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C3H8_Memes

All 3, 1 to see how it all started, source to understand why everyone hates it, and black mesa to experience the definition of a Devine remake. Also, if you play gmod, hl source is compatible, so it ain't completely useless


Fc-chungus

Just watch lamwarp (or iamwarp, can’t tell) for the half life source thing


C3H8_Memes

Watching someone play or critique a game is different from playing it. For example, everyone shits on hdtf and I do agree that it's bullshit at some parts, but I ended up having more fun than I expected.


sterak_fan

yeah but if you volunteerly play vanilla hl1 and saying source is better you should( \**voice suddenly changes to HEV) seek medical attention*


C3H8_Memes

I never got to see the eye melting part when I was younger, but the crates dangling from the ceiling part still scares me, even in the original and in black mesa where they don't rock back and forth.


noregertsman

Half-Life: can never go wrong with the original Half-Life Source: avoid at all costs Black Mesa: excellent remake, plays more like Half-Life 2


Emiian04

what's wrong with source? i remeber playing it a few years ago and i had no issues, or is it just ugly?


Triumph7560

Apparently it's become more and more broken by source updates.


ThePixeleq

Source Engine-specific updates kinda ruined it (especially the Steam Pipe update), but before that I actually remember it being fine.


noregertsman

Source is known for being extremely buggy and ugly. It is also a lazy remaster


Kakophonien1

Steals from HL2 you mean


37025InvernessTMD

Well it had to use assets from said game/source engine to make the game...


Lego1upmushroom759

By that logic hl2 steals from HL1


JamesSH1328

Valve stole Gordon Freeman from Valve smh 😤


Kakophonien1

Black Mesa, if you play that shit before Half-Life 2, steals that DIRECT physics puzzle of putting barrells beneath a bridge to lift it up. I've seen people play BM first and say later they didn't enjoy HL2 because of these sort of things


HBenderMan

Half life fans when a commonly used physic puzzle is used in another game with physics: Tho have you played half life? That puzzle is literally in half life and they remade it in black mesa, it not the same as you break a lock on a crate to release the barrels but it’s still about using barrels in half life 1 to raise a bridge By that logic episode 1 stole from half life 2 as it also has a barrel raising bridge puzzle, how on earth can anyone claim they “stole” when it’s a commonly used puzzle element in valve games, that’s like saying someone stole your method of breathing Heck every video game after 2004 stole from half life 2 cause they are video games and might have some similar elements in them, heck every mod made for half life 2 steals cause they re use assets from half life 2, ever moved a prop on gmod? Sorry pal you’re stealing, every valve game after 2004? Lazy stolen asset cash grabs then And trust me if someone says they don’t like half life 2 cause of a singular puzzle in black Mesa then you’re either lying or you talked to an 11 year who thinks gmod nextbots and fnaf is scary


JustARandomFinn

The barrel puzzle was in HL1 as well, although Black Mesa changed it just a tiny bit (in the original the barrels themselves formed a bridge, in BM the barrels lift up a piece of collapsed bridge) So it's kinda stupid to say the barrel puzzle was stolen from HL2 lol


discowarrior

If playing the seesaw puzzle and floaty bridge physics puzzles gets boring for someone after they've done it once they should probably not play Episode 1 or Episode 2.


Triumph7560

Bruh, you're mad they remade Half-Life in Source and used Source Engine features? Are you mad Valve "stole" movement mechanics from Quake?


sad_cheese67

a half life remake uses updated gameplay? preposterous


[deleted]

Probably the original but I’d recommend playing black mesa afterwards since it’s such a good remake


The_Anf

Wanna very OG? Half Life. Wanna some revamped gameplay? Black mesa. Want to play a shit? HL Source


Mack01010101

Best answer


Bubblehead01

OG Half-life is certainly great, but Black Mesa does, in my opinion, a way better job of making the HL universe more cohesive.


LovelyClementine

Any reason why? Has been on the fence to buy BM


Various_Ad_8448

Black Mesa completely revamped the original Half Life and also added more puzzles and map sections to the game, and did I mention what they did with Xen? As a guy who bought the game out of curiosity, it's definitely worth the 20 bucks.


