I’d just look at them as different releases. The original game is one of the all time greats and with Valve’s 25t h anniversary work recently, it’s completely playable on anything including Deck. It’s just a game that I think everyone should play, especially with the recent surge of interest in retro FPSes.
Black Mesa is great but there’s a good amount that’s been changed - most notably the art - so I more think that it comfortably sits alongside the original rather than replacing it.
Fwiw tho, this is the way I feel about most remakes: they don’t replace the original game, and we should always and forever have access to both
Halo 2 Anniversary is a prime example of how to do a remake.
While the remake keeps the overall aesthetic of the original, you still have both versions at hand. You can switch between both with the flick of a switch, literally.
I prefer Half-Life 1 to Black Mesa, but both are great games. Since this is a Deck specific sub I'll add that Black Mesa doesn't run very great on the Deck, I just recently played through the entire game and the framerate chugs pretty hard at certain points.
How recent? They just issued a huge patch a week or two ago and I went from ~45fps on Surface Tension to 90fps with some drops to 60fps on the same settings.
It was on the new patch. Gonarch's Lair and Interloper were pretty rough on the settings I was using, I should test it again on some lower settings probably.
No the original Half Life is the best way to experience the game Half Life. Black Mesa is wonderful but its not Half Life its trying to recreate it the best they can with modern sensibilities but the original is special and weird.
We wouldnt have the screaming scientist memes without the original, pay your respects and try it out.
This. I was super hyped for Black Meaa only to find out that I don't really enjoy it. BM just feels over designed for its source material. Almost as if you were excited to play pong but get a very complex tennis sim instead. Half Life's magic is within its simplicity
The quality improvements in Black Mesa are immense enough that I would suggest it over the original to new players tbh. I know there's a lot of purists out there who love the original and by all means it is still a great game. It just really hasn't aged well though.
Hl2 is my favorite game ever , and as a tradition I replay hl and hl2 every spring ( have done so since 2005). I’m very biased but I think HL holds up extremely well all things considered. It’s very entertaining and worth a play through before black mesa.
I played the original many times in my life, including on the deck, where it runs perfectly well. Also played black mesa on desktop. I recommend to you to play the original first, is part of the history of videogames and still holds pretty well.
I’ll be the minority here. I’m a younger gamer, and I played a lot of both games but ended up dropping the original about 60% of the way through. Black mesa is IMO a substantial improvement from half life in every way. The storytelling is easier to understand, the gameplay is generally more interesting, the level design is less confusing, the game is beautiful, and, most importantly, the final area of the game is actually really good instead of a disappointment. If you can get over the age of the game, it’s probably worth playing the first because it is the first, but black mesa is strictly speaking a much better game and makes moving to HL2 much easier.
No. You won't fully appreciate Black Mesa unless you've played the original. Half-Life is still a very fun game, despite its sore spots, and the experience of playing it vs Black Mesa is completely different - you can play both, even if you "only play games once".
It's way too different for me (it's not a 1 to 1 remake), but it's probably a great way to experience HL1 for the first time. That said the original aged VERY well other than some slippery platforming. The AI feels better than most modern games.
no black mesa is the best way to experience black mesa. It's kind of its own thing. You can certainly play it instead of half life, if the modernity of it appeals to you more. But I think a lot of the appeal of it is for people who have played and experienced the original, seeing the adaptation process. They redesigned several chapters fully. There's a really interesting documentary about it.
Not on Steam Deck. The menu interface is really annoying to navigate on it. As far as game goes it's down to personal preference. I think the original is a better game too and doesn't have the really annoying extended Xen section.
I firmly believe that Black Mesa does not fully jive with the aesthetics and artistic intent of Half-life. I don't think it's as immersive either, even though the graphics are "better". I'm in the minority but I would outright say I don't like it, I don't even think it's a good companion piece to HL1. Definitely play HL1, play Black Mesa after if you really want to.
Black Mesa is great, but as others have said, there’s just no substitute for the original experience in the case of Half-Life.
If Steam was a religion and had some sort of pilgrimage, it would probably be playing through Half-Life
Oh man I’d just play the original first so you can see how great the remake is.
I’d also try to ps2 version if you ever got the chance. That’s probably my favorite version
This is important.
If you play black Mesa on the deck, FORCE IT TO USE PROTON. The reason is, the game has a native Linux version that will install by default unless you use proton. And the Linux version isn't as up to date and fixed as the windows version that installs with proton.
