Black Mesa (2020)

This title is an extraordinary reimagining of Valve’s 1998 classic Half-Life, brought to life by the dedicated team at Crowbar Collective. What began as a fan project evolved over many years into a full-fledged commercial release that both honors and enhances the original experience. Rebuilt in the Source engine, Black Mesa transforms the familiar environments of the Black Mesa Research Facility into richly detailed, immersive spaces that feel alive and modern without losing the tense, claustrophobic atmosphere that defined the original. Lighting, textures, and sound design have all been dramatically improved, giving the game a sense of realism and scale that Half-Life could only hint at two decades ago.

Combat feels sharper and more deliberate, thanks to refined weapon handling, smarter enemy placement, and an improved sense of pacing. Classic moments, like the tram ride intro or the frantic struggle to reach the surface, retain their iconic punch, while the new dialogue and expanded NPC interactions add personality and depth to the world. The reimagined Xen chapters, once considered Half-Life’s weakest link, are now one of Black Mesa’s crowning achievements. Vast, colorful alien landscapes, intricate level design, and atmospheric music turn this final act into a stunning showcase of creativity and technical polish.

I have a long story with this game, back when I first heard about this, I hacked my way through the Steam Tools menus in order to enable the necessary SDK to be able to install this. This was due to this game not really being a game at the beginning of it's conception, as already said, this was supposed to be a mod for Half-Life 2, so there was no Steam Store page, you just had to make it work like a mod. Despite all this, it was already a blast when I first played the unfinished version, and later I decided to replay this when I knew the Xen level was already finished.

It was so frustrating having a "to be continued" screen once you reached this part of the game back in the day, but I can safely say that it was worth the wait. Despite minor issues like occasional AI oddities or uneven difficulty spikes, this game stands as both a love letter to the original Half-Life and a testament to what passionate fans can achieve. It’s not just a remake, it’s the definitive way to relive one of the most influential shooters ever made. This is definitely one of the best remakes ever made, a must-play for fans of shooters and Half-Life.

Story-Driven FPS - A reimagining and remake of the original Half-Life, with enhancements and revisions all around.

PROS:

++ Faithful remake. Amazing reimagining of Half-Life that gives proper homage to the source material but is also not afraid to add and revise certain sections.

++ Improvements across the board. Almost everything is an improvement from the original. Gunplay is better, movement is fixed, puzzle designs are less confusing, graphics are significantly enhanced, and boss fights actually feel like boss fights.

++ Improved Xen. Xen has been completely reworked and is no longer a slog to play through. And it explains why the Vortigaunts become an ally in HL2.

CONS:

-- Technical issues. Major performance issues in Xen (frame rate would drop quite often).

-- Weaker level design. The general level design seems weaker, and doesn't reward the player as much for exploring nooks in the level.

-- Length of Xen. The Xen portion was too long and could have been trimmed to keep the pacing tight.

Roll Credits?: Yes!

Surprised/Let Down/As Expected: As expected

Favorite Mechanic or Narrative Moment: Since it was one of the first, the "seamless" transitions throughout the story without cutscenes or loading screens. Finally finishing a version of this game was a long time coming, and really helps clarify why it was so important/impressive back in '98.

Least Favorite Thing: Xen total rehaul was a bit heavyhanded considering the overall faithful recreation of the first 14 or so chapters. The new mechanics were okay and certainly in the spirit of the original's design, but each section felt 1 or 2 setpieces too long and made it more of a slog compared to the great and consistent pacing of the other parts.

Faithful recreation of the original Half-Life. Superb visuals for a Source 1 game, great music, great gun-play, etc.

The only thing that I found to be annoying in this game was the repeated use of scientist models and voices. I know that the original is like this as well, but I feel like an opportunity was missed to diversify the Black Mesa Faculty.

9/10 or 5/5 stars

В очередной раз интернет наебал меня.

В детстве я не осилил Half-Life. Не только из-за того, что шла она у меня исключительно в разрешении ниже 640 на 480, но ещё и благодаря знаменитому «погружающему» вступлению. 10 минут ехать на монорельсе, а потом 20 минут бродить по лабораториям, выслушивая односложные реплики учёных... Тогда это казалось мне слишком скучным.

В 2020-м году наконец вышел ремейк. Фанаты пахали 16 лет. Я решил, что теперь-то уж точно должен пройти этот революционный шутер, тем более, что рецензии на этот самый ремейк рассказывали мне о том, как фанаты бережно обновили оригинал, добавив только хорошее и убрав немногое плохое. И что игра ничуть не устарела. Давно мне так не пиздели.

Half-Life — один из самых скучных шутеров, в которые я играл. Скучнее только первая часть Gears of War.

Сюжет... формально он есть. Эксперимент в исследовательском комплексе «Black Mesa» идёт по пизде: всё взрывается и порталы в инопланетный мир начинают открываться беспорядочно и бесконтрольно, а оттуда лезут недружелюбные монстры разных видов. Мы в роли немого(?) учёного Гордона Фримана героически пробираемся через весь этот пиздец, попадаем в конце-концов в мир Зен, где убиваем младенца с огромной головой, и это закрывает порталы. Появляется странный мужик в костюме и с чемоданчиком (G-man) и задвигает телегу о каких-то там своих работодателях, что им понравились действия Фримана и поэтому они готовы предложить ему работу. Конец.

