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. B1gM43t
    Aug 20, 2020
    10
    An absolute masterpiece from start to finish, the sounds are incredible, polishing and lighing is impeccable and the music is an absolute banger, hell I thought at one point I was listening to Mick Gordans soundtracks, Joen Nielsen did an amazing job with the music, I am absolutely bamboozled on how this is only a " Fan-made game ", no this is Art with love and respect from the bottom ofAn absolute masterpiece from start to finish, the sounds are incredible, polishing and lighing is impeccable and the music is an absolute banger, hell I thought at one point I was listening to Mick Gordans soundtracks, Joen Nielsen did an amazing job with the music, I am absolutely bamboozled on how this is only a " Fan-made game ", no this is Art with love and respect from the bottom of the people hearts, Xen was the biggest shock for how they made a 15 minute 4 chapters into a 2-3 hour four chapters, the follow up of the Half-Life story is on point and makes things way more sense with modern technology, highly recommend to people to play this game instead of the original and I am really hoping that Crowbar Collective will make a Half-Life 2 and all its episodes a remake as well.… Expand
  2. Stereonight
    Aug 7, 2020
    8
    some old but many new things. It a decent extension of a masterpiece. I've played original game many times, but fun without boredom.
  3. Nekellor_Met
    Aug 1, 2020
    7
    В сравнении с оригиналом этом просто чудо. Исправили почти все огрехи, за которые я почти ненавижу 1 халву.
  4. Keskin
    Jul 16, 2020
    8
    it is goodit is goodit is goodit is goodit is goodit is goodit is goodit is goodit is goodit is goodit is goodit is goodit is goodit is goodit is goodit is good
  5. DarrenMc
    Jul 6, 2020
    10
    I went to the Steam Summer sale and saw all the aaa discounted games but felt like a kid at the Blockbuster video store,all these games but not many I am interested in,the only one that stood out for me was Black Mesa,I love the hl2 engine,the hl2 game and I was yearning for more single player first person shooter story gaming goodness and I wasn’t let down.

    This game is fantastic,the    I went to the Steam Summer sale and saw all the aaa discounted games but felt like a kid at the Blockbuster video store,all these games but not many I am interested in,the only one that stood out for me was Black Mesa,I love the hl2 engine,the hl2 game and I was yearning for more single player first person shooter story gaming goodness and I wasn’t let down.

    This game is fantastic,the ai are smart,the locales are very atmospheric and pull you in to the game but the sound is incredible,the crispyness of the weapons sounds,the cavernous sounds when you go through tunnels or big underground rooms,the voice acting.

    For me,this is the best game I have played for a long time and actually outdoes the original.

    All who worked on the development should be congratulated.

    And this game does not cost a ransom either,it is a true labour of love,not contrived in any way,just pure perfection.    … Expand
  6. HiNooNDooD1544
    Jul 6, 2020
    10
    I bought this game because I wanted to play a remastered version of the original Half Life. I swear this has to be the best remake/remaster ever. Game of the year.
  7. Voodoo123
    Jul 6, 2020
    9
    +Incredible effort from the mod community in birthing such an ambitious project
    +Excellent upgrade from the 1998 original firmly putting the visuals in line with HL2 and effectively turning a visual upgrade patch into a full blown remaster
    -While most of the new additions are welcome, some added a bit too much 'roam bloat' for my taste I bought this on release and was not    +Incredible effort from the mod community in birthing such an ambitious project
    +Excellent upgrade from the 1998 original firmly putting the visuals in line with HL2 and effectively turning a visual upgrade patch into a full blown remaster
    -While most of the new additions are welcome, some added a bit too much 'roam bloat' for my taste

