For its glorious 20th anniversary celebration, Half-Life 2 finally got baked-in mod support. Though the classic – and now refined – version of the classic remains an all-timer, there are some mods out there that improve or change the experience in unforeseen and amazing ways. Let’s have a look at the best of them.
Entropy: Zero 2
Remember how the original Half-Life had expansions where you got to play with someone other than Gordon Freeman, and it still rocked? We got none of that with Half-Life 2, by the official means, that is. If you want to step into the shoes of a completely different character in that world, then consider giving Entropy: Zero 2 a shot. This time you play not as a the hero, but as an especially nasty member of the Combine.
Zero 2 is so good it has its very own mods.
Swelter
If you’re looking for another mod that could play as one of the different POV expansions Half-Life 2 never got, Swelter is another great pick. This time you play not as Gordon Freeman, but as a regular resistance fighter. Swelter follows a movie’s three-act formula, and is also as fun as a good Hollywood blockbuster should be. There’s no shortage of fun combat and, best of all, it never overstays its welcome.
Research and Development
And if you’re one of those who got into Half-Life because you liked the idea of finally getting to play as a scientist, only to learn that this scientist was also all about guns, then maybe this is the mod for you. Research and Development doesn’t sell itself as something that it is not, and has players actually investigating the intricacies of the Half-Life 2 world. It’s a completely different game from Half-Life 2, though an equally interesting take on its world. Creator mbortolino describes it as a “a point’n’click adventure in an FPS engine.“, and that was more than enough to get me hyped.
Silent Hill: Alchemilla
If you’ve read pretty much anything I’ve ever written, you’ll likely understand that I love Silent Hill. If you’re into Half-Life 2 and Silent Hill, I assure you Alchemilla is quite the hidden gem to add to your collection.
It’s just unbelievable to see how the closest thing we got to an amazing modern-looking Silent Hill Remake was made by a bunch of fans, but you can go check for yourself.
While it doesn’t feature the highs of the greatest games in the series, it’s better than any non-Team Silent title in the franchise, and makes great use of the FPS POV that helped make P.T. the unforgettable experience that it is.
Jabroni Brawl: Episode 3
While I love Team Fortress 2, and Counter-Strike 2 I can’t help but feel sad that Half-Life 2: Deathmatch didn’t catch the love I believe it deserved. To solve that, Team Jabroni came up with a mod that combines all the fun present in the original Half-Life 2: Deathmatch, adds more, and gives you hundreds of fantastic maps to mess around in. Jabroni Brawl shows just how fun HL2 can be.
And, well, if you fail to find the fun in any of it, at least enjoy having something even tangentially connected to Half-Life featuring a “3” in its name.
Minerva
If you’re one of those who, like me, somehow finds the environments of Half-Life 2 to be surprisingly soothing, then Minerva might prove a great experience for you.
Though it was released way back in ’07, Minerva’s great attention to detail and big emphasis on ambiance and environmental storytelling makes its original campaign one of the most immersive experiences in the Half-Life extended family.
Nightmare House 2
Half-Life 2 lends itself really well to the horror genre, who would have known. Nightmare House 2 tells an original story that sounds a lot like the plot of the original Silent Hill, but, unlike Alchemilla, is its very own thing.
Though it uses Half-Life 2 and Silent Hill as its most likely inspirations, Nightmare House 2 has a very unique, almost mesmerizing, look. There’s something about this one that just feels very nostalgic to me, even though it was made at a time long before games were chasing that high.
Black Mesa
This one is a no-brainer. After the release of Half-Life 2, Valve released Half-Life: Source, a remake of the original game in the source engine. Though it had a few cool elements, the whole thing proved the very rare letdown in Valve’s catalog. To make things right, a bunch of fans got together to create Black Mesa, a full conversion of the original game in Half-Life. The result is so unfathomably good that even Valve proudly displays Black Mesa as part of the Half-Life family in its series sales. If you’ve never played Half-Life and want to have your first go at the series through a modernized environment, then you should seriously consider Black Mesa.
The Stanley Parable
Yes, though you likely know it as a hugely unlikely hit nowadays, The Stanley Parable began its life as a Half-Life 2 mod. The final game is definitely better, but we’d be doing the community a disservice if we were to snub this one.
In a world full of ambitious mods, The Stanley Parable dared to just tell the story of an office worker who decides to — or doesn’t — go out of his way. The result is a beautiful homage to Valve’s out of the box way of thinking, as well as one of the funniest open-ended games ever made.
Garry’s Mod
Garry’s Mod is, in essence, a mod that opens the floodgates of Half-Life 2 content and invites you to create whatever you can with the many pieces.
On top of providing a fantastic sandbox, Garry’s Mod also hosts a myriad of free games created in its sandbox, and many of them are just as fun as any really fun trending game that you’d have to pay full price for.
There’s a case to be made about Garry’s Mod being not just the best Half-Life mod, but the best mod, period. Oh, yeah, it’s also the main reason why we got Skibidi Toilet, whether that counts as good or bad.
Published: Dec 1, 2024 09:32 am