I have just finished the Half-Life series. Prompted by the 20th anniversary of HL2, I decided to play HL1 (1997), then HL2 (2004), and both episodes. I'm currently playing through Black Mesa and it's very enjoyable so far, it's like they took everything from HL1 and removed the annoying parts, I'm excited to see what more changes they decided to make, and what other references are present.
HL1 aged badly imo, but I recognize the technical achievement that it was at the time it was released. It's full of good ideas, and I'm amazed by what they've accomplished.
HL2 didn't feel like a it has a technical leap as big as its predecessor, but the gameplay ideas in there feel more modern than most game 20 years later. The game has some long stretches that were a bit annoying but the whole journey felt worth it. During the last chapter where you get the upgraded gravity gun, I started seeing the seeds of Portal games, more so in Episode 1, it was like I suddenly understood Valve as game devs and their philosophy. Episode 2 was the most fun I had and despite being short it felt like a full fledged campaign.
Alyx was fun to watch on youtube 🤡
I'm really happy that I completed the games and can put them down (compared to grinding endlessly in live service games), I'm really glad that I now understand why the series is praised, why people are aching for the third Episode, why Valve backed themselves into a corner because of their technical ambitions.
But now, I want more of this, more of those one of a kind experiences that push the genre forward. More gameplay ideas. I'll probably replay the Portal games, but what other games would you recommend?
Some times, Half Life reminded me of more modern immersive sims I played before (Dishonored, Prey, I'll probably go back to them at some point), maybe Deux Ex, System Shock should be on my list?
As for the last, OpenRA is good too if you played RA(2)
The sequel has Sara Kestelman as Kreia, that alone makes it worth playing IMHO.
Maybe I was a little jilted coming into Kotor 2 directly after Kotor 1 - I really enjoyed the sequel, but you can feel the cut content in some areas, whereas the first game feels ‘complete’.
I might owe it another play through, it has been a while
It's a shame they forced them to release it unfinished. If you decide to play it, install the Restored Content Mod from the Steam Workshop. It restores a lot of cut content, making the game a bit more complete.
Excellent listw thank you for the links!!
Very much free space 2 here. 99 was a fine year for games.
And they abandoned the IP to focus on Saints Row 😥
FS2 was the first game that really ‘caught’ my attention. Other game were fun sure and had bigger budgets or larger market appeal, but FS maintained that narrative tone of a existential struggle to survive in a cold and uncaring universe, humanity ignorantly plodding the galaxy and awakening xenophobic forces beyond our comprehension.
FS1 is also excellent, but it’s a rare event when the sequel is hands down the better game in almost all aspects, while respecting the source material and keeping the story moving while being faithful to that original tone