Portal Alive Kicking Alive Kicking known issues

This list is a snapshot of Portal: Alive & Kicking on and after 28 August 2026. Official items come from Rhubarb & Rhubarb’s launch post. The rest come from Steam threads posted the same day. If a hotfix lands, release notes gets the date and this page loses a row. Until then, do not assume you are the first person to see a missing menu.

Full install steps for the official crashes live in troubleshooting. This page is the index: name the bug, say whether it is on the developer, then send you to the right guide.

Official — missing background image

Symptom: error looking for materials/console/startup_loading.vtf.

Cause: Portal 2 and the remake are not on the same drive / steamapps folder.

Workaround: move both games into one Steam library. Confirmed in the launch post. Also the first section of getting started.

Official — process closes when a map starts

Symptom: menu is fine, loading a chamber kills the process.

Workaround: -threads 1 in this app’s launch options, multithreaded rendering off. Developers said they had not reproduced it locally. Rare, but cheap to apply.

Official — leftover Portal 2 mods

Symptom: random menu, HUD, or map breakage.

Cause: extra content in Portal 2’s directory.

Workaround: remove or rename custom packs, verify Portal 2, launch the remake vanilla.

Official — download or Add to Library button missing

Symptom: store page has no install button, or a friend never sees Add to Library.

Workaround: wishlist, then download from that entry. Search the Steam library box for the app name. Developers were talking to Steam on launch morning. Not a region conspiracy until proven otherwise. Full install order is in getting started.

Community — Chamber 17 softlock

Symptom: energy pellet catcher placement leaves the room unwinnable.

Workaround: reload a save from before the bad catcher state. Do not grind twenty pellet angles if the socket never completes. Story notes are in the walkthrough. If Advanced 17 inherits this, stop and wait for a patch.

Community — Chamber 18 softlock

Symptom: cube or portal state that cannot reopen a door or dropper.

Workaround: earlier save. This is why 18 sits in S on the tier list. Manual save at the previous chamberlock is the real fix until geometry is patched.

Community — saving is finicky

Symptom: autosave misses, quicksave feels unreliable.

Workaround: two rotating manual saves, especially before 17, 18, and the GLaDOS escape. Not confirmed as a single reproducible file bug, but enough testers said it that this wiki treats it as real.

Community — Steam Deck / Linux boot crash

Symptom: crash on boot, reported as likely Linux-wide.

Workaround: none official. Try the Proton order on the Steam Deck page, then play on Windows. Store compatibility was Unknown.

Community — crash to desktop at main menu

Symptom: process dies as the menu would appear (Windows reports exist too).

Workaround: verify files, same-drive check, overlay off, -threads 1, windowed mode. If that fails, it may share a root with the Linux boot crash.

Community — do not open achieve.bsp

Symptom: you typed a map name in the console because you wanted achievements faster.

Workaround: do not. Play the campaign and advanced chambers. Console maps in a Source remake are how saves die.

Community — language options

Symptom: you want Spanish voice or French subtitles.

Status: store listed English for interface, audio, and subtitles. See language settings. Not a crash, still a launch-week thread.

Community — ARG

Symptom: spoiler-titled thread claiming an ARG.

Status: unconfirmed as shipped content. Finish the story first. This page will not walk ARG steps until they are an official extra.

How to report without wasting a post

Include: Windows or Deck, same-drive yes/no, launch options, whether Portal 2 has extra mods, chamber number, and whether you can reload an older save. If the answer is already in troubleshooting, you do not have a new issue.

Alive & Kicking is a released single-player remake. These issues do not make it unreleased. They make 1.0 a launch weekend. Keep Portal 2 on the same disk, keep two saves, and only then decide Chamber 18 is personal.