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. Bestpony
    Jun 3, 2013
    6
    I have the same problem with Black Mesa that I did with the original Half-Life. The first few chapters are an amazing horror experience where you make your way through a destroyed facility, just trying to get out alive, and if you play it on Hard, it's a challenging and rewarding experience. However, once the soldiers enter the mix, all the atmosphere disappears (it does come back later)I have the same problem with Black Mesa that I did with the original Half-Life. The first few chapters are an amazing horror experience where you make your way through a destroyed facility, just trying to get out alive, and if you play it on Hard, it's a challenging and rewarding experience. However, once the soldiers enter the mix, all the atmosphere disappears (it does come back later) and the game becomes a fairly boring shooter with frustratingly precise enemies. I'm not a shooter fan so the whole "shoot some guys, take some damage, find some health, repeat" thing wasn't all that interesting. Still, it's free, it's a classic, and you really owe it to yourself to check it out.… Expand
  2. Jdankens
    Nov 29, 2017
    7
    Great game but kind of the butt-end of jokes when it comes to "it's finished when it's finished"

    It was fine when the game was free but now with some incoming cash-flow they have some responsibility to their customers to release the full product sometime within the next century.
  3. evansgc55
    Jan 2, 2018
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Not the same game. It is a more arcade-like, smaller, shorter game with better graphics and much better accuracy systems. Overall, very disappointing. Unrealistic military movements and attacks, aliens were much easier and giant aliens were overpowered with weapons, this game had better smaller details but the original was much more realistic and interesting. STILL UNFINISHED (15+% Unfinished).… Expand
  4. Ordish
    Nov 5, 2012
    6
    It is the same game that it was when it was released a hundred years ago, but this time with shiny new graphics and better audio. It was a fun game in the original and while my memories of the original were very fond, it is like watching a movie you originally watched on VHS, on BlueRay. Looks better but feels the same. Good work on the mod, but it is essentially the same as it always was.
  5. BFM
    Mar 28, 2020
    5
    This should have been an easy job - the the good work of someone else who was able to make something creative and clever, give it a new coat of paint, and re-sell it.

    But this developer seemed to have bitten of more than they could chew. They were so occupied with having every room look as different to Half Life as possible on comparison screenshots, they messed up the important    This should have been an easy job - the the good work of someone else who was able to make something creative and clever, give it a new coat of paint, and re-sell it.

    But this developer seemed to have bitten of more than they could chew.

    They were so occupied with having every room look as different to Half Life as possible on comparison screenshots, they messed up the important stuff.

    This re-make, while looking good at first glance, is inferior to the old original Half Life in almost every aspect:

    - clear visuals have been replaces with very blurry rendering, that uses FXAA while offering no MSAA (an incompetent decision to PC game design that almost everyone else got rid of 6-10 years ago)

    - crucial architecture has been altered in it's core layout, changing the timing, feeling and gameplay of the levels as Valve has intended it

    - iconic and perfectly fitting voice and music recordings have been replaced with sub-par amateur creations

    - enemy AI has been altered, not to be better, but just to be differentiate fore the sake to be different, and the result are less fun and less fair fire fights

    - the final chapter XEN was always the weakest part of the original Half Life. This developer delayed the completion of the product that they had already taken money fore (!) by half a decade, to "fix" XEN. Well, they didn't.
    It is still as boring and poorly designed as before. But now it somehow takes twice as long to play through!
    It looks much better, but that will only distract from the chapter being bad for the first five minutes.
    But then it's two hours later, and you are still playing the worst part of the game, that should have been just a 40 minute visit - while nothing really new was added.
    It is baffling.

    Let's hope they stay away from other classics,
    because while they know how to bait and bribe players with eye candy,
    they do not understand how games are designed or what makes them great.

    Oh, and please: Have some MSAA, not FXAA. It's a PC game in 2020.
    Not a bad console port in 2009. Deferred Rendering ads nothing of value and just makes you a lazy developer.    … Expand
  6. zonetrooperex
    Sep 30, 2012
    5
    This game leaves me with mixed feelings. On the one hand its quite polished and is well defined and faithful to Half-life. It free and easy to install so that is nice. The voice acting is really great and gives NPCs far more to say and feels more human.