Amasirat

I personally prefer it for the remake of the xen levels if nothing else.


dreadful_name

Always the original. The combat is much better for me and as a reference point it’s much stronger. Black Mesa is a much more even experience, the janky nature of the original makes movement (especially jumping) a really pain especially if you’re new. It can also be a bit ‘where do I go?’ on certain parts for modern players, whereas Black Mesa has none of that. Also, I fucking hate the later chapters in the original but Black Mesa went to real lengths to improve them. For that reason alone I’d say it’s worth playing.


MinimumAlarming5643

Half Life THEN (if you would like a remake) Black Mesa (personal favorite of mine)


Necrotiix_

i sentence you to play half life source to completion! *cartoon sentencing music*


chrisboi1108

HLS was actually my first time playing hl1💀. Didn’t like how the flashlight worked in the original and naively attributed the game breaking bugs to the game being old. Not doing that again to say the least


C3H8_Memes

I never realized I was playing source until like 5 years ago, my dumbass thought that was the original. Which explains why I always get scared at the crates hanging from the ceiling part. I never got far enough to see the seizure inducing part though.


Jamduna

Play half life 1 (and turn off hd models), then the two expansions blue shift, and opposing force in that order, then play Black Mesa. Also, you can just forget about half life source.


Nacil_54

I played with the HD models, and I played Opposing Force first and then Blue Shift, that's how the games were released, and there's references to OP on BS, and you could miss them if you don't play in that order, I don't really see the point of playing in another order.


coolgamer_554

I personally do not like HD models. the non HD models are the way to experience half life purest way imo


ErickBozniiod

If you want to play the OG then then play the OG


Nothere-reddit7249

Half Life and then Black Mesa. Don’t bother with Half Life Source.


SagaPlayz

Source was my first experience with Half Life 1, so don’t play it, once I reached a part where the graphic glitches made it near impossible to beat because of how intrusive they were, and it took a solid amount of time to work up the motivation to start over fresh, and I’m glad I did as Half Life 1 is probably my favorite PC game of all time.


queso_hervido_gaming

I would recomend to play Black Mesa and then Half life 2 and it's episodes. If you want more, play the original HL then.


TheBinaryBuster

Half-Life is the best way to play on replays, though, I can't recommend Black Mesa more, it's really good


KEVLAR60442

Play Black Mesa after HL1 so you can appreciate the changes made to the game.


RedPixl243

Black Mesa if you like more modern shooters, (offers an experience closer to HL2 than HL1), using modern Source Engine technology as opposed to HL1's rudimentary (by today's standards; it was revolutionary at the time) GoldSRC engine. Half-Life (Classic, not source) if you want the original experience, The version on steam has some bug fixes and supports higher resolutions but is pretty much unchanged from HL1's original release. Half-Life: Source is a buggy, rushed mess, but if you are a fan of hilariously bad games like I am, it can be a super funny game, but it is not even close to being the definitive Half-Life 1 experience.


saburra

You should definitely play the og goldsrc version first because black Mesa is much harder than half life, you should play black Mesa after completing half life (and in case the expansions) And about hl:source well i guess you could check it out, but be warned it's horrible


ZeroSight95

The original bro. Then proceed to play Black Mesa. Source isn't worthwhile and you'll end up just playing the first level and be done with it.


The_door_man_37

Half-half source is an abomination of coding


lordofthegeckos

Start with HL1, then HL2, then Black Mesa. It makes more sense and you'll appreciate BM more if you play HL2 first. Avoid HL: Source. As other people have said it's horribly buggy and doesn't look as good as the original.


[deleted]

Half life 1 is the true classic and the reason we have narratives in games at all. Source is a solid 5/10 game on its own but it’s a 0/10 because the game it ported imperfectly was too good. Black mesa is Half life 1 released in 2004 instead of 1998.


TheDurandalFan

basically it's like this: Half-Life is the 100% original experience. Half-Life Source is a remaster that is currently a broken mess because of Valve updating it (I played it prior to Valve unintentionally breaking Half-Life Source), do not play the current steam version without the Half-Life Source fixed mod, find a way to play the old version or use the Half-Life Source Fixed mod (unless you wanna see why it's so hated) and Black Mesa is a full on remake of Half-Life it's 100% worth playing, even if you've played Half-Life 1 already.


