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this post was submitted on 03 Jan 2024
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I was planning on doing a playthrough of HL2 after the first, so I haven't actually played it yet. The first has kind of left a sour taste in my mouth though and as far as I can tell the second isn't a huge change in terms of the issues I felt the first had. If they did a good enough job with Black Mesa to fix the hallway simulator vibes of the first I may definitely have to give it a shot.
I don't mind the dated mechanics and graphics as much. I do mind the lack of player agency and objectives or direction. A lot of similar shooters of this period really survived on the atmosphere they created and I just don't feel that in this game. It just makes it hard to overcome the "why am I playing this, I'm very bored" feelings.
The vibes is exactly why HL1 was successful, but I agree it doesn't really hold up compared to modern games. I think Black Mesa brings it close to the same level of modern games, while still being HL1. It's still a lot of hallways (especially early on), as that's the setting of the game. BM just makes them look better and adds more detail the original couldn't have. It also adds physics, so it feels more alive.
HL2 was one of the first games with physics, and as such used physics as a gimmick too frequently in my opinion. It doesn't hold up as well as Black Mesa makes HL1 hold up. HL1 is just a shooter with an interesting story, and importantly never takes control away for cutscenes or anything, which was new for the genre. There's no gimmicks, just a good game.
At this point I'm definitely going to finish the game, so we'll see if my opinions change at the end of it all. If I'm still struggling to get into it I'll definitely give Black Mesa a shot so I appreciate the suggestion and clarification.
I guess my expectations were way out of whack because I'd heard nothing but praise of the game for 20 years.