History of Half-Life (1998 - 2020) 

Thanks for dropping by everyone! Despite its shorter length - this documentary took me a ton of time to put together. I kept finding more interesting things like old demos, discarded concepts, and tweaks that could be made in the hammer editor to help explain what I was talking about more clearly. If you like these documentaries, please consider donating at my Patreon. You'll get early access to next months documentary, along with personalized shout-outs, behind the scenes videos and images, and with enough support - I can finally scale back those annoying ads so you guys can tune in and enjoy an uninterrupted experience. Thanks for watching, and if you haven't already - make sure to subscribe and set your alerts so you can catch new videos like this posted all the time!

I will never lose hope for HL3 *back to the stasis fridge*

I remember playing half life in the early 2000s when I had no internet.

John Carmack: "Story in video games is like plots in porn." Gaben: *makes the citizen kane of porn*

Wonder how many of these I've watched by now, and I'll still watch every new one.

As someone who missed the half life games growing up, this helped a lot in understanding why these games are loved so much

Memories of watching my dad play Half Life when i was a kid are memories i won't forget. After he beat it,i would sit in his lap and play with him in a way. Basically i would just press the jump button and he would do the shooting. I remember being terrified of the Nihilanth,so much so i cried when it said "Freeeeeman". Years later i started playing on my own and eventually the rest of the series. It's a special franchise to millions across the world. While i won't be able to play Alyx anytime soon since i can't afford a vr headset or a good pc for that matter,i still look forward to seeing Half Life alive once again.

The right man in the wrong place can make all the difference in the world.

The physics present in HL2 are still really great even in 2021. It's crazy how far ahead of their time Valve was in 2004.

The day Half Life 3 comes out, is the day that I can be a happy man once again.

So much nostalgia. I remember my crappy PC trying to play half life and I finally got enough time to use the internet (bc dial-up) to get Counterstrike. It took like 10 minutes to get into any game but for little ol' me, it was worth it. I hope for better days this year so I can have enough side money to invest in a PC to play games again!

"valve moved to an episodic series so fans wouldnt have to wait years between release, with gabe saying episodes should be released ever 6-8 months" ironically leads to a 13 year wait for the next game

This upload was so perfectly timed...I was in dire need to know about the History of Half-Life. Thank you soo much ...I wasn't even born when the first half-life came out...LOL

5:56 Who does a PhD just to push buttons and carts, except Freeman? 😂😂😂😂

Watched so many of these, every single one of them are just as enjoyable as the next . Thanks for the video.

Nick I'm literally watching history of MK and then I see this. You're the best. Love the history series. Don't ever stop making them. You're gonna have millions of subs soon. With content this great.

I wish you would've covered the black mesa fan project, especially since it is almost finished. Great video overall though

I fired up my new Half-Life in '99, I sat back and watched what I thought was a cut-scene, I accidently hit my mouse, WOW! My View Moved, it was live! My love and admiration for the game grew and grew from that initial gameplay. It didn't hurt that I looked a little like an older Freeman, I was fifty.

Even though I've heard this story a hundred times, I love hearing it from other people's POV.

Thanks for this!! The days of Sin and Half-life's release were the best for me as a gamer, moving my pc with it's heavy AF monitor across the street to LAN with neighbors every weeekend. I miss those days :(

I watched some history of Half Life videos a while ago, and yet these new ones don't get old

The bit at 5:38 is super cute, the way gordon pops up after the hev suit goes down.

This channel is awesome, definitely a hidden gem. great storytelling bro, keep up the good content.

As always, your history and direct comparison videos are always awesome...✌

These are always so comprehensive, I love it

I respect the amount of effort you put into these videos. Thanks man!

Such underrated videos. Great work dude can’t wait for Alyx

Very informative and entertaining video! Great Job!

I love your “History of...” videos! I was just watching one yesterday lol they are so well put. I can’t wait for the next episode

I have been watching these ever since the beginning and they have only gotten better with each episode. Keep it going man.

