We Love It's Guide to…
A physicist fights through a research facility and alien world, using firearms, movement, and environmental puzzles to survive a catastrophe.
Released 06 Mar 2020
Escape a Failing Lab
Fight Aliens and Soldiers
Explore Expanded Xen
Relive Half-Life.
Developed by Crowbar Collective · Published by Crowbar Collective
You play as Gordon Freeman, a theoretical physicist at the Black Mesa Research Facility. When an experiment goes wrong and opens a path to an alien dimension, Freeman must navigate the ensuing disaster and confront both alien creatures and a military cleanup force.
The first-person campaign combines gunfights with exploration, environmental puzzles, and platforming. You move through laboratories, maintenance areas, and outdoor spaces, using a crowbar and an expanding arsenal of firearms and other weapons against varied enemies.
The campaign spans 19 chapters, including expanded sections in the alien realm of Xen, with new weapons and challenges appearing as you progress. The game also includes multiplayer matches on 10 maps and tools for creating and sharing mods, models, and maps.
Recurring praise in the supplied reviews focuses on the updated visuals and immersive atmosphere, the combat, and the expanded Xen levels. Players also appreciate how the reimagining refreshes the original experience while retaining its core feel, and some single out the soundtrack. Criticism most often concerns Xen and other sections running long, while some players find routes hard to read or report performance problems.
Black Mesa is the fan-made reimagining of Valve Software’s Half-Life.
Update 1.5 brings together all the improvements to graphics and gameplay across 15 years of development to create the final version of Black Mesa. There has never been a better time to pick up the crowbar and play!
You are Gordon Freeman, a theoretical physicist at the Black Mesa Research Facility. When a routine experiment goes horribly wrong, you must fight your way through an interdimensional alien invasion, and a bloodthirsty military clean-up crew in order to save the science team… and the world!
A completely reimagined and refined single player campaign, including all new and expanded Xen levels
19 chapters of fighting through top-secret labs, running atop harsh desert landscapes, sneaking into abandoned railways, and leaping across dimensions
Mind-Blowing graphics and effects, never before seen on the Source Engine
Face off against an army of classic enemies, updated with new features and engaging AI
Wield an arsenal of military hardware, scientific prototypes, and the iconic crowbar through incredibly detailed environments
The all-new soundtrack and voice acting create a more immersive experience than ever before
50 Fun and challenging achievements
Frag your friends across 10 iconic maps from the Half-Life universe, including:
Bounce
Gasworks
Stalkyard
Undertow
Crossfire
Create your own mods, models, and maps with the Black Mesa Source SDK, then share it with the community on the Steam Workshop.
Collect the full set of trading cards, backgrounds, emoticons, and achievements! Featuring Steam Cloud, Steam Workshop, closed captions in multiple languages and full controller support.
| Platforms | Windows, Linux |
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| Achievements | 50 |
| Age ratings |
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| Multiplayer | Black Mesa includes a multiplayer mode focused on online PvP. The official description states players can fight across 10 iconic Half-Life maps, and Steam features list Online PvP and Cross-Platform Multiplayer. The provided information does not state player counts, co-op, LAN, split-screen, drop-in/drop-out, or persistent-world support. |
| Multiplayer & mods | Black Mesa supports Steam Workshop, includes a level editor and Source SDK, and the description says players can create and share mods, models, and maps. Reviews specifically mention Workshop integration for multiplayer maps. No source states that mods change player counts or add confirmed co-op modes. |
| Controller support | Xbox |
| Controller required | No |
| DRM / EULA |
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| Content notices |
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| Metacritic | 84/100 View on Metacritic |
| Website | Official website |