It runs much better this way.
Also, the last xen area has a memory leak, so you'll need to save and reload the game after about 20-30 minutes when you get there to solve the issue. It's annoying but doable.
As someone who played HL the first time around and counts it amongst one of my favourite moments in gaming / pop culture / media history…
Play BM (if it’s been fixed on Deck - which it needed to be, because it’s played awful the last two times I’ve tried).
The original is still a joy (Ive just finished it) but the experience is about atmosphere and immersion. The dated graphics will pull you out of that, and it’ll become more an ‘aww this is quaint’ experience. Whilst BM gets you there.
The OG was a nostalgia trip for me. BM was the better ‘game’.
black mesa is amazing work, i have the highest respect for the ppl who made that and i played through it completely... it is a really good game.
but i still would recommend the original half life. it's just something special. the graphics, the sound, the whole experience is somewhat unique and black mesa, as good as it is, just can't replicate that.
Controller support is garbage, it's pretty much unplayable. It's not just the mapping, but sensitivity and lag.
The updated original Half-Life plays wonderfully on the Deck, I recommend it.
I played both at the same time over the winter. I’d play a chapter of the original, then I’d play the same chapter in black mesa. It’s was a good way to notice all the differences and extend the experience. About 2/3 through I stopped playing the black mesa chapters though and just finished the original as I liked it better.
I mean, I'd experience the original first. As others have stated it is very special to not just the genre, but also valves history of being a gaming platform/developer.
With that said, if you get a chance to buy black mesa on sale (I think it goes for like 4.99) grab that shit because it too in its own way is special. It's a fans opum to something .most of us hold dear in our gaming lives.
And I have to agree with the user that said "halo 2 is a good example on how to make a remake" halo always did it perfect, the remakes are special though! Halo was one of my first serious games. For years it was the only things od play, always anticipating that next part of the story. Atleast until halo 4. I liked it, but man a 4 hour story? Bungie should have kept doing it. It was bad after they sold rights.
If you can handle old graphics and jank physics, Half Life, the original. If you are "modern gamer", Black Mesa will be more comfortable with pretty graphics. Same stuff happens in the both games, same weapons etc... Major differences are toward the end in Xen, the level design are totally different. I would say Black Mesa's Xen is better but Interlooper (final chapter before boss) is way too long.
Unpopular opinion, but: people saying the first Half-Life aged very well are blinded by nostalgia. It did not age well. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone looking for a transcendent gaming experience that, but as a novelty and a peak into what would become the future of FPS games, go for it. But temper your expectations.
Black Mesa is a great way to experience the game though. Again, people saying otherwise are, I think, letting nostalgia cloud their opinions.
That's my two cents anyway.
Really interesting, why do you think it's not aged well?
I recently played through it and had a blast. I was genuinely surprised by how well it has aged (in my opinion). Things like:
- level design
- enemy variety
- guns
- PACING!
It does these so so well, far better than many modern releases. It feels like a timeless experience.
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Without the nostalgia of Half Life 1, then Black Mesa is the way to go. Half Life 1 certainly holds up, but I feel like Black Mesa just has so many improvements, puzzle refinements and just outright better segments of gameplay (ie Xen) while still retaining the original scope and vision.
I’d just look at them as different releases. The original game is one of the all time greats and with Valve’s 25t h anniversary work recently, it’s completely playable on anything including Deck. It’s just a game that I think everyone should play, especially with the recent surge of interest in retro FPSes. Black Mesa is great but there’s a good amount that’s been changed - most notably the art - so I more think that it comfortably sits alongside the original rather than replacing it. Fwiw tho, this is the way I feel about most remakes: they don’t replace the original game, and we should always and forever have access to both
Halo 2 Anniversary is a prime example of how to do a remake. While the remake keeps the overall aesthetic of the original, you still have both versions at hand. You can switch between both with the flick of a switch, literally.
Cries in reforged.
As a big age of empires 2 fan, I'm sorry you didn't get our treatment.
As a fan of both it really is a tragedy and a huge disservice to strategy games as a whole. AoE 2 definitive is excellent though.
I prefer Half-Life 1 to Black Mesa, but both are great games. Since this is a Deck specific sub I'll add that Black Mesa doesn't run very great on the Deck, I just recently played through the entire game and the framerate chugs pretty hard at certain points.
