25th anniversary update brings a load of new features and content to FPS classic Half-Life.
I remember when I first heard about Half-Life. It had been out for a few months, and my then-girlfriend was telling me all about the multiplayer modes, which she’d been playing with (it turned out) her next boyfriend.
It’s fair to say I took an instant dislike to Half-Life, something I failed to shake off until about 5 years later, not long before Half-Life 2 materialised. (Accuracy of dates may be fuzzy.)
After a few minutes of play, I knew that Half-Life was special. I don’t think I played Duke Nukem 3D again until the Nintendo Switch release; I’d abandoned DOOM. The only other FPS games on my radar back then were Medal of Honour and Return to Castle Wolfenstein.
Naturally, Half-Life, and the mysteries within, took over.
It is a hugely significant game, which is why it is extremely reassuring to see Valve taking its 25th anniversary seriously. As reported, a new update was issued last week, which was “unlocked” on the game’s anniversary (November 17th). This added various features to the game:
- Full Steam Deck support
- New multiplayer maps
- New player models
- Original Half-Life demo, Uplink
- Steam Networking and Rich Presence support
- Updated menu design
- Multiplayer spawn randomness
- Improved physics for throwing grenades
- New texture filtering setting
- 1 hour documentary film celebrating Half-Life
You can watch the film right here:
In addition, Half-Life was made free to own forever during the weekend celebrations, although this offer has now closed. Even so, the game costs about £7 and is currently in the Steam sale for 71p, so it’s worth grabbing if, by some weird chance, you’ve never played Half-Life.
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