Black Mesa is incredible - it feels like a bit of a reimagining because they updated level designs and also overhauled Xen entirely.
The Xen rework was very good, at least the first and third parts of it (second part was very repetitive for long stretches of time, but the rest was super well done).
I like to change the movement back to the classic 'always sprinting' as well to feel more like the original.
I know it's pure preference but I didn't care for the Xen rework. I know Xen is the weakest part of the original and often cited as a rush job by the developers. But by straying so far from the original I feel like it showed that the black Mesa team really is much better at updating existing levels rather than making their own.
Same, I understand them going for a whole Xen overhaul and rework given that the original Xen is mostly not very compelling but it feels like they overemphasized it to me. Like, it was absolutely gorgeous and I appreciated the hell out of that, but it could have been half the playtime or less and I think I would have gotten the same amount of appreciation out of it. It really felt like it dragged on, certainly the only chapters in BM that I felt genuinely bored with at times.
The remake of everything up to Xen is chef's kiss though even if it feels a little different from the OG.
And honestly, as a big HL fan, I'd say there's no reason to play HL over black Mesa, it's that good. I guess if you like the low poly charm, but if you want something that meshes well with hl2, then black Mesa and xen is it.
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u/alpha_60 Jul 29 '26
Witcher 1 and 2
Dragon Age Origins, 2 and Inquisition
Bioshock 1 and 2
Half-Life 1 and 2