I love this game so much. Despite its sequel being my favorite of the series, the gameplay in this is easily the best of... really, anything Valve has put out. Some of the most nuanced and thoughtful combat ever put into an FPS ever, if not the most. Every weapon has a purpose, despite some trumping others. (shotgun for life!) Battlefields are not a test of your abilities, but rather, the closest thing to a chessboard in a shooter. Just as much as you plan out your moves, your enemies have reactions that challenge those moves. You're not shooting at idiots who blindly walk at you like in other games (hell even Half-Life 2 does this), you're shooting at trained military officers who know what they're doing and will fight back against you just as hard as you fight against them.
The most common complaint I see about this game is some of the levels are frustrating, the two that get called out most being On A Rail and certain parts of Xen. All I can say is... I don't see it. I had no problems with On A Rail, and the only part of Xen I was frustrated with was the platforming in Interloper, and that was a short segment.
Despite being their first game, Valve already showed how they told their stories, with a fair bit of storytelling and worldbuilding being from what you see rather than what you're told, a concept which would be amplified tenfold in the sequel, of course. Regardless, for a debut, it showed immense skill and care taken to make sure the game would hold up in the decades to come, and I say it has. Sure, the graphics are dated, but they have a charm to them, y'know? For newer fans of the series, I do recommend playing Black Mesa and then coming back to the original if you enjoyed it to get the full experience, but this game still holds up completely on its own.
The most common complaint I see about this game is some of the levels are frustrating, the two that get called out most being On A Rail and certain parts of Xen. All I can say is... I don't see it. I had no problems with On A Rail, and the only part of Xen I was frustrated with was the platforming in Interloper, and that was a short segment.
Despite being their first game, Valve already showed how they told their stories, with a fair bit of storytelling and worldbuilding being from what you see rather than what you're told, a concept which would be amplified tenfold in the sequel, of course. Regardless, for a debut, it showed immense skill and care taken to make sure the game would hold up in the decades to come, and I say it has. Sure, the graphics are dated, but they have a charm to them, y'know? For newer fans of the series, I do recommend playing Black Mesa and then coming back to the original if you enjoyed it to get the full experience, but this game still holds up completely on its own.