    However it has too many annoying quirks. Such as the annoying "jump-crouch" being the solution to everything and the assumption that    This game leaves me with mixed feelings. On the one hand its quite polished and is well defined and faithful to Half-life. It free and easy to install so that is nice. The voice acting is really great and gives NPCs far more to say and feels more human.

    However it has too many annoying quirks. Such as the annoying "jump-crouch" being the solution to everything and the assumption that the player has played the original and remembers all the old solutions to events.

    If you haven't played the original game you will find this a frustrating affair. Movement is another issue as it feels blocky and old fashioned.    … Expand
  7. loveforfire
    May 16, 2021
    5
    This game does look better than the original but still is a far cry than games in 2020. Even though Xen is beautifully made the graphics lack detail that you'd find in an indy game from like 11 years ago. (think Amnesia TDD the fungi in the sewer level. Compare it to Xen's fungi which look similar. big difference.)

    Also the level design has been altered from the originally but not for    This game does look better than the original but still is a far cry than games in 2020. Even though Xen is beautifully made the graphics lack detail that you'd find in an indy game from like 11 years ago. (think Amnesia TDD the fungi in the sewer level. Compare it to Xen's fungi which look similar. big difference.)

    Also the level design has been altered from the originally but not for the better. My case in point, there is a lot of junk littered throughout the game, fake doors, stairs that lead to nothing but say another fake door.

    The shooting feels like its not on par with the original in terms of accuracy and hit detection. And
    as Forrest Gump says "that's all I got to say about that"    … Expand
  8. BulgarianCritic
    Apr 12, 2020
    7
    This was a pretty decent remake that added new dialogue which I enjoyed but it also had a lot of buggy parts.Overall pretty great if you want to play the original half-life with better graphics
  9. Vanco
    Jun 4, 2019
    6
    Great remake of Half Life. Also, the earlier versions are free. What are you waiting for?
  10. tom_harding
    Mar 1, 2021
    7
    A word of warning - the minimum system requirements are simply not adequate to play this game. I've got a 2.7GHz i5, 16GB RAM & 2GB of dedicated graphics but in the lowest graphics settings I still faced single digit frame rates in the later sections of Xen (and a couple of other places).

    Ignoring performance issues the game is very good. It maintains the feel and pacing of the original    A word of warning - the minimum system requirements are simply not adequate to play this game. I've got a 2.7GHz i5, 16GB RAM & 2GB of dedicated graphics but in the lowest graphics settings I still faced single digit frame rates in the later sections of Xen (and a couple of other places).

    Ignoring performance issues the game is very good. It maintains the feel and pacing of the original while modernising the more dated elements. It's not perfect but I still had great fun. A huge well done and thank you the Crowbar Collective.    … Expand
  11. Nekellor_Met
    Aug 1, 2020
    7
    В сравнении с оригиналом этом просто чудо. Исправили почти все огрехи, за которые я почти ненавижу 1 халву.
  12. giangbabeo
    Feb 21, 2021
    7
    Sometime this game is crash but ok. Black mesa made me remember Half life 1
  13. vova22379
    Jul 16, 2022
    5
    ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
  14. JC_123
    Jun 28, 2021
    6
    This is not the definitive Half Life experience it could have been I'm afraid. The original levels were just better. That was a very, very important part of the experience that they messed with a bit too much.
    The game could use a little balancing too. On the easier difficulty, the game is far too easy. On the harder one, some enemies become omniscient and aimbot onto you. (and make no    This is not the definitive Half Life experience it could have been I'm afraid. The original levels were just better. That was a very, very important part of the experience that they messed with a bit too much.
    The game could use a little balancing too. On the easier difficulty, the game is far too easy. On the harder one, some enemies become omniscient and aimbot onto you. (and make no mistake, I am a seasoned FPS player. CS Faceit level 8, Platinum in old R6 ranks, DOOM Eternal Nightmare enjoyer).

