Black Mesa bills itself as a mod, but I believe it deserves the title of a game. I must say that it is absolutely fantastic. This is easily one of the best games I’ve ever had the benefit of experiencing.
I also beat the original Half Life and its sequel. Black Mesa is an improvement over the original Half Life in every way.
The art is among the best I’ve seen, with extremely high resolution textures and smooth models. The lighting is spot on, and makes the flashlight a critical gameplay mechanic. The gunplay is rapid and tense. The aliens inspire a sense of nostalgia in me, and their placement in the levels feels authentic. They each have their own character, and never feel dull throughout the game. The level design is thought provoking, and every scene feels fresh. All the assets are combined in logical ways, and give the appearance of real world locations. I think my favorite example of this is one of the outdoor scenes where you’re on a cliff face and looking out over these expansive canyons which are lightly peppered with nondescript industrial buildings. It was a beautiful and meticulous scene.
I think it is praiseworthy that the developers didn’t make a straight copy of the original Half Life levels, and only used major elements instead. The voice acting, too, is well done and original.
This game is a masterpiece in its own right. I really hope that the developers are making money by doing the work that they do. They absolutely deserve to be paid a meaningful wage. I mean, this game puts a lot of $60 games to shame, and it’s FREE!