Love these History videos Nick! I always find myself watching these during meal times or slow paced games 😂 thanks man

never got bored of any half life game ever its really a unique series

A very well done documentary Nick930! As a former TFC player who lived through all the doubts, fake leaks and rumors of nearly 20 years, your work truly put me back in time! One could add to tell the story of TFC 2 that was announced, leaked, postponed and cancelled before becoming thf TF2 we know today.. Ahh, you never know with Valve! Keep it up, good job!

This was awesome!

Hey Nick! Tysm for uploading this. 😎

So excited to see this! I just watched your 'History of Tomb Raider' documentary (never played the games, but was very curious about them) and was so impressed by the quality of your work. I absolutely adore the Half-Life games and would watch this regardless since I can't get enough of this stuff, but with something like Tomb Raider that I know pretty much nothing about, your documentary was a concise, approachable way for me to get a solid understanding of the overall series. So, thank you! Just something I noticed here: 5:40 -- I wouldn't call Gordon 'renowned'. He's fresh out of grad school when he's first hired at Black Mesa. He got the job only because of his connection with Dr Kleiner. Not only in the original HL is there an air of condescension towards Gordon amongst most of the Black Mesa team, but there are also two specific instances in HL:D and HL2 where Gordon's capabilities are questioned. Dr Keller in the beginning of HL:D says he does not understand what Dr Kleiner 'sees in that boy' as Gordon is running late to the experiment. Dr Breen also expresses doubt towards Gordon, remarking that 'he hardly earned the distinction of his Ph.D. at the time of the Black Mesa incident'--though I would consider Dr Breen a bit less of a reliable source of information. I'm probably drilling into this way too much, but I think that Gordon's youth and being the 'new guy' (in HL1, at least) are pretty significant parts of his character. Anyway, fantastic job on this video! Very eager to see more!

These are always great, thanks for the upload.

yes man, fucking love when a comprehensive video comes out about the half life series, fair play to you

how could you not stop what youre doing to watch this?

This is really helpful thank you

Wow man, you really nailed with the video, just the kind of info I was looking for! Nice.

i like how half life always transitions between scenes by loading the next part of the map and unloading the previous part and masking it with a loading scene, combined with the lack of cutscenes it feels more like it is actually happening in real time which is very emersive

0:39 is the coolest intro to a video I have ever seen this is awesome.

Great work once again!

The best quality videos as always.

Fantastic video, as always, Nick! I've never played Half Life, but I've owned Half Life 2 since it came out (and have never played it). Your vid was a GREAT way to get an overview of the whole series. Thank you!

Wonderful video! Just played through Half Life 1 and I enjoyed every bit of nostalgia. My dad used to play HL and HL2 when I was younger and he got me into videgames. I was 6 years old when HL2 came out, and damn I had never seen a better looking game at the time. I was baffled by just looking at the physical disc laying on my dad's computer desk. Since then Half Life has been my favorite series.The Half Life universe was revolutionary for the gaming industry, but it was also the kick-start for me in the gaming world. It truly remains at the top, still to this day.

Just finished playing through hl2 ep2 and boy i can not wait till hl:a

Your videos are becoming more smoother. The change is subtle, but it's there. I think part of the reason is the improvement in your editing skills. Keep up the solid work!

really great analysis!

Half-Life 2 is still insanely good, one of the most well-aged games I've ever played

Hey dude, thanks so much for making this. Half life is my favorite game, and I loved watching this

I'm a simple man. I see Half-Life content, I click.

no matter how many half life docummentaries i see, i never get tired of them, its hecking awesome

Nice! Great work, i've watched most of the Half Life retro-videos but this was really well researched and edited. Great video!!

A Tea and this Video Made my Evening, thank you! Haha

Wow you did a great video thanks a lot. Good job.

