Half-Life Remake Black Mesa Get Free, Final Content Update

Black Mesa, the extensive remake of Valve's original Half-Life, is getting a free update that adds loads of new assets, improved visuals, and polish to the game as part of its last big content release.

The free Definitive Edition update is out now, with developer Crowbar Collective saying it's now the best time to jump into Black Mesa if you've been holding back since its initial 1.0 release earlier this year. The changes are extensive, ranging from a full map redesign of the "On A Rail" map, a new lighting and gameplay pass on the "Power Up" chapter, and a full pass of the entire campaign that adds new art assets and additional polish.

"If you have been waiting to try Black Mesa, now is a great time to dive in," the Crowbar Collective wrote on Steam. "We'll continue to support the game to fix major bugs."

While content updates like this will cease, the developer is still promising to fix some issues still present in the game. These include controller support for the game's main menu, an elegant way to share map source files, and a fix for a peculiar issue where female scientists in-game will refuse to heal Gordon Freeman.

The full changelog on the game's community Steam page is exhaustive, giving examples of some of the updates while providing a full breakdown of all the minute tweaks the patch introduces. Black Mesa launched earlier this year and is the best way to experience Valve's classic shooter for the first time, and an even better way to revisit it with a modern coat of paint.