    I bought this on release and was not disappointed. This project more effectively tells the story of Gordon Freeman and sets up new players for HL2 wonderfully. It is an essential purchase for anyone who is a fan of the fps action adventure genre that Valve started back in 1998. Is it perfect? Most of the original game is intact with additional visual and gameplay upgrades. However IMO some of the pacing feels off towards the end section of the game with some overly long back and forth missions in a vast dull environment.... Overall an absolute joy to see this game finished and pick it up.    … Expand
  8. adamCS
    Jun 25, 2020
    9
    Es hermoso esa banda sonora esos gráficos la jugabilidad sigue como la original le daría 10/10 pero tiene algunos bugs que con el tiempo se puede arreglar además tienen que optimizar un poco mas en las selvas de Xen. Este juego si que esta echo con amor y alma, en resumen es una obra de arte y maestra gracias desarrolladores y editores de Crowbar Collective por hacer este hermoso juego yEs hermoso esa banda sonora esos gráficos la jugabilidad sigue como la original le daría 10/10 pero tiene algunos bugs que con el tiempo se puede arreglar además tienen que optimizar un poco mas en las selvas de Xen. Este juego si que esta echo con amor y alma, en resumen es una obra de arte y maestra gracias desarrolladores y editores de Crowbar Collective por hacer este hermoso juego y esa banda sonora de Xen se re siente hasta me hace llorar de la emoción.… Expand
  9. Baffli
    Jun 21, 2020
    10
    10/10

    Ну што ж, после получения всех достижений и четвертого полного прохождения игры, можно уже, наконец, смело оставить свой отзыв. Познакомился с Black Mesa я совершенно случайно и совсем недавно: года 2 назад. Скачал я пиратку, т.к. денег, чтобы купить в стиме, не было. Зайди в игру, уже тогда у меня почти в буквальном смысле отвалилась челюсть - то было просто невероятно! Уже    10/10

    Ну што ж, после получения всех достижений и четвертого полного прохождения игры, можно уже, наконец, смело оставить свой отзыв.

    Познакомился с Black Mesa я совершенно случайно и совсем недавно: года 2 назад. Скачал я пиратку, т.к. денег, чтобы купить в стиме, не было. Зайди в игру, уже тогда у меня почти в буквальном смысле отвалилась челюсть - то было просто невероятно! Уже начав вторую главу я сразу хотел отправиться в Зен, т.к. я просто обожаю космос и всё, что с ним связано, но решил пройти игру честно.
    Тогда мне очень понравилось то, что главу "На Рельсы" обрезали, т.к. в оригинальной халве я тратил несколько часов на её прохождение. Музыка, анимация стрельбы из оружия... Глюонная пушка вообще вызвала у меня бурю положительных эмоций, и вот я тут - возле телепорта Лямбды. Чуть ли не со слезами крича "ДА!", я уже готов был бросаться в ещё не готовый портал, но всё же решил подождать. И вот, я прыгаю и... Мне пишут что-то вроде "Продолжение следует...". С каменным лицом и сильным напряжением я полез в интернет, т.к. думал, мол, у меня может быть испорченная или старая версия, но мои надежды не оправдались - игра действительно была не доделана. И я забросил её.

    Спустя 2 года я совершенно случайно увидел на YouTube видео "Битва с Нихилантом" в Black Mesa. И тут я понял, что если в игре есть Нихилант, то игру уже доделали. Тут я решил уже купить игру в стиме "до этого я копил деньги, чтобы просто были". Прошёл большую часть игры и тут я снова я стою там и передо мной уже готовый портал в Зен. Во мне всё равно были капли сомнения, может, я что-то не так понял и игру так и не доделали? И никакого Зена нету? И я прыгнул... Мои надежды оправдались. И в тот момент я действительно ОХРЕНЕЛ! Зен просто невероятный! А музыкальное сопровождение только умножило моё удовольствие в 300 раз. Мне просто хотелось стоять там и просто смотреть на небо этого прекрасного мира.
    Хоть в игре и есть много багов, но их полностью закрывают красивая графика, чудесное музыкальное сопровождение и всё в этом духе.
    У меня слабая видеокарта, на 1гб видеопамяти и поэтому у меня ФПС был в диапазоне 30-40, а иногда даже до 15 опускался, но, не смотря на это, мне всё равно было очень приятно и интересно играть.
    Низкий поклон и мириады апплодисментов Crowboar Collective за такой шедевр. Я ни капельки не жалею, что потратил столько денег на игру, и я настоятельно рекомендую, хотя бы фанатам вселенной HL, поиграть в это чудо.    … Expand
  10. serpen786
    Jun 8, 2020
    10
    I was glad that the old half life was embodied in a new gameplay, more colorful and expanded. I was happy to complete the game and be amazed at how you can improve the game and think through so many details that expand the playing space. Thanks to the developers of the game and the ones who were "refreshing" it. Its amazing. It feels that it were made with passion of love to remake good games.
  11. hoanns
    Jun 6, 2020
    10
    A well deserved remake for a revolutionary game. Still better than most shooters today. Atmosphere, pacing, variety and gameplay are great. Only the fanmade Xen at the end falls short and does not feel like the great game that came before.
  12. RSH128
    May 30, 2020
    10
    Pure perfection of Half-Life.
    Black Mesa offers slightly different take on Half-Life, while keeping core gameplay and game design aspects ( in some places expanding them ) close to a vanilla game. It's really hard for me to lambaste this game for anything, without sounding too nitpicky, but I'm sure there's some aspects of it some die hard fans had voiced their opinions about.
  13. 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.
  14. fatninja82
    May 1, 2020
    9
    Valio la pena los 16 años que dedicaron a este juego , es la primera vez que juego half life y que mejor manera que con este increible remaster.
  15. TwoEars
    May 1, 2020
    8
    For anyone who wants to understand gaming history I think this is a must play, and it's also a very nice stroll down memory lane for those who played the original.

