A modder is taking the originalHalf-Lifeand overhauling the general look of the classic FPS with upscaled textures and tweaks to the levels. SinceValve is unlikely to ever releaseHalf-Life 3, which has gone down as one of the most anticipated games of all time and gained almost mythical status, fans continue to replay the two entries in the series. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Both games are equally influential, and even the maiden release is still playable to this day.
However, the franchise may not be fully dead in the water just yet. Along with 2020’sAlyx, which admittedly is exclusively a VR game, there have also beenrumors about aHalf-LifeRTS spin-off calledCitadelpossibly being in development. Data mining has revealed a few details about this elusive title, and while there’s been no official confirmation from the studio, many fans will be excited to see something emerge that may or may not tell a new story from Gordon Freeman’s viewpoint. In the meantime, however, there are plenty of mods for the original game.
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This upcoming mod is being created by a user called Hezus and was spotted by DSO Gaming. This mod, simply called “Enriched,” will be taking the firstHalf-Lifeentry and enhancing it to make it look and feel more up-to-date. While it’s not aiming to make the 1998 release look like a modern game, the modder is updating the visuals using AI upscaling to make the textures more detailed. They’re also reworking the maps and improving the general lighting, all while staying within the “limits of the engine.” There is an alpha build currently available on ModDB, but at the time of writing, there’s no release date for the full mod.
This is also not the first fan project that’s coming about. Anothermodder is making an isometricHalf-Lifegame, which will tell a new story featuring the mute scientist from a new perspective. This one is particularly interesting as the creator has received permission from Valve to publish their game on Steam.
It’s perhaps not too surprising that fans are more than happy to return to this classic release. It’s good to see there’s an active modding community still tweaking Valve’s nearly quarter-of-a-century-old title, which makesHalf-LifeanFPS game with a lot of replay value. While the world may never see an official continuation of Gordon Freeman’s story, the first two mainline entries will at least always be celebrated by fans.
Half-Lifewas released in 1998 for PC, with ports to PS2, OS X, and Linux.
