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By
Lee D'Amato
Published 19 minutes ago
Lee D’Amato is a writer born, raised, and based in Queens, New York. With collective thousands of hours in games like Final Fantasy, Metal Gear, Elden Ring, and The Legend of Zelda, he's now writes game features, guides, and reviews for Screen Rant, but has covered a wide range of topics, including ancient history, affordable travel, and overall health.
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Amid whispers of a third Half-Life game's impending announcement, a new fan project has emerged to allow players to see Black Mesa in a whole new light. Rumors of an upcoming reveal for Half-LIfe 3 have circulated online recently, fueled by Valve's new Steam Machine, next month's Game Awards, and even a mysterious sculpture that cropped up in the Mojave Desert.
Half-Life 3 has yet to be confirmed by any means, but a new fan project called Half-Life: Element 64 could deliver on the classic shooter nostalgia in the meantime. Developed by the fan project Dark Vector, Element 64 is an all-new adventure set in the Half-Life universe, and styled after the 64-bit FPS games that dominated the late '90s.
Half-Life 3 Be Damned, Element 64 Is Here
What It Is & How To Play It
Although Half-Life 3 rumors are anything but confirmed at this point, fans can still experience a little Half-Life content with the Element 64 mod. Currently in development, its demo is available for free, although you'll need a copy of the original Half-Life ($9.99) to play it.
The final product will be a four-episode FPS campaign, likely also free-to-play as an unofficial mod for HL1. To try the demo, you need only navigate to its Steam page, click Download, and wait for the mod to install.
The trailer above credits Dark Vector (formerly known as Black Phoenix Studio) with the development of the mod. Black Phoenix is a non-profit development group with a couple of other Half-Life related projects under its belt: the Black Mesa mini-campaign The FInal Expedition, and the HL1 multiplayer overhaul Half-Life Arena.
It's A Love Letter To The Past
Not Just Half-Life, But All Classic FPS
Watching the trailer for Element 64, it clearly takes place in the Half-Life universe. It features Half-Life weapons, Half-Life Monsters, Half-Life settings... but at the same time, it's undeniably different.
Weapons are centered in the screen, unlike HL1's offset equipment. Enemies are a little flatter, almost more cartoonish. Movement is emphasized throughout the trailer, with the player character zipping around the room to dodge incoming fire and get into advantageous positions.
The fact of the matter is that Element 64 isn't just a love letter to Half-Life — it's a love letter to an entire bygone era of FPS games. It's invoking Doom and Quake specifically with its snappy movement and 64-bit aesthetic.
Even though those shooters and Half-Life are decidedly different, they came out around the same time, and actually seem like an interesting match. Even if Half-Life 3 doesn't get confirmed any time soon, I'm excited to see what comes of creative fan projects like Element 64.
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