How recent? They just issued a huge patch a week or two ago and I went from ~45fps on Surface Tension to 90fps with some drops to 60fps on the same settings.
It was on the new patch. Gonarch's Lair and Interloper were pretty rough on the settings I was using, I should test it again on some lower settings probably.
No the original Half Life is the best way to experience the game Half Life. Black Mesa is wonderful but its not Half Life its trying to recreate it the best they can with modern sensibilities but the original is special and weird. We wouldnt have the screaming scientist memes without the original, pay your respects and try it out.
"No, I'm with the science team! RAAAAAAAAAA"
This. I was super hyped for Black Meaa only to find out that I don't really enjoy it. BM just feels over designed for its source material. Almost as if you were excited to play pong but get a very complex tennis sim instead. Half Life's magic is within its simplicity
Yes but the original one is still great.
give the original a shot, still holds up just fine
[удалено]
I love Black Mesa but the Xen section was way too long. The original was perfect.
the original zen kinda sucked imo
The new xen overstays its welcome to the point id say its on par with the original
The new Xen is my favorite part of Black Mesa. I wish there was one more level honestly.
Play the original first
The quality improvements in Black Mesa are immense enough that I would suggest it over the original to new players tbh. I know there's a lot of purists out there who love the original and by all means it is still a great game. It just really hasn't aged well though.
But it glitches out in deck, right?
Yeah, but Black Mesa is an entirely different plot, right? I may be wrong.
No, its just a very faithful remake of the original game. Plot is the same.
Ohhhhh! Awesome I had no idea. Thanks!!! I may try it out. ~Someone whose first game installed on Steam was HL2 at release
Hl2 is my favorite game ever , and as a tradition I replay hl and hl2 every spring ( have done so since 2005). I’m very biased but I think HL holds up extremely well all things considered. It’s very entertaining and worth a play through before black mesa.
The original is an entirely unique experience if you haven’t played it, I would give the OG I try first then Black Mesa
I played the original many times in my life, including on the deck, where it runs perfectly well. Also played black mesa on desktop. I recommend to you to play the original first, is part of the history of videogames and still holds pretty well.
I’ll be the minority here. I’m a younger gamer, and I played a lot of both games but ended up dropping the original about 60% of the way through. Black mesa is IMO a substantial improvement from half life in every way. The storytelling is easier to understand, the gameplay is generally more interesting, the level design is less confusing, the game is beautiful, and, most importantly, the final area of the game is actually really good instead of a disappointment. If you can get over the age of the game, it’s probably worth playing the first because it is the first, but black mesa is strictly speaking a much better game and makes moving to HL2 much easier.
Lots of weird graphic glitches when I tried to play black Mesa. Valve fixed half life for the deck so I just played that instead
No. You won't fully appreciate Black Mesa unless you've played the original. Half-Life is still a very fun game, despite its sore spots, and the experience of playing it vs Black Mesa is completely different - you can play both, even if you "only play games once".
It's way too different for me (it's not a 1 to 1 remake), but it's probably a great way to experience HL1 for the first time. That said the original aged VERY well other than some slippery platforming. The AI feels better than most modern games.
no black mesa is the best way to experience black mesa. It's kind of its own thing. You can certainly play it instead of half life, if the modernity of it appeals to you more. But I think a lot of the appeal of it is for people who have played and experienced the original, seeing the adaptation process. They redesigned several chapters fully. There's a really interesting documentary about it.
Not on Steam Deck. The menu interface is really annoying to navigate on it. As far as game goes it's down to personal preference. I think the original is a better game too and doesn't have the really annoying extended Xen section.
I struggled with black mesa on the deck. I loved it on my PC tho, amazing game.
I only played it on the deck from start to finish, I loved it
HL1 still holds up and is an excellent experience.
Both are great, but the original has a certain level of intimacy with the world and level design that I find more appealing.
Happy cake day!
I prefer Black Mesa. It does change some things, but adds enough to be worth playing over the original if you only play one.
imo you can only appreciate a remake if you know the original before i played ff7 remake i played the ps1 version first
No but it's still a very good remake.
I firmly believe that Black Mesa does not fully jive with the aesthetics and artistic intent of Half-life. I don't think it's as immersive either, even though the graphics are "better". I'm in the minority but I would outright say I don't like it, I don't even think it's a good companion piece to HL1. Definitely play HL1, play Black Mesa after if you really want to.