    Try to find it on sale, but don't sleep on the REAL Half Life 1. It's still better even though the visuals are dated. I was disapointed to come to this conclusion.    … Expand
  15. StarkAgentos
    Jun 11, 2022
    5
    Графику значительно улучшили. Оптимизация отличная. Физика улучшена. Добавлен спринт. Разработчики проделали огромную работу, но даже после этого первый халф лайф устаревший.
  16. Menaga
    Aug 8, 2022
    6
    Recommended
    16.0 hrs at review time
    Hard difficulty
    Gameplay 6/10
    Music and sound 6/10
    Screenplay 6/10
    Technical 7/10
  17. CoolDadTx
    Dec 22, 2021
    5
    It has been decades since I played the original HL so it is hard to remember how much of Black Mesa is true to the original and how much is extra. It is also limited by the Source engine it is using so some issues may be tied to either of these but overall I think I'd rather play the original with updated HD graphics. I do admire and give credit for the team building this game out. It isIt has been decades since I played the original HL so it is hard to remember how much of Black Mesa is true to the original and how much is extra. It is also limited by the Source engine it is using so some issues may be tied to either of these but overall I think I'd rather play the original with updated HD graphics. I do admire and give credit for the team building this game out. It is truly impressive but if this were a generic, non-HL game my complaints would be the same.

    The biggest complaint i have is that the chapters are really, really long. I don't remember them being anywhere near this long in the original and honestly almost every level overstays its welcome about halfway through. Whole sections are devoid of anything so it really just seems like a slog to get through.

    The second issue I have is the updated Xen and later areas. They are just so different than any of the previous levels and honestly just don't seem to fit the HL flow to me. They are really, really long as well and the jumping sections are just bad. The original Xen level was bad too but I don't think this version is an upgrade. I really couldn't wait for it to end and then...the next set of levels are the same.

    Another issue I had was the finicky jumping. If you happen to jump while near something then you tended to bounce off in a random direction. Could be a bug or could be by design. I personally disliked the jumping sections altogether. The original had jumping too so I expected some of this but this just seems off.

    I also don't understand why bringing up the menu provides a quick link to save which you can click that then takes you to the save screen where you have to click save again and then confirm that you want to overwrite the save that you just clicked to save twice already.

    Overall I think this was a well done port but as for gameplay and mechanics I think it is mediocre. Again, I cannot remember all the parts of the original HL to know what was added and what wasn't but it just seemed overly extended rather than short and sweet.    … Expand
  18. Ogurechka
    May 29, 2023
    6
    Nice graphical improvement of the original game. But, unfortunately, this is still the same first Half-Life, with all its outdated mechanics
  19. Chubac
    May 13, 2020
    7
    I'm kinda dissapointed with this remake. Don't get me wrong, it's still one of the better remakes out there but I expected a more balanced and polished game.
  20. dmitriy_savenok
    Jul 31, 2023
    7
    Хорошо сделанный и не совсем равномерный ремейк.
    Порой игра радует своей обновлённой графикой, но умудряется ужаснуть своей странной коллизией персонажей и объектов. Нельзя стрелять между некоторыми объектами на карте, просто пули врезаются в невидимую стенку, хотя там пустое пространство. Даже как в скайримчике, нельзя одеть мусорное ведро наголову какому-то nps.
    Мир Зен тоже изначально    Хорошо сделанный и не совсем равномерный ремейк.
    Порой игра радует своей обновлённой графикой, но умудряется ужаснуть своей странной коллизией персонажей и объектов. Нельзя стрелять между некоторыми объектами на карте, просто пули врезаются в невидимую стенку, хотя там пустое пространство. Даже как в скайримчике, нельзя одеть мусорное ведро наголову какому-то nps.
    Мир Зен тоже изначально невероятно красив, но на протяжении всей главы, планку удерживать не удаётся. Даже не хочется упоминать цех, где производили солдат. Явно не хватало бюджета на доработку.
    Хорошая игра, но ремейк должны делать сами Valve и с достаточным бюджетом, что бы первая часть смогла удивить, как и в прежние времена.
    7/10    … Expand
  21. Suprizer
    Apr 22, 2023
    5
    As a person who never played hl1 i think this one is more playable for sure just by the look of it i can tell... but the enemy Ai just feels unfair they can see you through a pin hole and shoot their reaction time is unmatched they don't miss too like what are we sposed to do... took me 19 hours to finish on normal difficulty.
  22. Dartza
    Aug 1, 2023
    6
    As someone who never played the original Half-Life, but did Play Half-Life 2, Black Mesa felt like a mix between old school game design with a modern coat of paint. It certainly feels like an older title, but a good one.

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.
    Read full review
  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.
    Read full review
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