Black Mesa Is a Masterful Remake of Half-Life

Remakes can be a bit of a testy topic in the entertainment industry, especially when it’s a beloved property. This time we’re talking about a remake of Half-Life—a game that marked a new chapter in first-person shooters, blending story and shooting without the use of cut scenes. It also had a ripple effect on the game market itself, spawning the huge franchises of Counter-Strike, Team Fortress, and Portal, not to mention leading to the financial behemoth that would become Steam.

A group of modders known as Crowbar Collective took on the behemoth task of remaking Half-Life as Black Mesa, eventually getting Valve’s seal of approval to sell the game. This unique model, not born from a place of financial incentive, coupled with a lengthy 15-year development cycle, has led to an incredibly successful result.

Gordon Freeman, theoretical physicist at the Black Mesa Research Facility, has one hell of a bad day at work, and Black Mesa keeps the same overall structure of Half-Life as you experience events that likely aren’t covered by Gordon’s workers’ comp policy. Some levels have been altered, one noticeable change being “On a Rail”—a chapter in the original that consisted of taking a rail car through an exhausting maze of track systems, completely killing all momentum the game had. In Black Mesa this chapter has been drastically reduced, keeping the game’s pace moving along nicely. If you’ve played Half-Life recently (or extensively), your level pathing should still apply for the most part, but you’ll find new areas and new puzzles inserted throughout. Given the jump in graphical fidelity, every level has details large and small that will want to make you want to make you stop and take in the scenery. The surface levels now really sell the idea that the military is slowly losing control of the situation, with the battles being on a much more grand scale.

One substantial change is the chapters set in Xen—the latter portion of the game set in an other-dimensional borderworld. The original versions of these levels were a bit of a lowlight, with their weird low-gravity jumping puzzles, but Crowbar Collective rebuilt Xen from the ground up and expanded it greatly. It looks absolutely gorgeous; the team has nailed the otherworldly look of floating islands and nebula-filled skies. However, it seems that Xen just might be cursed, as this new version comes with its own problems. The first (long) chapter is filled with the same shooting puzzle over and over again in different areas, and the “Gonarch’s Lair” chapter, in which in the big mama headcrab pursues you through a cave system, has been lengthened quite a bit to the point that I wanted to yell “Get on with it!” at my screen. There’s still plenty of jumping to be had, but the long jump module has been made significantly less janky. And there are some great improvements in Xen, however—the plight of the Vortigaunts has been better clarified, making them more sympathetic and better explaining their pro-humanity stance in Half-Life 2. The final boss, too, has been brought into the modern era. So don’t get me wrong: I’d take this version of Xen any day of the week.

Shooting feels much more satisfying, closer to Counter-Strike. The submachine gun, for example, now has noticeable recoil, so instead of spraying everywhere, it requires short bursts and crouching to improve your accuracy. Body damage on enemies feels like it matters; a headshot on that enemy soldier or headcrab zombie will drop them fast. The enemy AI is smarter—the Hazardous Environment Combat Unit will flank, charge, and use grenades—but the friendly AI is still dumb, with the security guards who occasionally accompany you often failing to notice enemies that aren’t directly in front of them. Their purpose is (still) best served as meat shields.

On the audio front, Joel Nielsen’s two-part soundtrack is fantastic. During the Black Mesa portion of the game, the music is energetic, dominated by electric guitar, drums, and synthesizer. While in Xen, it’s floating and ethereal. These “music moments” kick in during climactic moments—intense fights or scenic vistas—before fading away. The soundtrack is missed when it’s gone, but it’s used to amazing effect, in just the right place at just the right time. The script is largely the same from Half-Life, and the voice talent is, for the most part, pretty good. The actor who voices the various security guards and the one who voices the “lead scientist” role sound remarkably similar to the original voice actors.

Beyond the story, there’s also multiplayer. It’s fairly basic—no classes or level-ups here, hearkening back to ’90s multiplayers with everyone running amok shooting each other. It’s not terribly popular but you’re bound to find at least one populated server on the weekends.

Should Black Mesa be the only way you experience Half-Life? I don’t think so. The original still has its merits, at least as a piece of gaming history. Black Mesa, however, is an exciting take on a classic, a prime example of how a remake should be done.

Black Mesa is available on Steam.