Поворот интригующий, без базара. Но где тот богатый сюжет, которым так славится серия?! Во второй части?! Блять.

Самый интригующий (он же единственный) поворот в Half-Life в том, что спецназ, посланный якобы на помощь, на самом деле должен уничтожить вообще всех — и монстров, и учёных. Чтобы никаких свидетелей.

Весь сценарий игры это оправдание перемещений Фримана по комплексу. По пути встречаются только безымянные статисты — учёные и охранники — радостно восклицающие что-нибудь в духе: «Фриман! Ты нас спасёшь! Пиздуй туда, я щас открою дверь!». Охранники иногда могут ходить вместе с тобой (до первой лестницы или вентиляции) и как бы помогать убивать врагов.

А врагов-то игре и не хватает. Потому что на самом деле Half-Life шутер только отчасти. Первые часов пять — ебучий платформинг. Фриман постоянно забирается по лестницам, шароёбиться по вентиляции и крутит вентили. Враги появляются настолько редко и их настолько мало, что назвать «это» шутером я никак не могу. Куча прыготни (от первого лица! Ненависть!) и простенькие загадки могут тянуться минут по 40, потом короткая перестрелка с парой-тройкой монстров... И никаким хорором тут не пахнет. Монстры не представляют никакой опасности, а музыки в игре мало и играет она в строго определенные моменты. Поэтому 90% времени приходится наслаждаться звуками шагов Фримана и разбиваемых монтировкой ящиков.

О, эта ебучая монтировка! В ящиках могут быть патроны и броня, поэтому монтировкой нужно пользоваться всю игру. Вот почему это херня стала символом серии. Потому что ты видишь её чаще, чем огнестрел!

Где-то в середине игра вспоминает, что она шутер и выпускает тебя на улицу. Несколько часов предстоит отстреливать в основном военных, взрывать танки, и даже босс-вертолёт есть!

Кстати, о боссах. Вёртолет убивается классическим методом — с помощью базуки. А вот первые два босса убиваются революционным методом беготни мимо боссов и дерганья нужных рычагов. Что ничуть не веселее традиционного способа.

После длинной секции на улицах, Фриман снова попадает в лаборатории, но тут уже всё чуть веселее. Цвета ярче, заскриптованные сценки интереснее, да и пушки дают хоть чуточку необычные (типа стреляющей самонаводящимися жуками), а секции с унылым платформингом и вентилями намного чаще разбавляют перестрелками.

Дальше — мир Зен. В оригинале это был кривой и косой, наспех слепленный, не вписывающийся в игру получасовой обрубок. В ремейке — красивый, но люто затянутый (часа на 4) парад попрыгушек и простых пазлов.

Я прочитал несколько старых рецензий на Half-Life и оказалось, что игру-то хвалили за две фишки: заскриптованные сценки, вместо заставок, и реализм с интерактивностью. Заскриптованными сценами сейчас никого, естественно, не удивить. Реализм? Это да. После лабиринтов всяких Квейков и Думов с ключ-картами, линейный и логичный простой бытовой логикой левел-дизайн Half-Life — действительно революция.

Но сейчас играть в неё скучно, очень скучно. Не мучительно больно, но порядком уныло. Обилие платформинга раздражает, в первой половине перестрелок мапо, со второй половины — слишком много. Да и перестрелки эти сохранились не очень: будто в Контр-Страйк с ботами играешь.

Вот отсюда и чувство, что меня наебали. Обещали нестареющую классику, а получил я — устаревшую революцию.

Deciding how to rate this game was a bit of a conundrum for me. More so than any other game I’ve reviewed here. I was floating between 3 and 4 stars. 3 indicating an interesting but ultimately subpar game, 4 indicating a flawed masterpiece. I’ve settled on the later.

Background first: I’ve only ever played a small amount of the first Half Life and of Half Life 2; both around 2012. The first game I quickly lost interest in due to what I perceived as outdated gameplay and a lot of repetitive hallways. The second I enjoyed a bit more but also lost interest in, partly I think because I had no real attachment to the IP. With the release of Alyx and, godwilling, renewed possibility for a third mainline game, I’ve been thinking a lot on giving them another try. Black Mesa, above all else, was the perfect excuse and means to bring me back to this franchise.

Being the completionist that I am, I feel that I have to experience the full story of the first game before I will truly embrace the sequel after all.

I’m gonna start with the praise. This game looks fricken’ beautiful. Especially Xen. Xen sits comfortably among the most beautiful looking game segments I’ve played. Secondly, the music is fantastic as well. Especially when it ramps up during the epic action set pieces or more contemplative segments, it is really effective.

I’ve realised it’s a shame I didn’t give Half Life more of a chance all those years ago because the premise and lore are very much in my wheelhouse. This game was clearly made by people who love and respect that lore because I could feel the epicness and awesomeness of the original game constantly shining through. The character designs and motifs are so interesting and fun. The environments later on become so exciting and creative. I guess it wasn’t all hallways after all. Generally, this is great source material (duh).

