Brother, that final boss fight had me about ready to call the whole thing QUITS!!!! Goddamn, that nearly broke me.
Anyway, this absolutely lived up the hype. A genuinely inventive and atmospheric shooter that seriously holds up (in most ways) to modern sensibilities. The level design is genuinely just as good if not better than a lot of stuff getting released today. So many interesting ideas, and none really outstay their welcome.
The only thing that has aged is the visuals (this was vanilla, OG HL, no mods or remakes) but in a way they add to the vibes. I love late 90s/early 00s PC horror. Those weird, liminal spaces, and basic textures are so jarring and genuinely add to the tension.
Anyway, this absolutely lived up the hype. A genuinely inventive and atmospheric shooter that seriously holds up (in most ways) to modern sensibilities. The level design is genuinely just as good if not better than a lot of stuff getting released today. So many interesting ideas, and none really outstay their welcome.
The only thing that has aged is the visuals (this was vanilla, OG HL, no mods or remakes) but in a way they add to the vibes. I love late 90s/early 00s PC horror. Those weird, liminal spaces, and basic textures are so jarring and genuinely add to the tension.