The pivotal first-person shooter Half-Life is still breaking barriers today. Half-Life was first released for PC on November 19, 1998. It was followed up by a direct sequel, 2006’s Half-Life 2, and then, after a decade and a half of rumored revivals and canceled projects, 2020’s VR prequel Half-Life: Alyx. Half-Life was notable at the time of release for its realistic world, fluid movement, and unique methods of video game storytelling. By using scripted events instead of cutscenes to move the plot along, it keeps control constantly in the player’s hands.

As a result, Half-Life has held up exceptionally well in a way that most 25-year-old games simply don’t. Its satisfying, fast-paced mechanics are still familiar to modern FPS players, and its approach to engaging storytelling is just as captivating as it ever was. But not content to simply rest on its laurels, having created one of the most highly profitable, highly regarded, highly influential video games of all time, developer Valve is still improving Half-Life in 2023.

Half-Life Just Got A Huge 25th Anniversary Update

Half-Life Now Has New Multiplayer Maps, Restored Content, And A Hefty Dose Of Nostalgia

In 2023, decades after its initial release, Half-Life received a significant update. For the 25th anniversary, Valve has renewed multiplayer support for Half-Life, adding four brand-new multiplayer maps along with some old favorites. The classic maps, plus a variety of new character skins, come from the 1999 retail-exclusive expansion Half Life: Further Data. Also available as multiplayer skins are the two protagonists of Half-Life‘s alpha build: Ivan the Space Biker and Proto-Barney. The update includes the mini-campaign Half-Life Uplink, originally a demo bundled with PC gaming magazines. It also updates settings for modern displays, and restores the splash screen and intro to their original 1998 forms.

What Else Half-Life’s 25th Anniversary Update Changes

But the update focuses on the minor as well as the major. According to @VinciusMedeiro6 on X (formerly Twitter), Half-Life‘s 25th anniversary update fixes a persistent animation bug that’s existed ever since its initial release. During the Blast Pit level, protagonist Gordon Freeman enters an observation room to find a scientist watching a tentacled beast from behind a window. The glass shatters, an appendage reaches in, and the scientist is dragged out to meet his fate. In the original scene, there’s a slight delay between when the tentacle picks up the scientist and when the scientist begins to move. However, as of the update, the two work in perfect sync.

This kind of attention to detail represents persistent devotion on Valve’s part. To go back into a 25-year-old game, make it work better on modern PCs, and plop down some old, half-forgotten content for nostalgia’s sake is one thing. To go deep into its source code and resolve decades-old bugs is another entirely. And it’s not even the only update Half-Life has gotten recently; last year, it was optimized, along with some of Valve’s other releases, for the Steam Deck. It’s even more admirable considering that Steam recently offered Half-Life free on the day of its anniversary, and it’s still on sale for just 99 cents until November 28.

Half-Life still getting careful attention 25 years after its release speaks not only to Valve’s dedication, but also to the kind of impact the game has had. Players old and new will certainly find something to like about the 25th anniversary update, whether it’s getting down to the tiniest bug fixes, getting nostalgic about the restored content, or getting lost in the chaos of multiplayer mode. Between its new content and incredibly low price, there’s never been a better time to give Half-Life a try.

Source: @VinciusMedeiro6