The best game to play before Half-Life 3 isn't made by Valve at all

Half-Life 3 is easily one of the most frustrating gaming projects of modern times. The first two Half-life The games were revolutionary, with the second game in particular redefining what a single player FPS could be. But despite this, and despite Valve's great resources, Half-Life 3 remains nowhere to be seen.

However, that doesn't mean fans have given up hope. Really kind of like GTA 6 before its first trailer, gamers tend to put on their conspiracy hats when it comes to Half-Life 3 announcements, teasers and the like. The latest, concrete example of this developed around the 2025 Game Awards, when industry insiders hinted that the game would be revealed at Keighley's annual event. Of course, this did not come true, and HL3 is still in the wind. If you're one of the many disappointed gamers waiting for Valve's enigmatic threequel, there's still at least one modern title worth your time: Black Mesaa remake of the original game made by a team of fans called the Crowbar Collective.

Black Mesa is an ambitious recreation of Half-Life 1

The original Half-life was released in 1998, and while its level design, narrative emphasis, and environmental puzzle integration were groundbreaking for the time, the game is pretty dated by 2020 standards. Visually, it's what you'd expect from a game from 1998: textures are basic and often muddy, character models are stiff and unrealistic, and interiors are similar and claustrophobic. Mechanically, it pales in comparison to almost every game Valve released in its wake, esp Half-Life 2.

Valve would set out to improve upon the original Half-life experience through Half-Life: Sourcea port of the 1998 title to the new, more capable source engine. However, this version was a bit too similar to the original 1998 game, with no significant improvements or upgrades. This was the impetus for the formation of the Crowbar Collective, a studio formed with the intention of recreating Half-life from the beginning in the source engine.

Crowbar Collective set out to improve and modernize the original Half-Life experience, making such notable changes as:

• Brand new textures

• New character models

• Reworked puzzles and encounters

• More advanced enemy AI

Black Mesa's extended Xen levels

One of the more disappointing aspects of the first Half-life game was its depiction of Xen, an interstitial plane of existence known as the Borderworld due to its nature as an intergalactic crossroads. It's the most absinthe sci-fi beat of the original Half-lifebut it was also decidedly underwhelming for a large portion of the player base. The complaints against the Xen tiers are myriad, but most revolve around cohesion and content richness. Simply put, many players rejected Xen's stark change in puzzle presentation, platforming, and enemy behavior, and others felt that this part of the game lacked the narrative depth and internal logic of previous chapters.

Thus Crowbar Collective embarked on perhaps the most ambitious part of the world Black Mesa travel: recreate, extend and upgrade the Xen tiers. In the original Half-lifeThe Xen chapter only accounts for about an hour of gameplay; in Black Mesait lasts about four hours. Crowbar Collective also reworked the pacing of earlier chapters to be more efficient, prioritizing the ambitious and lore-significant Xen over other, slower parts of the game. The team also changed bosses and puzzles in Xen to be more consistent with the rest of the game and less frustrating. The end result, in the eyes of many fans, is a Xen that is far more fun, attractive and mechanically sound than 1998. Half-life.

Black Mesa offers a new version of Half-Life's multiplayer

Crowbar Collective also reworked the original's multiplayer mode Half-life– something that is often overlooked when discussing Black Mesa. Mechanically, however, shooting and movement are improved Black Mesa remains true to the original Half-life by keeping multiplayer focused only on deathmatch and team deathmatch. In addition to the improved controls, the following Half-life maps were recreated with improved graphics consistent with the rest of the remake:

• Bounce

• Gasworks

• Lambda bunker

• Stalk farm

• Subtransit

• Underline

Black Mesa is not Half-Life 3, but it is a perfect entry into the Half-Life Franchise

While it's no substitute for a true continuation of Gordon Freeman's adventures, Black Mesa is a worthwhile starting point for new Half-life player. Its biggest strength is how it takes the archaic gameplay and visuals of the original Half-life and make them more palatable to modern audiences. In this way, Black Mesa is a much more appealing interpretation of Half-life experience, making it a better starting point than Half-Life 2which is how many contemporary players have first engaged with the IP, historically.

And if you have already played the first one Half-life, Black Mesa offers an expanded and improved experience. Not only does it look, play, and function better than the original game, but it also adds valuable gameplay and story content thanks to the Xen chapters and other meaningful improvements, like reworked enemy AI. No, it isn't Half-Life 3but it might just itch as you keep waiting for Valve to pull back the curtain.