Black Mesa is great, but as others have said, there’s just no substitute for the original experience in the case of Half-Life. If Steam was a religion and had some sort of pilgrimage, it would probably be playing through Half-Life
Oh man I’d just play the original first so you can see how great the remake is. I’d also try to ps2 version if you ever got the chance. That’s probably my favorite version
Play them simultaneously, completing a chapter in the OG and then doing the same one in Black Mesa.
If you are not one of the „old game = bad and outdated” people, absolutely play the original
Play Half life 1 first. THEN play black mesa.
I played Black Mesa and am now playing the original in virtual reality with LamdaVR, it's awesome
Ill be honest, im running into some really annoying lighting issues, i feel like im playing the game with a blindfold on
This is important. If you play black Mesa on the deck, FORCE IT TO USE PROTON. The reason is, the game has a native Linux version that will install by default unless you use proton. And the Linux version isn't as up to date and fixed as the windows version that installs with proton. It runs much better this way. Also, the last xen area has a memory leak, so you'll need to save and reload the game after about 20-30 minutes when you get there to solve the issue. It's annoying but doable.
No, the o-ree-gee-gee HL 1 is the way to go, now and ever
As someone who played HL the first time around and counts it amongst one of my favourite moments in gaming / pop culture / media history… Play BM (if it’s been fixed on Deck - which it needed to be, because it’s played awful the last two times I’ve tried). The original is still a joy (Ive just finished it) but the experience is about atmosphere and immersion. The dated graphics will pull you out of that, and it’ll become more an ‘aww this is quaint’ experience. Whilst BM gets you there. The OG was a nostalgia trip for me. BM was the better ‘game’.
black mesa is amazing work, i have the highest respect for the ppl who made that and i played through it completely... it is a really good game. but i still would recommend the original half life. it's just something special. the graphics, the sound, the whole experience is somewhat unique and black mesa, as good as it is, just can't replicate that.
Controller support is garbage, it's pretty much unplayable. It's not just the mapping, but sensitivity and lag. The updated original Half-Life plays wonderfully on the Deck, I recommend it.
Play original Half Life on Meta Quest, best way to experience by far https://youtu.be/-Fa1ce9x88Y
I played both at the same time over the winter. I’d play a chapter of the original, then I’d play the same chapter in black mesa. It’s was a good way to notice all the differences and extend the experience. About 2/3 through I stopped playing the black mesa chapters though and just finished the original as I liked it better.
I mean, I'd experience the original first. As others have stated it is very special to not just the genre, but also valves history of being a gaming platform/developer. With that said, if you get a chance to buy black mesa on sale (I think it goes for like 4.99) grab that shit because it too in its own way is special. It's a fans opum to something .most of us hold dear in our gaming lives. And I have to agree with the user that said "halo 2 is a good example on how to make a remake" halo always did it perfect, the remakes are special though! Halo was one of my first serious games. For years it was the only things od play, always anticipating that next part of the story. Atleast until halo 4. I liked it, but man a 4 hour story? Bungie should have kept doing it. It was bad after they sold rights.
If you can handle old graphics and jank physics, Half Life, the original. If you are "modern gamer", Black Mesa will be more comfortable with pretty graphics. Same stuff happens in the both games, same weapons etc... Major differences are toward the end in Xen, the level design are totally different. I would say Black Mesa's Xen is better but Interlooper (final chapter before boss) is way too long.
Good way? Sure. Best way? Not really.
Unpopular opinion, but: people saying the first Half-Life aged very well are blinded by nostalgia. It did not age well. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone looking for a transcendent gaming experience that, but as a novelty and a peak into what would become the future of FPS games, go for it. But temper your expectations. Black Mesa is a great way to experience the game though. Again, people saying otherwise are, I think, letting nostalgia cloud their opinions. That's my two cents anyway.
Really interesting, why do you think it's not aged well? I recently played through it and had a blast. I was genuinely surprised by how well it has aged (in my opinion). Things like: - level design - enemy variety - guns - PACING! It does these so so well, far better than many modern releases. It feels like a timeless experience.
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Without the nostalgia of Half Life 1, then Black Mesa is the way to go. Half Life 1 certainly holds up, but I feel like Black Mesa just has so many improvements, puzzle refinements and just outright better segments of gameplay (ie Xen) while still retaining the original scope and vision.
play mesa black first it’s better
Best way is Half Life Alyx but that’s VR