Fresh perspective as Barney
Mentioned in ~1 in 4 positive reviews
“I really enjoyed experiencing the disaster from a different perspective, and it really feels like you're working there.”
Steam review · 3.8 h played ↗
Half-Life: Blue Shift
Worth buying? What 300 Steam reviews say.Worth buying? Here’s what 300 Steam reviews actually say.
Very Positive · 93%Very Positive · 93%Gearbox Software2001FPS · Shooter · Action
The verdict
A short, easy Half-Life expansion starring Barney, offering more classic HL1 gameplay but no new weapons or enemies. Skip it if you want novelty or haven't played HL1 and Opposing Force.
Great for
Half-Life fans wanting a cheap, short extra campaign from a security guard's perspective
Main risk
It's only 2-3 hours of more of the same, with no new weapons or enemies and obscure puzzles
What players love
Good story and Gordon cameos
Mentioned in ~1 in 6 positive reviews
“I also liked that we can see Gordon in some places of the complex!”
Steam review · translated · 3.8 h played ↗
Short and easy to finish in one sitting
Mentioned in ~1 in 7 positive reviews
“its a short fun time that you can complete under 3 hours.”
Steam review · 6 h played ↗
Classic Half-Life gameplay and atmosphere
Mentioned in ~1 in 10 positive reviews
“The sound effects, the echos, the handling, the gunplay.”
Steam review · 4 h played ↗
Cheap and fair difficulty
Mentioned in ~1 in 21 positive reviews
“honestly the difficult was much more fair than opposing force.”
Steam review · 2.6 h played ↗
Improved Xen chapter
Mentioned in ~1 in 38 positive reviews
“I think Focal Point (the xen chapter) was done really well, especially compared to HL1”
Steam review · 47 h played ↗
What players complain about
Boring, bland and unclear level design
Mentioned in ~1 in 3 negative reviews
“Level design is terrible and you can't really figure out, where do you need to go, without a guide.”
Steam review · 2.8 h played ↗
No new weapons or enemies
Mentioned in ~1 in 4 negative reviews
“No new weapons, in fact less than either of the previous iterations. No new enemies, again less than Opposing Force.”
Steam review · 3.4 h played ↗
Obscure, frustrating puzzles (barrel and wire)
Mentioned in ~1 in 5 negative reviews
“Dumb puzzles (connecting a wire with a barrel are you serious?)”
Steam review · 5 h played ↗
Too short for the price
Mentioned in ~1 in 6 negative reviews
“no fückin joke, it's only 2 or 3 hours-long!”
Steam review · 3 h played ↗
Bugs, crashes and softlocks
Mentioned in ~1 in 7 negative reviews
“quick saving crashes this game like crazy”
Steam review · 2 h played ↗
Annoying Dr. Rosenberg escort section
Mentioned in ~1 in 19 negative reviews
“dr. rosenburg was a dumbass and couldnt walk through a doorframe without backtracking 10 minutes”
Steam review · 3 h played ↗
System requirements
From the Steam store page
Steam Deck: Playable
Steam doesn’t list requirements for this game.
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