    I'm however not a huge fan of the overall directing and editing of the new Xen part of the game. The original Xen was pretty short; get in, kill one boss, jump around a bit, explore a bit, kill the final boss. Maybe 1h    For anyone who wants to understand gaming history I think this is a must play, and it's also a very nice stroll down memory lane for those who played the original.

    I'm however not a huge fan of the overall directing and editing of the new Xen part of the game. The original Xen was pretty short; get in, kill one boss, jump around a bit, explore a bit, kill the final boss. Maybe 1h everything included even if you stopped to look around. It was by no means perfect but it was short, intense, memorable and didn't overstay its welcome.

    The Xen remake is much, much longer. Probably 2/3 the length of the original game and it's almost like the crowbar collective stopped paying homage to HL1 and instead started beating themselves over the chest saying "look at us, look at what we can do, look at what we've learnt to design and code!".

    They cut pieces from the original segment "on a rail" because they were deemed too boring and long-winded, and honestly I have no real problem with that, but then they went and added a lot of extra fluff and made Xen at least 50% longer than it really needed to be.

    I also feel like they were trying to do things in Xen which the engine doesn't really support. The source engine was never very precise for jumping, so if you know that why continue adding a lot of jumping puzzles and conveyor belts where a single fall can insta-kill you? It's not fun and I don't think anyone has ever asked for more jumping and conveyor belts in Xen. The source engine is also not Id Tech 7, to put it mildly, so why add such hard boss fights, and boss mechanics, where you have to have millimeter levels of control, great reflexes and side-dash jump while shooting rockets to survive like in a Doom game?

    For me the original Half-Life was primarily a thriller-puzzler game. Half-Life has combat but that was never the focus, not really. With Xen it's almost like they said "let's add all these Quake and Doom inspired very intense fights and that will make it better!". Well, not really. Actually I think it detracts from the overall experience and takes Half-Life in a direction it was never meant to go.

    For me Xen started out great with beautiful views, and what felt like a very well done homage to the original game. But then it deteriorates into a pretty repetitive puzzler with interjections of combat which doesn't really work in a Half-Life game, both stylistically and mechanically.

    So overall Black Mesa and Xen is an impressive achievement, but I would have preferred a "less is more" approach. I can understand that when you're working as a group of fans it's not easy to leave your buddy's work on the cutting room floor, and maybe especially if he's spent a year or more of his spare time working on it.

    But as a pure gaming experience I think Xen could have been improved if another game director/editor had come in at the end and said "we're going to cut this, this, this and streamline this. And don't try to create Doom boss fights in the source engine you dimwits".

    As a nostalgia trip: 9
    As a mod/remake: 9
    As a modern game: 7

    Fair overall score: 8

    ‎-    … Expand
  16. ChesterField
    May 1, 2020
    8
    Incredible what they have done with this kind of half life remake. Required.
  17. TerenaKalir
    Apr 19, 2020
    10
    Like many, I played Half Life 2 first, and while I understood that the original game was groundbreaking for the time, it was a chore trying to go back and play it after playing the sequel. I'm not very good at, or enjoy most first person shooters.

