The Half-Life 25th anniversary has brought us a deluge of new material. We’ve seen cut characters restored, additional maps for Half-Life Deathmatch, and a full-length documentary about Valve and the creation of the epochal FPS game. But as Gordon Freeman, Black Mesa, and G-Man hit their 25th birthday, a sneaky new Half-Life update makes a fundamental change to the seminal sci-fi shooter. Half-Life 3 might never happen, but after a quarter of a century, the original game is still getting love from its creators.
What’s your favorite Half-Life level? Do you like the close-quarter confines of Office Complex, the all-out warfare of Surface Tension, or the precarious platforming of Residue Processing? Personally, I’m a sucker for Unforeseen Consequences – I love going back through the initial lab sections and seeing how your recently idyllic workplace has been torn apart by the cascade. But I think the most iconic moment in the whole FPS game is Blast Pit.
It starts by presenting you with a problem – huge monster – then tasks you with connecting all the components necessary to resolve said problem, before a big, explosive finale where it all comes together. It’s really smart stuff. But there’s one thing that really bugs me. Take a look at the video below, courtesy of YouTube channel VideoGameCinema, and keep a close eye on the scientist:
Do you see that? He gets grabbed by the tentacle, but then when the tentacle pulls back, there’s a delay. It’s the kind of thing you notice when you’ve played Half-Life again, and again, and again. But like the sound of a ticking clock in the background, once you’ve noticed it, you can’t un-notice it – after 25 years, I just want the scientist to go with the tentacle. Well, I guess today’s the day.
A new Half-Life update, which arrives among several small and large fixes delivered by Valve around the 25th anniversary, finally fixes this particular animation issue. You can see it in all its seamless, remade glory thanks to a clip from Twitter/X user Vinícius Medeiros:
Valve has finally fixed this scene in today's Half-Life update pic.twitter.com/IDgnieZOVU
— Vinícius Medeiros (@VinciusMedeiro6) November 23, 2023
25 years later, and Valve is still tweaking and improving Half-Life down to the finest details. I hope some of the bugs are left alone, however – they’re a part of Half-Life now; they give it character. Nevertheless, speaking of Valve and technical turmoil, one former Left 4 Dead developer says the zombie shooter was “broken” when it launched in 2008.
If you miss the ’90s and the classic era of the boomer shooter, check out some of the best old games that you can still get on PC. Alternatively, the best survival games will help recapture that run, shoot, think, and live spirit of Half-Life.
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