All these years later and people are still making lots of Half Life content. I love it! :)

thank you so much (: you do such a great job always!

I realy enjoy your videos and i appreciate how much hard work you put in them keep up the good work👍👍👍👍👍

Yeesss, I've been waiting for this

I like your reviews. Good work.

Nice compilation at the start

these videos are crack thank you for these quality uploads

21:07 "Taking a sizable percentage of the sale" Oof, that's true.

I'm literally selling every console I own to get Half-Life Alyx. I need this game so much.

geez, that 2003/2004 steam menu. A very unexpected slap of nostalgia lol I love it

God damn that was a good video. Brought back the moment 11 year old me installed it back in 98 and was in awe. Played all the rest, counter strike and portal. Brushed my fuckin teeth to Still Alive, the works. Waited for 3. And waited and waited. Then accepted. Moved on. And now im too skint to by a VR headset to play Alyx. Darn

Man, this really brings me back. It was the first real FPS game I had ever played, and I got quite a few of my friends into it as well. Many an afternoon after work we competed against each other online, and the scripted game was captivating as well! Thanks for the memories!

Good Documentary!

Great stuff, as always.

I was only 9 years old when I first played HL just a year after it came out and it literally shaped the following years of my childhood! I grew up with the franchise and I sincerely hope I can grow old with it as well!

Great video, Great work.

Your videos are amazingf

Instant thumbs up after watching your Uncharted video before, great work with lots of details! 👍🏻 Can't wait to play Uncharted 4 on PC, hoping for the old trilogy to be remade as well ✊🏻✊🏻✊🏻

The single best series on RU-vid.

Thanks for this. Can never get enough of HL universe.

Man, spamming ur vids too much but. The video content you find for these documentaries. Just amazing.

Great video. I'd love to see History of sonic franchise

The guy deserves your Patreon support. He only has 12 (myself included) patrons so far! That's absurd.

Amazing video! So entertaining and educational! I hope you make a video on Counter-Strike next!

Very good video like all of yours, but you forgot to talk about Gunman Chronicles.

Well done documentary about this amazing fps series my suggestion 4 a documentary will B the history of the Thief series my friend.😁

This was actually very good watching

I played all of the HL games countless times, but I like to see videos about it u.u

Having seen so many references to Half Life and Black Mesa in Portal and around the net, this video really filled in a lot of the blanks for me. Thanks.

Thank you...this was a very through review.

Hey Nick. Amazing video like always. Wanted to mention. Will you ever do a video on the difference between Splinter Cell Double Agent on PC vs X360 vs Xbox One X? How about vs the PS2 vs OG Xbox (ran on X1X) of the 2nd version of Double Agent? Thanks.

Thanks! Just in time for a 4hr plane ride!

Half Life 2 came out on the day I was born, and it is one of my favorite games. I guess I feel some sort of connection.

Everybody: Finally another Half-Life game! Me: It's gonna be another decade of waiting after this one

I remember that castrated version of first HL, where you jump into those gieant claws remains and game stopped. This was such a pain to wait for continuation!

Happy Half-Life everyone I hope we all play old school shooter again in multiplayer!!

Imagine Valve randomly delaying the game till 2030 and actually turn it into HL3

Oh yea finally a new documentary, fantastic work as always Nick! I can't wait for the next one you'll be doing which I'm 110% sure is a documentary on DOOM ;)

Amazing stuff really liked it ! Your content is so good and factual. However I would love to know your thoughts on the ending of half life alyx, it seems they have something waiting for us with that ending. Don’t you think ?

The cliff side part was mind-blowing back in 98'. FPS Games didn't have seamless level designs like Half-Life prior to levels had a beginning and end ala Wolfenstein, Doom, Duke nukem 3D, many don't realize it came from Half-Life

This game is legendary

Yo! I'm [RPS] Lead_Airplanes in the HL2DM section at 21:32 :O Thanks for making my death famous ha!

Best documentary of 2020