    I LOVED Black Mesa. It recaptured the feeling I had playing Half Life 2 for the first time, I was fascinated with the setting and the story    Like many, I played Half Life 2 first, and while I understood that the original game was groundbreaking for the time, it was a chore trying to go back and play it after playing the sequel. I'm not very good at, or enjoy most first person shooters.

    I LOVED Black Mesa. It recaptured the feeling I had playing Half Life 2 for the first time, I was fascinated with the setting and the story unfolding around me, and my puzzle hungry brain was having a ball with the clever and intuitive environmental puzzles. My husband actually commented that he's never seen me play an FPS so much.

    Even if you're not into action/FPS games, this is absolutely worth a look.    … Expand
  18. NCODER
    Apr 14, 2020
    10
    Great game with awesome soundtrack!
    Adds a lot of juice to the Half-Life experience!
  19. 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.
  20. 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
  21. GatoShinx
    Apr 6, 2020
    10
    Increíble que unos fans hayan hecho esta maravilla, el amor que le han puesto a este remake es algo que no se puede explicar con palabras, la experiencia del primer Half Life mejorada a su 1000000% y sobre todo XEN, que aunque demoró en salir valió totalmente la pena, hermoso en todo sentido, immersivo, divertido, desafiante y un verdadero mundo nuevo
  22. ReubenIsAGod
    Apr 3, 2020
    8
    It's a very good remake of the beloved classic. Xen is still not a very good level, and the platforming within the game gets rather tedious once you hit Xen.

    Overall it's a great remaster...do wish they were able to get the old voice actors back...regardless, it's a solid time. Much recommended.
  23. Solaris123
    Apr 3, 2020
    10
    Best FPS Remake in the world ,half life 1 is just pure games + xen is awesome HL > all new boring fps
  24. 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
  25. Patuzzoz
    Mar 28, 2020
    10
    This games is for everyone who has or hasn't played the original Half Life. Remake aspect of the game feels and looks phenomenal and perfectly fills in the gameplay and visual gaps I had with the original without ruining the immersion.
    Best part about this remake is the complete overhaul of XEN. Making it more lengthy, interesting and most importantly stunning to look at.
    The music kicks    This games is for everyone who has or hasn't played the original Half Life. Remake aspect of the game feels and looks phenomenal and perfectly fills in the gameplay and visual gaps I had with the original without ruining the immersion.
    Best part about this remake is the complete overhaul of XEN. Making it more lengthy, interesting and most importantly stunning to look at.
    The music kicks in at perfect times and enhances the experience immensely. As a remake, this game is 10/10 for me. But as a standalone game, it still falls short as its predecessor. Mundane story, repetitive enemies and poor engine mechanics keep the game from a perfect 10. But based on the remake, it's a 10 for me.    … Expand
  26. Elboros
    Mar 27, 2020
    10
    Even though i haven't played the original Half-life, this remake made me feel crazy about it! Xen world has blown my mind! I hope this studio will be bought by Valve soon to develop Episode 3.
  27. AstiX
    Mar 26, 2020
    10
    Possibly the best remake ever made! So much love and years of effort was put into this and it's apparent in the abundance of amazing detail I experienced throughout the game.

    I was blown away when I reached Xen. I had not realized how much they changed and added to it over the original Half-Life and it had me in disbelief and amazement.

    Immensely enjoyable. Amazing game.
  28. xaro
    Mar 21, 2020
    10
    Black Mesa is a Cinematic Experience you cannot miss out on if you want to revisit Half Life with newer Tech solutions and a new perspective to the story. 10/10, this game gave me goosebumps!
  29. Makarov20
    Mar 16, 2020
    10
    This game is amazing. In fact it is SO good that you can almost hear Gordon Freeman's voice
  30. snowman27
    Mar 15, 2020
    8
    Black Mesa has a wonderful story, great gameplay, tons of puzzles, and a nice mix of enemies. This team did a great job bringing this remake to life. The graphics are a bit dated, but it was still incredible to play this game with the attention to detail that the development team put into it. Well done!
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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

All reviews »
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.
    Read full review
  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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