The Xen Update Has Finally Been Released For Black Mesa

After much anticipation from Half Life fans, the final story arc of Black Mesa is here.

For the uninformed, Black Mesa is a remake of Valve’s original Half Life, featuring a complete visual overhaul as well as new segments and gameplay elements not originally seen in the initial release. The ‘Xen’ levels act as the final arc of the game and it is the border-world dimension in which most of the franchise’s signature species reside in. In terms of setting, it’s a pretty big shakeup from the rest of the game located in the Black Mesa testing facility.

It is worth noting that Black Mesa is still considered to be in early access at the moment. This is the case as the development team, Crowbar Collective, wishes to continue to acquire more performance data and to further bug test the game. From my experience playing, it’s already pretty functional and stable, but the early access status is worth considering if you’re so inclined.

You can read Crowbar Collective’s full post as well as the update’s changelog here. If you haven’t purchased Black Mesa yet, it may be worth to do so now as the game is currently on sale for the holiday season.