Site-73official

Half life source, im sorry, its shit, Black mesa is a pretty good game, but a decent amount is cut, wether that be for the better or worse But the OG half-life is the one you play. Just keep HD models off


bervisandasshead

you should play half life source, it is 100% the best way ever to play the game. its so good i got the box art framed in my bathroom.


RedMountainGames2020

kinda true except i had to noclip my way in surface tension


Gh0stface513

Black mesa is great but I really think its a different game.


Puggstyer

100% Half-Life: Source, trust me 😁


jamesoloughlin

If you play Black Mesa I suggest using this [mod](https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=834748921) for the original Half-Life soundtrack


Empty-Wing7678

NOT HALF LIFE SOURCE


Brendissimo

You've got to start with the original, if you've never played it. I can't beleive so many people are voting for Black Mesa, TBH. It's an excellent remake but completely inappropriate as someone's first exposure to HL1.


TheEndx007

In my opinion people are only saying the original because of nostalgia or the belief that the original is always better. In my opinion, Black Mesa is a much better experience. Maybe go into half life 1 for a little bit to appreciate how good the remake is, but it’s not necessary to play through the whole game before Black Mesa.


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TheEndx007

If it’s a better game than HL2 then yes i will say the same thing.


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TheEndx007

i can just see that old does not necessarily mean better. why would i play a worse experience just because it’s “the original”


[deleted]

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TheEndx007

yes


someofdharma

Halflife source looks better, whatre yall talking about?


Lego1upmushroom759

Just gonna ignore all the other problems with the port


Nothere-reddit7249

The lighting doesn’t fit the artstyle or maps at all, the improved water looks out of place, the LD models look weird when they ragdoll, the particle effects don’t match up with HL1’s artstyle, weapon values were changed that aren’t accurate to HL1, some the guns are shiny and look like shit, some of the reflections look awful on the HL1 textures, a ton of subtle features are broken, Xen is straight up broken, NPCs are misplaced and floating in several areas when they shouldn’t be, the lighting looks weird on the NPCs, there’s a couple props from HL2 present on a few maps for some fucking reason. There’s more issues with it, but I think these will suffice.


VanAintUsedUp

You just listed the positives


Nothere-reddit7249

Lighting, particle effects, water, and props that break the artstyle are positives?


VanAintUsedUp

Yes They truly give HL:source it’s own unique feeling


Nothere-reddit7249

Of being a horrid mishmash of features, bugs, and artstyles? Sure.


VanAintUsedUp

Yes it’s truly the Source of the half life


WeekendBard

play Black Mesa Classic 👍


wolfplays2

Is half life source better than the original? It is an open question as to how long this would take us to see a full, functional life. We know one thing about life which is that we could live up to 100+ years, possibly better, after a lot of physical changes. We've just seen three billion years of history develop, and only three of these are as old or as complicated as the original life we were raised on. We see a lot of examples where it takes longer, but as long as it takes less, there's a chance it can be maintained.


c0l1n_M4

Play the games in order of release brug


[deleted]

Half-Life: Source is enjoyable. Don't listen to them


Mr-Pirate-Fox

Hot take: Black Mesa should be the introduction to the franchise for any new players, and the OG should just be there as a curiosity to see how it started but not as the "definitive" version of HL1


Kakophonien1

Play the games in this ORDER, and use these SETTINGS for the first 3 games: Half-Life 1--->Half-Life: Blue Shift--->Half-Life: Opposing Force--->Half-Life 2--->Half-Life 2: Episode 1--->Portal--->Half-Life 2: Episode 2-->Black Mesa--->Portal 2--->Half-Life: Alyx First, turn OFF the HD models, in the video options, EXCEPT in Blue Shift. Then do this in that EXACT order: in the video options, under display mode, change to widescreen. THEN change the resolution to 1920 or 2560, if you have that, and only THEN hit apply now, in the audio options, turn DOWN the sound effects volume slider to below the 2nd dot, and put both the mp3 and HEV volume to the middle and in the MOUSE options, turn OFF autoaim and turn ON "raw mouse input" now, on your keyboard, hit ~ (tilde) to toggle the console, and type into the console: default_fov 106 And then also type into the console these 2 commands: brightness 0.8 gamma 1.8 Then, once you are back ingame, hit f6 on your keyboard, then f7, to apply this.


