We used to make sequels that felt like they pushed every known boundary. Playing this for the first time in so many years and I felt as though I had to remind myself it wasn’t a game that came out in the last year. It’s obvious why this is still held among the best games of all time, but I think it’s easy to forget how few games years later end up surpassing that benchmark. I’ve heard nothing but good things about Half Life Alyx but god I wish more than anything that her could have actually got HL3. Seeing the way they evolved the already excellent formula of the original for this game makes my mind spin just thinking of what that game could have been.