It’s an incredible feeling—2024, I’m 30 years old, and I’m just now discovering the first Half-Life. Growing up, Half-Life 2 was my holy grail, a towering monolith among games, so I avoided the original, only aware of it through clunky video reviews and unappealing screenshots.

But the gameplay here is fantastic. For a game from 1998, it feels unbelievably polished. I remember being a kid at my brother’s computer, thrilled that you could pick up a can knocked down by a Combine’s baton and throw it in the trash (HL 2), or, in Half-Life: Alyx, being fascinated by markers and a window. Here, I’m mesmerized by the animations, sound design, the familiar cramped ventilation corridors, headcrabs, and the unforgettable medkit sounds.

Valve makes games you want to play 10, 20 years down the line. And being able to kill doctors, neutral NPCs, gives a level of freedom I hadn’t quite felt before.

Brilliant.

P.S.
Got this game on 25-th anniversary.

Nostalgia!

Legendary game with a bit of difficulty, multiplayer still alive and well. Will run on even the oldest PCs.