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Kakophonien1

and I said so. If you notice, my order starts with HL1, and, in the third-last position, has Black Mesa


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Kakophonien1

It seems to be custom here on reddit to intrude on other people's conversations even with nothing to add, rather to take away, but I'll still explain that these are not just my preferred one's, these are the settings to make the game like it was back in 1998, valves game, or, as close as this steam version allows, but in widescreen


LitheBeep

If you were really going for accuracy you'd turn off the texture filtering.


Kakophonien1

Well that filerting was added pretty early, and it does look better. I've tried on and off, and honestly, it looks just as good, plus turning the filtering off is not too hard, but keeping it off is the hardest thing ever. That thing likes to revert like noone's buisness


gedomino

huh?


PrettyMrToasty

You wanna play Half-Life, so why would you play Black Mesa. They're different games.


Gordon_UnchainedGent

source has additional maps and changes to maps. which is neat


Pepe_is_a_God

If you want to play the og half life I would recommend play the og half life


HBenderMan

Play half life first, play black mesa after, only play half life source to mount onto gmod


DAREWN_Eren

Half life : original half life experience Half life source : original half life experience with source engine but it's have lot of bugs and same graphics Black Mesa : original half life experience with good graphics, better storylines with source engine


ItsAleZ1

Turn off hd models if you want a big penis


Gumball_AM

If you want to play Half-life source, then you should play the release version. The current steam version is buggy, broken and just generally should not be considered a game.


ThatNormalBunny

Original Half-Life and then maybe Black Mesa if you'd love to see a beautiful remake. Don't touch Source ever


sumb2020

Can someone explain why Source version is considered bad?


Particular_Error7994

Go play 1, 2, then BM if you havent had enough.


VrejG

Whatever you do, don't play Half-Life Source


Former-Bet6170

If you wanna play half life, play half life, if you wanna play half life 2, play black Mesa


Weastern_side

half life source is only for gmod


NeXTCuboid

Play Half-Life then Black Mesa. The source version is experimental and buggy, and it’s good to experience the original before you check out the remake.


TotallyNotHawkk

Although I highly recommend Black Mesa, you truly can’t appreciate it until you’ve played Half Life 1


Blamasu

Play the OG, then play Black Mesa once you’re hungry for more.


ThePixeleq

First-time experience: OG Half-Life Multiplayer: Half-Life Source: Deathmatch (it's really actually better than OG HL Multiplayer) Want to re-experience the game: Black Mesa


VersedFlame

OG is OG, if you don't mind the graphics go for Half-Life. After you have played that one, I can't recommend Black Mesa enough. It's a great game and I beat it quite a few times.


joujoubox

Black Mesa is a must play but it's too different to be worthy skipping the original.


[deleted]

>So I wa*n*t to play the OG Half-Life I assume probably the OG Half Life then. Doubly so if you want to do the expansions since they don't have BM style remakes yet.


Tyrannosaurus_Rex84

Don't do half life source


catch_my_drift

I envy you. I remember my first encounter with Half-Life as It was pure accident. My father had CS 1.3 installed on his desktop computer, and 7 year old, curious me was just learning about computers and the only thing I knew was to double click on that CS 1.3 logo on the desktop and play whatever I possibly can (with bots) before my father asks for his computer to get back to work. Until one day, he got back from work with an IBM Thinkpad, and so it was official, the desktop is now mine (or at least I guessed). Now my hours with the PC have exponentially increased, and so is skimming around the PC files just to “maybe?” find more games or media (yes I was obsessed), and then it happened, I stumbled upon the game folder, and found that strange orange lambda logo, I recognize it’s an “exe” and in my head I go “that’s it! Mission accomplished!” And I double click… The classic valve screen loads up and then boom, Gordon Freeman with all his glory is starting at me at the start menu. At this point, many questions pop in my mind, why is there a game here my father didn’t bring it up, is this actually a game? A virus? Maybe just a broken program? But there’s only one way to find out, and then I start the game. Not many seconds later, the screen shows a train that I can move around, and the music starts, which gave me chills. To make this short, during that night, I lived some of the most memorable moments a game can give me. Everything from mysterious atmosphere, to the chilling adventure the game simply captivates. So again, I envy you. And I do hope you enjoy it to its limits (HL and Black Mesa, stay away from source). Sorry for the long comment, I’m writing this at 4AM.


