bleszinski stated that he was motivated to complete test chambers in Portal. He also compared her to an ex-girlfriend who sent text messages that went from friendly, to aggressive, and finally to apologetic. GamesRadar's Justin Towell called her the third-most difficult game bad guy to kill due to Stockholm syndrome, a syndrome where hostages will bond with their captors. IGN editor Daemon Hatfield described GLaDOS as one of the most engaging characters to appear in a video game. Cinema Blend featured GLaDOS as the best character of 2007, stating that she "breathes life, emotion, and hilarity into the lab of Portal." GamesRadar praised Portal as having one of the best video game stories ever, citing GLaDOS as the primary reason for this. They stated that she had one of the most defined personalities in gaming, adding that she "redefined passive-aggressive." Shoot 'em up expert Michael Molinari cited GLaDOS as an example of a quality boss, stating that her quality stems from her appearing throughout the game, providing motivation as well as a satisfying pay-off at the end of the game. Editor Randy Smith commented that the battle with GLaDOS was "easy," commenting that it was "fun and fluid" rather than "annoyingly insurmountable." However, he added that it had an "air of epicness." Whereas Smith found the battle easy, UGO Networks Chris Littler included GLaDOS in his list of the 50 "Hardest Freakin' Boss Battles." UGO.com listed GLaDOS as one of their favourite video game robots.