Half-Life is no doubt one of the most influential video games ever. It excels in the less-is-more narrative for this medium as the environmental storytelling is what gives most of the context instead of plot being told to you. You, as Gordon Freeman, are free to approach the game any way you want.
I unfortunately had a couple month long gap between play sessions so I wasn't as immersed as I wanted to be. I went guns blazing and learned the hard way that it was not the ideal way to play the game. For the majority of my playthrough I played like I was Doomguy and not as a theoretical physicist.
Gordon's arsenal are more so tools rather than weapons, although that's definitely what they're used for. The combat encounters are more along the lines of combat puzzles rather than battle arenas. Depending on the enemy type you either have to be on the defensive or setup traps and lure enemies away as to not be below 50% health the entire game like me.
The main problem is that the game doesn't incentivize the more methodical play style, despite it being the most optimal way to play if you're not a FPS god or speedrunner. I learned of different ways to play the game from videos because I found the game too unforgiving. From those videos I learned that a lot of the situations were my fault and I needed to really pay attention to what the game was teaching me.
It's a 90s game so it doesn't hold your hand. I kind of finished this game out of spite rather than enjoyment haha. I was angry because it was so hard but I felt a great sense of relief when I got to take down the helicopter. That section was giving me such a headache and I didn't realize there was a minefield, I thought the chopper was just pulling out hacks lmfao. When I got to Xen it became less so hard but just aggravating due to the platforming sections and the final boss being a little *.
I save-scummed a lot and that bit me in the butt a lot too, especially when I pretty much softlocked myself in a bad situation and didn't have a good save. I had to push through and really come up with a good strategy to get out of a bad situation. Some sections took me well up to an hour just to get past a handful of bad guys. I was so tempted to use cheats but I didn't want to take away from myself the satisfaction of overcoming the insurmountable odds.
The art direction is fantastic and it really comes through in the later sections of being in the Black Mesa complex. I loved the more creepy sections, this game feels like a survival-horror at times with how atmospheric and (for me at least) the resource scarcity really added to the tension and suspense.
While the graphics are dated (I love old game graphics) everything makes sense for the most part. Some things were harder to discern because of the flat textures and weird collision and geometry. I completely missed the aforementioned minefield until I watched a video lol.
The music is superb, it's probably one of my favorite game soundtracks just for how spooky, industrial, funky, and atmospheric it is. It's eclectic and it does it well.
I don't have much else to say. I recommend this game but for the love of Gman, please pay attention to what the game teaches you via it's environmental storytelling. Also go out of your way to explore, the game has little nook and crannies for you to visit. Try to conserve your ammo and use your weapons as tools to lure the enemies so you're in control rather than go guns blazing. It's also okay to not fight everybody (I also learned this the hard way haha). Approach the game as a scientist not a soldier.
I unfortunately had a couple month long gap between play sessions so I wasn't as immersed as I wanted to be. I went guns blazing and learned the hard way that it was not the ideal way to play the game. For the majority of my playthrough I played like I was Doomguy and not as a theoretical physicist.
Gordon's arsenal are more so tools rather than weapons, although that's definitely what they're used for. The combat encounters are more along the lines of combat puzzles rather than battle arenas. Depending on the enemy type you either have to be on the defensive or setup traps and lure enemies away as to not be below 50% health the entire game like me.
The main problem is that the game doesn't incentivize the more methodical play style, despite it being the most optimal way to play if you're not a FPS god or speedrunner. I learned of different ways to play the game from videos because I found the game too unforgiving. From those videos I learned that a lot of the situations were my fault and I needed to really pay attention to what the game was teaching me.
It's a 90s game so it doesn't hold your hand. I kind of finished this game out of spite rather than enjoyment haha. I was angry because it was so hard but I felt a great sense of relief when I got to take down the helicopter. That section was giving me such a headache and I didn't realize there was a minefield, I thought the chopper was just pulling out hacks lmfao. When I got to Xen it became less so hard but just aggravating due to the platforming sections and the final boss being a little *.
I save-scummed a lot and that bit me in the butt a lot too, especially when I pretty much softlocked myself in a bad situation and didn't have a good save. I had to push through and really come up with a good strategy to get out of a bad situation. Some sections took me well up to an hour just to get past a handful of bad guys. I was so tempted to use cheats but I didn't want to take away from myself the satisfaction of overcoming the insurmountable odds.
The art direction is fantastic and it really comes through in the later sections of being in the Black Mesa complex. I loved the more creepy sections, this game feels like a survival-horror at times with how atmospheric and (for me at least) the resource scarcity really added to the tension and suspense.
While the graphics are dated (I love old game graphics) everything makes sense for the most part. Some things were harder to discern because of the flat textures and weird collision and geometry. I completely missed the aforementioned minefield until I watched a video lol.
The music is superb, it's probably one of my favorite game soundtracks just for how spooky, industrial, funky, and atmospheric it is. It's eclectic and it does it well.
I don't have much else to say. I recommend this game but for the love of Gman, please pay attention to what the game teaches you via it's environmental storytelling. Also go out of your way to explore, the game has little nook and crannies for you to visit. Try to conserve your ammo and use your weapons as tools to lure the enemies so you're in control rather than go guns blazing. It's also okay to not fight everybody (I also learned this the hard way haha). Approach the game as a scientist not a soldier.