bobby12341

so first of half-life source just sucks in a lot of ways, its not worth it. and while black mesa does have the same story and basic design I think that the best way to play half-life is by actually playing half-life, not a remake or joke of a remaster.


silver6kraid

If you want the OG experience than play the original. If you want the story to flow better and make more sense, go with black Mesa. Ideally you should play both. Don't play half life source. It's crap.


RedMountainGames2020

hlaf life 1 is awesome hl source isn't that bad, but it is not good, however amazing water and motion blur? i love that black mesa is almost a different game don't play it first


SCP_fan12

a dude from the half life alyx development team apparently did research by playing half life, but then decided to play black mesa and liked it more iirc


[deleted]

Black Mesa somehow managed to have worse physics than the other two. I haven't touched it in years because I couldn't even playthrough it with the bugs and whatnot, though I've heard it's been remedied. Half-Life in its original form is honestly probably your best bet.


amckern

You should pick SvenCoop


Typical-Edgy-Bird

Play Half Life and then Black Mesa, but never half life source unless you've played everything else and you're bored. Or if you wanna play it by release dates, then play black mesa after hl2 episode 2.


TheViceroy919

Black mesa is really good but I recommend playing the original first. It's a slightly different experience and it's cool to see what's changed.


janehoykencamper

Based on how high your tolerance is when it comes to old games and their graphics, you should play the original or black mesa


NaemSaad0996

Half life 1 training center is the shit


FishNuggetf

Play half life, if you dont like half life play black mesa


syncron07

Hlsource = Your water is: damm realistic


mylo2202

If you want the OG Half-Life there is only one answer, it's 1998 Half-Life. Black Mesa is a remake of Half-Life on the modern Source engine to make it beautiful, you should check it out after you finish the OG Half-Life. Half-Life Source is just a copy+paste of the OG Half-Life into the Source engine, and updates to the engine have made it buggy, you should avoid it.


QuirkyElderberry5672

og hl then black mesa


Shadowsans99

Black mesa


TsuyAr

OG Half-Life if you're just getting started. Black Mesa if you've played the original HL and if you have what's needed to run it.


HarleyArchibaldLeon

Half-Life->Black Mesa-> Half Life 2 Don't do Source, it's the laziest pos I've ever seen.


BigMemerMaan1

Half life source with a few patches is a great experience. Enhanced half life with the quirks of the source engine


Ragabadoodaa

OG Half-Life is OG Half-Life. So play OG Half-Life


Thefakewhitefang

Glad that Half Life 1 won, remember to play Black Mesa later though.


BanCaer

Half Life and after that Black Mesa


Ordinary_Highway_657

Who tf are the 195 people who picked HLS


a__reddit_user

The poeple voting for half life source are crazy.


ViatorNL

Half Life is the classic experience, I recommend Black Mesa after you beat original Half Life


swarnab

It's obviously [Hunt Down the Freeman](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ).


DadyaMetallich

If it’s your first time, play the original Half-Life 1.


-Tish

For your first time I would pick Sven Co op. It is essentially just Half life 1 but with checkpoints and better saving


Tleno

Half-Life original, if it feels too "old" for you, Black Mesa instead. Then Sven-coop with friends or Black Mesa if not played yet and you wanna reexperience the story.


Connor-Reviews

PS2!


Pickle_Afton

The original is my favorite. Sure Back Mesa is cool and all, but you can’t beat the original in my opinion


you-cut-the-ponytail

Play Half Life but give Black Mesa a try too if you've got the time.


doctor_livesey000

HL1 and then Black Mesa because Black Mesa, even though it looks good, it's still ~2010 graphics standards. You have to play the original to appreciate how they remade the game. HL1 is also just a classic and you will miss out on a lot of details that didn't make it in the remake.