Weighted Companion Cube

A weighted storage cube with heart symbols that becomes more than just a tool.

The Weighted Companion Cube, or simply the Companion Cube, is an item featured in the Portal series of video games by Valve Corporation. Initially featured in a single level of the original Portal, Test Chamber 17, as one of Aperture Science's ubiquitous Weighted Storage Cubes with heart symbols printed on the outside, it is given to the game's main character, Chell, as part of the antagonist GLaDOS's sinister testing initiative. After carrying it through the entire level and ostensibly anthropomorphizing and 'bonding' with the Cube, the malevolent AI forces her to unceremoniously dispose of it in an incinerator device. Companion Cubes later re-appear in the game's sequel with a slightly different design. The original Companion Cube was destroyed in the incinerator at the end of Portal, and the Cube that appears at the end of Portal 2 is not confirmed to be the same one.

Quick Facts

First

Portal (2007)

Creator

Erik Wolpaw
Kim Swift
Scott Klintworth

Source

Portal

Company

Valve Corporation

Lore & Background

Officially designated as a Weighted Storage Cube with heart symbols printed on the outside, the Companion Cube first appears in Portal's Test Chamber 17, where Chell is given it as a necessary tool to progress through the level. The player must use the Companion Cube to weigh down two buttons, before being forced to incinerate the Cube. While GLaDOS has suggested the Companion Cube may be sentient, it is unclear whether this was solely to psychologically torment Chell. In the comic Portal 2: Lab Rat, Doug Rattmann's Companion Cube is shown speaking to him, though this may be part of a schizophrenic hallucination. The Cube that appears at the end of Portal 2 is a different unit, ejected from the facility by GLaDOS after Chell is launched out, appearing pristine with no burn marks.

Did You Know?

The Companion Cube was initially conceived as part of the gameplay of Test Chamber 17, due to players constantly forgetting to bring the crate along with them.
Valve released official merchandise of the cube, including a plushie and fuzzy dice in 2007.