In late autumn 2022, I decided to play through the games on my backlog instead of purchasing new ones. This was something I’d always wanted to do but never got around to starting, as I often lost interest. But this time was different, and I’ve continued to chug along at a respectable pace. It’s been one of the best things I’ve ever done. I’ll be presenting the games in the chronological order that I played them, and I’ll write a short summary and attach relevant screenshots if I can find them.
The first game on my list was Half Life, the original from 1998. I purchased the game a long time ago, can’t even remember when, and it had done nothing besides gathering dust on my Steam shelf. I knew nothing about it besides it being hailed as a huge leap in gaming storytelling and gameplay, and I couldn’t have agreed more. Despite the game being almost 25 years old at the time, it still held up to modern standards. The slow ride through the facility and Gordon making his way around his workplace was a great tutorial, so I felt reasonably ready when the resonance cascade happened and all hell broke loose.
What I remember most vividly was save-scumming around five times to see if I could save the guard in the elevator shaft, just in the beginning, when you meet the headcrabs and their victims. When the HECU strikes and you see them gunning down scientists, I thought their aggression toward Gordon was a consequence of me accidentally firing on them, so I reloaded a save to see if I got the same outcome without attacking them. About 3 seconds later, I was dead and realised that, yes, they were the bad guys. The end of the game was on Xen, which I thought was a lot of fun. The alien environment (both literally and figuratively) spooked me and filled me with a sense of dread.
The Nihilanth was probably the pinnacle of that, despite not being the greatest fight mechanically.
The ending with the ominous G-man was perfect, and I felt satisfied, not knowing what was ahead.
I think the old graphics helped a lot with the game’s overall presentation as it left a lot to my imagination, which is seldom found in newer, more graphically impressive games. But there were some funny bugs, like the G-man not moving when he was supposed to, and me being able to walk right up to him face to face.
The game deserves the cult status it has and was one of the best games I have ever played. The puzzles really made my noggin think.
My goal is to post two game summaries per week moving forward. The next post will be on Sunday and will cover the expansion Blue Shift.
The first game on my list was Half Life, the original from 1998. I purchased the game a long time ago, can’t even remember when, and it had done nothing besides gathering dust on my Steam shelf. I knew nothing about it besides it being hailed as a huge leap in gaming storytelling and gameplay, and I couldn’t have agreed more. Despite the game being almost 25 years old at the time, it still held up to modern standards. The slow ride through the facility and Gordon making his way around his workplace was a great tutorial, so I felt reasonably ready when the resonance cascade happened and all hell broke loose.
What I remember most vividly was save-scumming around five times to see if I could save the guard in the elevator shaft, just in the beginning, when you meet the headcrabs and their victims. When the HECU strikes and you see them gunning down scientists, I thought their aggression toward Gordon was a consequence of me accidentally firing on them, so I reloaded a save to see if I got the same outcome without attacking them. About 3 seconds later, I was dead and realised that, yes, they were the bad guys. The end of the game was on Xen, which I thought was a lot of fun. The alien environment (both literally and figuratively) spooked me and filled me with a sense of dread.
The Nihilanth was probably the pinnacle of that, despite not being the greatest fight mechanically.
The ending with the ominous G-man was perfect, and I felt satisfied, not knowing what was ahead.
I think the old graphics helped a lot with the game’s overall presentation as it left a lot to my imagination, which is seldom found in newer, more graphically impressive games. But there were some funny bugs, like the G-man not moving when he was supposed to, and me being able to walk right up to him face to face.
The game deserves the cult status it has and was one of the best games I have ever played. The puzzles really made my noggin think.
My goal is to post two game summaries per week moving forward. The next post will be on Sunday and will cover the expansion Blue Shift.
