HL2 is probably the game I’ve replayed the most. It’s just as amazing every time.

When I played it for the first time almost 20 years ago (gosh!) I expected all games would have this level of immersion onward. It was such a leap forward. Things I normally could expect from the real world applied to HL2 as well.

Oh, there’s roller mines hurtling towards me? Obviously I’m supposed to throw them down the cliff using my gravity gun. No explanation from the game about this. It just felt like I would do the same in the real world.

Is this immersion the future of gaming? I can’t wait to see what the future will bring!

Turns out 20 years later that HL2 was a one of a kind game. Other games might have better graphics and physics, but no game is HL2.

I adore this series. I especially have very fond memories of the original. I did not play it on release (I was still a toddler then), but I got it through the Valve Bundle on Steam and played it through at least 5 times. I've had multiple times in my life were I didn't have access to a powerful computer, but similar to DOOM, Half-Life will run on about anything. I remember one of my playtroughs being on a horrible windows 8 tablet, and still it looked and played amazingly :).

Half-Life 2 then just perfected an already strong original. There is something just so satisfying about the environmental design and linearity of the levels. You just push through and know that you will find enough in your surroundings to make it. I find it strange that there haven't been that many clones since (first person exploration action games). Most games either are to linear (COD) or completely open world or become a full-on immersive sim.

If you have any recommendations, please share them. Dishonored gave me similar vibes, but I miss the simplicity of Half-Life.

Watching the crazy speedruns of Half Life is mezmorizing.

This classic video of a segmented run is just stunning:

https://youtu.be/VtI5HM7GVGY

This is the current world record of an unsegmwnted run: https://youtu.be/nsr5qgpfaWI?

I like the whole series. Others are talking about 1 and 2, so I'll add Half-Life Alyx. It's a VR game, and at the time the PC VR scene was almost all indie games. I remember working out that if I wanted to carry more stuff I didn't need to worry about only being allowed to hold two grenades, I could just pick up a bucket, fill it with grenades, and carry that around.

I also remember being able to pick up pens and draw on a whiteboard.

I'm not sure how it holds up these days, but at the time it was quite the experience.

I know this is a controversial take, but I really intensely do not like Half Life.

I have issues with it from a narrative perspective. I have no idea who it is I'm fighting or why. It feels like an incredibly forced "oh, we need an excuse to throw some baddies at the player" premise.

But the main problem I had was mechanical. It's just not a fun game to play. The gunplay was fine, but then it forces itself to throw a bunch of puzzle and platforming mechanics at you, and just…why? It's so, so terrible at them. Running up to the edge and jumping will more often than not really in you falling because of a misalignment in perceived location and where the game's engine says you are. Boxes, which you have to move around to solve the puzzling, fly around at a million miles per minute, making the fine control needed to successfully solve the puzzles very, very difficult. And ladders…don't even get me started about ladders.

I couldn't bring myself to finish the first Half Life, let alone start on the sequel.

Back when internet cafes were popular; this game right here was the cool shooter game being played.

A cafe near me would host monthly tournaments and would pay 3 times the hourly cost to the top three with nuke button banned. We weren't really skilled in the game compared to the pro players; but we had our own weapons we were good at. I was good with SMG grenades and electric gun but never managed to hit top three; but all the matches were good times anyways.

There was a really good player that used arrow keys to look around instead of a mouse, and was insanely good with the railgun. Would somehow always end up at either first or second place. Wonder what's he up to nowadays.

I played hl2 a long time ago (at least 10 years). It was a really good game when I played it and I suspect it will stand the test of time for a long while still.
That said, its not Something I'm especially interested in revisiting personally

Half-Life and Portal had a huge impact on my life. In high school I was in the source modding community, so I'm probably too familiar with valve's engines and games. I made a few mods, the most well known being hl2 classic, and it kinda got me into game development.

But needless to say, it's a fantastic series. I had a chance to play alyx and it was nuts. It's crazy how influential this series and its technology is on gaming as a whole.

And a fun fact: quake had a feature where level designers could make a light flicker with a pattern of brightnesses. There were some premade patterns you could select as well. These made it into the goldsrc engine, then source, then source 2 - so Alyx, Quake, HL1, HL2, Portal, Portal 2, and more have lights that flicker in the exact same way.

Half-Life was my introduction to FPS gaming; I loved every game in the series that I had the pleasure to play - Half-Life, Opposing Force, Blue Shift and Half-Life 2 (Lost Coast, Episode One, Episode 2). I never got round to playing Alyx; I didn't have hardware that would cope!

Half-Life also spawned the CounterStrike series; I sank way to many hours into them.

My favourite game remains the original; I enjoyed the narrative and the occasional puzzle. I purchased the upgraded graphics pack (which also fixed a few glitches) and prefer the original with this pack to the remastered version of the game (Half-Life: Source).

It holds a very special place in my heart.

I remember playing Half Life at my Grandparents house, my grandfather or Dad stuck me on Half Life (they had a PC) and I loved it.

I was only able to get past the first few zombies (by fleeing) before having to give up from being too scared lol. While I had played other games / consoles, Half Life was the first game I played that blew my mind and gave me a "wow" factor.

I think other than the original I think Opposing Force is my favourite of the expansions.

Thanks for the post; I'm due for a replay 😁

edit: typo

I've only played the first few minutes of the first Half Life (I know, it's on my list™). I had to turn off texture filtering immediately; the game looks terrible otherwise. Question: Why did games of this era (Morrowind also comes to mind) look this way, i.e. blurry?

That hl2 tech demo way back when. The graphics and physics engine update from old game to new (I mean really against anything current) was unreal! Holy shit I’ve ever been more pumped for a game in my life!

Found it - E3 from 2003 https://youtu.be/4ddJ1OKV63Q?si=GhIZZF1Xc4M8OZ6R

I have replayed Half Life 2 a few times. Some parts of the game feel really goofy now. There are many physics based puzzles in game. Like needing to weigh down a see saw like platform with cinder blocks to get across a gap. I think at the time these were really revolutionary, but they feel silly now. At the same time, I'm hard pressed to think of shooters that still include that type of puzzle (but I also don't play many shooters nowadays).

My current favourite half-life is Abiotic Factor, to be honest.

source engine aesthetic was peak. i still love it, and nothing's been able to replicate it. some games have tried, but the source feel is just unique.

i always love stacking books in barney's interrogation room and trying to shove as many objects as i can in to kleiner's mini teleporter.

i also remember having to wait for headcrabs to finish their death animation before i could move forward in hl1,, so that's fun :P

I only play Brutal Halflife.

Half-Life and its mods defined my high school years. I have core memories of TFC 2fort with Eminem's "Stan" playing in the background. Of finding a server, adding it to my Favorites, and eventually becoming part of the community.

Valve's eventual inclusion of voice chat elevated the social aspect to another level.

DOOR. STUCK.

Half-Life (1) was the game that got me into FPS in general and kept me away from the horrors that is CoD or so.

Half-Life 2 probably has the best campaign though. Especially considering all achievements for example.

Worst is difficult – I like them all for what they are, but the one I like least is Half-Life 2 Episode 1.