[2][3] While Narbacular Drop features a 3D world reminiscent of such first-person shooters as Quake, the unique portal element and the character's lack of a jump ability makes navigation and puzzle-solving very unconventional.

Aside from the portals, important game elements include switches, boxes, huge rolling boulders which can crush the character, and "lava turtles" that help the player traverse stretches of magma.

Being mostly a proof of applied concept, the game contains only six puzzles to solve, but members of the Narbacular Drop forum community have created a catalog of custom maps.

Valve, developers of the Half-Life series, became interested in Narbacular Drop after seeing the game at DigiPen's annual career fair.

[6] In Portal, the player-controlled silent protagonist, Chell, is challenged and taunted by an artificial intelligence named GLaDOS to complete each puzzle in the Aperture Science Enrichment Center.