I also really enjoyed some of the aspects of the game that were more puzzle-oriented and encouraged creative exploration/use of the environment. I could tell this was definitely a Valve IP, the mechanics of navigating the map were so reminiscent of the sister, spin-off series that I’m much more familiar with: Portal.

This does bring me to my gripes however. When the puzzle based navigation works and feels intuitive, it is really fun and satisfying. However, a pretty large chunk of it I found to be obtuse and very difficult to figure out. Perhaps I’ve gotten used to games being a little bit more hand-holdy than they were in 1998, but I really lacked patience for a lot of the confusing map layouts. Especially so when there were large sections of levels that appeared to go somewhere and had hints of puzzle elements but then were essentially just red-herring areas I didn’t need to bother with.

I also found the platforming to be downright painful. For me it was inexcusable, the number of times I got properly pissed off trying to make jumps that were just a little too far or too specific in how I needed to land. Not to mention similar janky sections where moving through a level was teeth gratingly annoying (I’m looking at those fricken rooms full of hyper-sensitive explosives).

That brings me to the combat, which was also a goddamn nightmare. Most of the enemies move too damn quickly. Even when I swapped from a controller to mouse and keyboard controls, I found them to be rage inducing. Their movement doesn’t look natural and it feels just so defeating to be regularly struggling to aim at a target because it’s bouncing all over the place. Meanwhile enemy weapons can often take off huge swathes of health at once. This made the human enemies, for example, a dreaded encounter (and not really in a good way).

Overall though, I found this to be a worthwhile experience. It seems that most of the stuff that makes the original game a classic manages to shine through here. Not to mention the updated graphics and level design, which are mostly very impressive.

The Crowbar Collective had certainly hit their stride by the time they made Xen. I have to reiterate that I loved those levels. I think that the platforming, visual aesthetics, music, puzzle solving and combat were all finely tuned almost to perfection there. If Xen were released as an unrelated indie game, I think it would have generated a lot of buzz. In fact, I would say that based on this latest work from the team: it seems to me that these guys are probably the ones who should be working on Half Life 3.

In spite of some of the most frustrating flaws I’ve encountered in a game of this scope for a long time, I did kinda love this. I have to respect that it’s a fan made game as well. A super impressive effort.

If you’re interested in Half Life and willing to have a little patience, this seems like a great game to start with in 2020.

I completely forgot that Daemon X Machina came out on PC, so I'm gonna temporarily put the rest of the game on hold (I reached Forget About Freeman) for a bit until I try out that game.

So far, my feelings on the game have changed a bit. I still think around... 40-50% of the game is just outright boring. Mostly because pre-Questionable Ethics, the game just does not throw enough enemies at you at all, gives you too many ways to cheese the enemies outright, gives you too much ammo, or, and this is mostly the case, is entirely just navigating level geometry. This is really the biggest issue, you spend so much time navigating areas that are neither interesting or fun to move around, you're going to spend so much time in vents, tubes, crouch jumping, hopping between areas. There's so much weak platforming that you do in between weak combat encounters that it's irritating if not condemning.

That being said, Questionable Ethics and Surface Tension both are two absolutely incredible levels, and really shows where the game shines. The atmosphere hits on point, the combat encounters are well balanced (still gives you a bit too much ammo imo), and the enemy design is solid. I love how it adequately uses alien soldiers, vortigants, and marines in tandem in these levels.

The game finally gets really good here, but holy hell does it take so long to get to this point. Blast Pit is the only part before Questionable Ethics where I'd say it really hits at all, and that's a solid 3-5 hours of dumped time (3 for me since I'm very very familiar with this kind of level). I think it might be overall good, and I still have Xen to cover, so I'd say Black Mesa is mostly a worthy recommend as of now.

Black Mesa - First Impressions

One step forward, several steps back.

From a technical level (other than optimization, there's several issues there as of now) and graphical, Black Mesa is a direct improvement so far. The new art is great, especially in tandem with the new kickass soundtrack, leading to a somewhat immersive experience on offer that somewhat rivals portions of Half-Life 1.

Unfortunately, the gameplay and level design has been gutted as far back as the early levels. The early levels were never too interesting in HL1 which is a shame, but your movement has been relegated to slowwalk or sprint, and neither is faster or as satisfying as the old bunnyhop. This leads to many several stretches of boring level design being unable to just be sped fast by utilizing your once interesting movement. The vortigants do have new tricks that are nice, in that they sidestep your aim and fire, as well as a new ability to compensate. But overall, you're far more overpowered for the obstacles ahead to a point where the game is significantly easier than the original.

I'm just clearing Blast Pit, and overall I think it's not looking to be a pretty good fps as I would've liked. There's of course, still the later levels where HL1 peaked and the redone Xen, so many of what I'm saying could change from now. But it's still unfortunate that of all the things to keep, they kept HL1's lowest points, with unnecessary downtime and didn't retool the levels to be more interesting and with FAR more enemies with your slower movement.