After the player falls deep into the depths of old Aperture, they’re forced to solve some old-school puzzles to escape the depths and fight back against Wheatley. They’re accompanied by pre-recorded messages of Aperture founder Cave Johnson as he provides some unhelpful, albeit hysterical, commentary on the situation.
Enrichment Sphere 3 tests the player’s puzzle-solving chops by having them use the blue repulsion gel to make their way to the exit. If you’re playing through the Portal games for the first time on Portal: Companion Collection for the Switch, these Enrichment Spheres are the beginning of a spike in Portal 2‘s difficulty so use the guide below if you get stuck.
More Portal 2 guides:
| Preservation of Mass Achievement Guide | Chapter 2 Test Chamber 08 Solution | Chapter 3 Test Chamber 09 Solution | Chapter 3 Test Chamber 11 Solution | Chapter 3 Test Chamber 15 Solution | Chapter 6 Enrichment Sphere 2 Solution |
How to Solve Enrichment Sphere 3 in Portal 2
When first starting Enrichment Sphere 3, you’ll enter a room with falling blue repulsion gel, a button halfway up the wall, and falling water. Using the gel to get to the button is the first priority. Place a portal underneath the falling blue gel and then place your second portal on the ceiling as close to the button as you can.
With the gel on the floor, you’ll be able to bounce up to the button (by jumping with the A button) for a quick press (with the X button.) After you press the button, you’ll hear a clicking countdown and notice that the water that was streaming in front of the raised section of floor has stopped.
Once the countdown is finished, the water will start again. After you hit the button, immediately turn to the wall opposite the water and hit the portalable tile with your second portal. This will coat the section of floor that the water was running over with the blue gel. Before the water turns back on, run to the gel and jump to the higher platform.
Exit the area and you’ll come across some blue gel dripping on a portalable section of the floor. Keep it in mind, but turn to the right and portal yourself up to the rafters.
Once up above, put one portal underneath the blue gel stream and the other on the slanted wall. This will cover the wall opposite the slanted tile in repulsion gel. Place your first portal underneath you, fall off the rafters into the portal, fly out the second portal on the slanted wall, and bounce off the gel into the second area of the chamber.
Navigate the upper area of the chamber by walking up the catwalk to the left. Follow the path until it splits off into two directions. First, walk to your left and place a portal underneath the stream of repulsion gel below (this is the same stream as you used in the first section of the test.) Turn around and walk to the end of the catwalk where things really open up. Place your second portal on the farthest pillar in the distance, coating the slanted pillar across from it in repulsion gel.
Place your first portal below you, and jump off the edge into it to fly through your second portal and bounce off of the repulsion gel to the rafters above. (This took me a few tries as the physics with the gel was a little off. Luckily, it’s easy to portal back up to the jumping position to try again.)
Once you’re in the upper catwalks, portal yourself even higher to get to the final section of the test.
In the final room, you’ll see a cube encased in glass, a pipe dripping repulsion gel, a pipe dripping water, and a button that operates a lift. The cube is the key to solving this section of the Enrichment Sphere, so we’re going to first focus on getting it free.
Place a portal underneath the dripping repulsion gel and above the chamber that’s holding the cube. This will cause the cube to bounce around, breaking the glass and freeing itself.
With the cube freed, it will bounce around the testing chamber so chase it and grab it. This can be a little frustrating given its erratic nature, but after a little while, you should be able to snag it. Once you’ve got it, take it to the rushing water to wash it off. Now, it won’t fly around if you place it on the ground.
Put the cube on the weighted button to lower the elevator. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to simply walk onto it, instead, you’ll need to spread some of the blue gel around to jump up to it. Put your first portal underneath the gel (if it isn’t already) and your second in front of the lift where you’ll need to jump then move it quickly with the gel in the air to coat the area.
Jump onto the lowered elevator. Now, you’ll need to remotely move the cube off of the switch to raise it. Face the cube and place your second portal directly above it to cover it in repulsion gel causing it to go flying off the switch raising the elevator. Sometimes the cube can accidentally land back on the switch causing the elevator to stutter, but apart from that, you’ll be lifted up and free to go to the next testing area.
