Half-Life, the first game developed by Valve and named Game of the Year by more than 50 publications, is commemorating its 25th anniversary
Celebrating its 25th anniversary is Half-Life, the first game created by Valve that was named Game of the Year by over 50 publications. Unintentionally, Valve has released an update to commemorate the milestone.
The update now includes a ton of new content, such as the Half-Life Uplink mini-campaign, which was previously exclusive to publications and hardware manufacturers on CD.
It includes four brand-new multiplayer maps that the level designers at Valve created. Contamination, Pool Party, Disposal, and Rocket Frenzy are the maps.
Restored content, such as the vintage Valve logo video with its original soundtrack, is included with the new material. The menu has been redesigned to match the 1998 build. Ivan the Space Biker and Proto-Barney, the original heroes from the alpha build, are now playable as multiplayer skins. A large portion of the content from the 1999 retail disc Half-Life: Further Data is also included.
The multiplayer maps Double Cross, Rust Mill, and Xen DM as well as two multiplayer models from the Half-Life: Further Data CD, including the beloved Too Much Coffee Man, are among the other content that has been restored.
You can run the game on a modern monitor and see it exactly as it did when it was first released in 1998 by using the updated graphics settings. Widescreen viewing, the ability to turn off texture smoothing on the GL renderer, lighting improvements such as the long-lost GL Overbright support, software rendering on Linux, sharper colors, animated water, and unfiltered textures are all included in the update. UI scaling for monitors with higher resolutions is included.
It supports controllers and Steam Networking and can be played on Steam Deck.
In addition, Valve balanced the multiplayer, adjusted the gameplay, fixed a ton of bugs, enhanced the engine for modders, and more. The changelog is available on the official Half-Life website.
Better yet, through November 20th, you can get a free copy of Half-Life on Steam. Therefore, there’s no reason not to try it.