Super Mario 64 And Portal Mastered The Tutorial And Modern Games Should Study Their Approaches

In the lead-up to Game Informer's return back in March, I wanted to replay two of my favorite short, instant-action experiences. I hadn't played Super Mario 64 or Portal all the way through since their original releases on Nintendo 64 and Xbox 360/PC, respectively, and they both rank highly on my favorite games of all time, so I was excited to return to these formative experiences. While they are foundational video games for entirely different reasons, one common thread tied them together in my ...