I honestly don't know what to say. Not because it blew me away or it's really bad. But because it's just... fine?

If the phrase "this is one of the games of all time" were to be ever used unironically, then this might be applicable for it. It feels like a little mission pack for Half-Life 1, with some little annoying platforming segments to boot as well. The game's story is also very muted as well and the only times it's ever interesting is when it's inserting interesting beats or references to Half-Life 1.

But because of that I can't rate it badly and I can't rate it good either. So right in the middle of the 70s it is.

Score: 75

While there was one puzzle at the end of the game that's solution was kind of annoying, the rest of Blue Shift is one of the most consistently good parts of any of the gold source HL games. This might have been recency bias since this was the last gold source HL game I played, but I liked pretty much every aspect touched in Blue Shift more than I did in opposing force. The new additions and features in the game that made it stand out from the original, while having far fewer than OF, utilized it's new features a lot more than OF as the more grounded nature of Calhoun made me really think I was an actual security guard escaping the madness of the black mesa incident, more than Shepard in OF which just seemed like a less powerful Gordan Freeman. I also liked the atmosphere a lot more, as playing through the earlier stages and seeing more of Black Mesa, and then having to run around for the first few minutes after the incident played a lot into the horror aspects of the game which I really appreciated. Overall while both OF and BS are good games to play after beating HL1, I would strongly recommend BS over OF, as I simply just liked it more as an experience.

A short but passable jaunt through the Black Mesa Research Facility once again, this time from Barny's perspective. Unfortunately Blue Shift doesn't really do anything to set itself apart from both the original game and it's other excellent expansion, Opposing Force. The levels here are all quite homogenous and flat, Barny also has no weapons that are unique to him, making this expansion feel like a poor quality map pack to keep fans abated whilst Half Life 2 was still being developed. However the charm of the GoldSrc engine was enough for me to still enjoy this.

A decent, albeit playing it incredibly safe, expansion to the original game.

There was a slightly bigger emphasis on puzzles and escorting people. Combined with the addition of a lot more ammo and health packs laying around, this felt far easier than the original, especially in the second half.

Despite a lack of enemy variety, it's only around 4 hours long, so it doesn't overstay its welcome too much.

Esse spin-off de Half-Life 1 é com certeza um muito interessante, pois esse aqui realmente tem uma história própria cujo a gameplay se constrói em volta dela.

E falando em gameplay, eu senti que as ameaças do Half-Life pro Blue Shift se diferem muito, a gente luta mais contra as forças opositoras do que com os alienígenas o jogo todo, mas diferente do Half-Life cujo eu odiava os soldados, esse aqui eles ficaram muito mais balanceados e justos.

A trilha sonora desse spin-off não é muito interessante justamente pelo jogo durar só quase 2 horas de duração, diferente do jogo original que pode durar umas 7 horas, então não há muito acontecendo com a trilha sonora, mas ela consegue ser legal e encaixada bem nos momentos certos.

Pra finalizar, a história principal desse spin-off realmente não era pra ser algo longo nem muito curto, mas ele ainda carece de tempero, eu acho que ainda faltava gameplay ou trama pra história, mas eu já to feliz com o que eu recebi disso.

É até impressionante como eu gostei mais do spin-off do que do jogo original lol

Half-Life: Blue Shift nos coloca na pele de um mero segurança das instalações Black Mesa, durante seu blecaute e colapso, em paralelo aos acontecimentos de Half-Life. Nós não somos mais o sortudo e destemido Gordon Freeman, com sua imponente armadura e pé de cabra. Somos apenas Calhoun, um segurança qualquer, assim como os vários que encontramos pelo jogo base, que tiveram fins horríveis.

Mas esse não é o caso de Calhoun.

Jogando na pele dele, enfrentamos uma curta campanha para escapar das instalações, em meio ao caos. O jogo no geral é bem curto, como eu disse, mas é desafiador, e isso pode aumentar a dificuldade. Os inimigos são os mesmos do jogo base, se tiver um novo é só um, acredite. A gameplay é a mesma, praticamente, mas a historinha até que é legal.

Fora isso não tem o que dizer mais. É uma dlc de Half-Life, tem todas as limitações dessa engine antiga. Apesar disso, é muito bom.