Black Mesa

 PC
User Score
8.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1219 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,071 out of 1219
  2. Mixed: 101 out of 1219
  3. Negative: 47 out of 1219

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  1. djbarker
    Apr 16, 2014
    3
    Oh dear. It looks so much better than the original, but the gameplay has gone horribly wrong. I always play FPS on hard, but on this, it's not fun. Enemies can't miss you. So you have to save before a gunfight. Have a look and get killed, but memorise the positions of the baddies, then load up your save, get the crosshairs into position, strafe, fire and hope. On medium, it's a cake walk.Oh dear. It looks so much better than the original, but the gameplay has gone horribly wrong. I always play FPS on hard, but on this, it's not fun. Enemies can't miss you. So you have to save before a gunfight. Have a look and get killed, but memorise the positions of the baddies, then load up your save, get the crosshairs into position, strafe, fire and hope. On medium, it's a cake walk. Such a shame because I love the original.… Expand
  2. PsychoJoona
    May 12, 2021
    2
    The first 2 hours are amazing! It really felt like a true Half-Life remake... but after that the magic is waaay gone! It's dead. The guns feel awful to use, game added ridiculous amounts of stupid pointless puzzles at the game that weren't even in the original. And then there is Xen... HOLY **** HOW DID THEY **** THIS UP SO BAD!?!?!?!?!!?!? Xen in Black Mesa is the most awful things I haveThe first 2 hours are amazing! It really felt like a true Half-Life remake... but after that the magic is waaay gone! It's dead. The guns feel awful to use, game added ridiculous amounts of stupid pointless puzzles at the game that weren't even in the original. And then there is Xen... HOLY **** HOW DID THEY **** THIS UP SO BAD!?!?!?!?!!?!? Xen in Black Mesa is the most awful things I have experienced in video games ever! The OST is horrible because there is some annoying bi*ch singing in the background. **** this game. Don't buy it.… Expand
  3. mangonebula
    May 13, 2016
    0
    They really molested the original with this one.

    Half Life was a sci-fi puzzle thriller and they somehow managed to strip out all of those elements to turn it into Call of Duty LXXXVIII: Alien Ops. Way too much attention was paid to the graphics and shooter aspect and not enough to the design and gameplay. ABSOLUTELY NO CREATIVITY. There are stretches of the game that are just laughably    They really molested the original with this one.

    Half Life was a sci-fi puzzle thriller and they somehow managed to strip out all of those elements to turn it into Call of Duty LXXXVIII: Alien Ops. Way too much attention was paid to the graphics and shooter aspect and not enough to the design and gameplay. ABSOLUTELY NO CREATIVITY. There are stretches of the game that are just laughably easy or where nothing happens at all. The character has to walk for an extended period of time, I assume looking around and gasping at the graphical mastery. On that note, the graphics are not even that great. There are obvious glitches, such as the scientist's ties that flop around everywhere before disappearing. Then, when you finally get to SOMETHING that happens, it's multiple obstacles all at once: 20 soldiers to kill, 10 headcrabs, and an annoying jumping trap. So you end up doing nothing, with not much of the background to interact with and no items to collect, and then dying 50 times in order to get to the next part where nothing happens.

    In terms of the FPS gameplay, it is sadly lacking as well. For some reason, they couldn't figure out how to evenly distribute the health and ammo throughout the levels, so there are times when you're desperate for bullets and run into two clusterf*cks in a row and other times where there's items everywhere but you don't need them and can't take them with you. The logic behind the damage makes no sense either. You can shoot soldiers in the face with a laser gun, A LASER GUN, and it takes three hits to kill them. Yet, somehow their stray bullets from miles away end up directly in your head. And the soundtrack if abysmal, as the music comes in at completely random times with wailing guitar solos designed to make high schoolers spray slim jim particles and mountain dew from their mouths in awe, all over their Metallica t-shirts.

    The original Half Life was a clever, nuanced game that was as much about exploring as it was about click and shoot. It's a tragedy for that type of gameplay to be steamrolled and replaced with boring, trite, overdone, mindless shooting to pander to gamer drones. Thank god the legacy is actually left to Valve with people employed that can come up more creative things like Portal.    … Expand
  4. xcava86x
    Jan 25, 2021
    0
    It was supposed to be free. Then we were told they had to pay Valve a fee and that they would charge a "small amount". Eventually, this became a $20 game.
    Liars.
  5. Mert032
    Mar 5, 2014
    1
    Sorry, but this game has bugs that makes this game unplayable. Somehow in the middle of the game all of my weapons disappeared except crowbar and my pistol. After dying everything was gone. If you figure to get a weapon however; while shooting the game will close itself.
  6. kjwjr
    Apr 13, 2020
    0
    Very buggy. I'm giving it a 0 because after getting to chpt 17, I can no longer load my saves without it crashing. No polished at all, lots of other bugs and issues throughout.
  7. DoubleDDD
    Dec 17, 2020
    0
    They ruined HL. I understand that, maybe, the idea of this game was to make it look better, but to change the game completly, nah, man.....
  8. Yrthraz
    Dec 18, 2021
    0
    Fantastic. Tried playing the first few hours of Half Life and it definitely showed its age, fun, but definitely not a modern experience. Black Mesa brought a modern touch to that Half Life experience while still keeping the genuine experience of the original game. The only game, whereupon reading reviews, was I encouraged by fans of the original release to play Black Mesa instead, becauseFantastic. Tried playing the first few hours of Half Life and it definitely showed its age, fun, but definitely not a modern experience. Black Mesa brought a modern touch to that Half Life experience while still keeping the genuine experience of the original game. The only game, whereupon reading reviews, was I encouraged by fans of the original release to play Black Mesa instead, because it is so faithful and well done. I was honestly blown away, and would encourage others to enter the world of Half Life from this vector. It makes a game from 1998 play like a game from 2008, and that is selling it far short of the actual experience.… Expand
  9. PasiMetaAho
    Jan 7, 2023
    2
    Half-Life: Ruined.
    Suck the developers cock or DIE. repeatedly.

    Unlike the original REAL Half-Life you have no choice but be lead by the neck by dumbass devs.
    Only one who actually did their job was the art guy. Everyone else from the movement to the level design is a complete idiot unfortunately.
  10. Izoeros
    Apr 26, 2022
    2
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  11. PenetratorGod
    Feb 14, 2023
    3
    I've never been a fan of the Half-Life series, it's probably one of the most overrated game series in the world. The reason I don't like Black Mesa is the horrible level design. The game doesn't guide the player in any way and acts as if you've played the game before. I lost what little interest I had in the story within the first few hours with these terrible gameplay mechanics. II've never been a fan of the Half-Life series, it's probably one of the most overrated game series in the world. The reason I don't like Black Mesa is the horrible level design. The game doesn't guide the player in any way and acts as if you've played the game before. I lost what little interest I had in the story within the first few hours with these terrible gameplay mechanics. I definitely do not recommend it to anyone who is not a fan of this series. If you are curious about the story, watch a video on Youtube.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

27
#27 Best PC Game of 2012
30
#30 Most Discussed PC Game of 2012
25
#25 Most Shared PC Game of 2012

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
84

Generally favorable reviews - based on 26 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 26
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 26
  3. Negative: 0 out of 26
  1. GameGrin
    Feb 8, 2021
    70
    Black Mesa remains true to the original Half-Life with updated graphics, improved sounds and redesigned levels. However, the graphics still look old for a “modern” game and loading screens are still a pain as it freezes the game for a few seconds.
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  2. Washington Post
    Mar 31, 2020
    80
    Those with a taste for retro-gaming or lighthearted sci-fi shooters, take note: few games with a foot in the nineties hold up this well.
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  3. GameStar
    Mar 23, 2020
    87
    Reasonable innovations and a completely new Xen complement the authentic Half-Life atmosphere: This is what a remake should look like.
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