Half-Life: Anti-Climax is my take on the “battle you have no chance of winning” the G-Man offers you once you decline his job offer at the end of the Half-Life campaign. Is there truely no chance to win or can you lead Gordon to victory and freedom?
- Title: Half-Life: Anti-Climax
- File Name: hl1-sp-anticlimax.7z
- Size : 9.8 MB
- Author: Hezus
- Date Released: 15 March 2019
This was March 2021’s Classic of the Month mod.
The idea for Anti-Climax came in late October 2018 for the 20th birthday of Half-Life and was developed on and off for 4 months. I always wanted to create a Single Player MOD for Half-Life, but I never got around to it. The idea of what would happen after rejecting the G-Man has been in my head for years and several of the other game concepts you’ll see have been with me for a long time, so I’m very glad to finally put this all together into one released project!
- Copy the anticlimax and anticlimax_hd folders into your Half-Life folder.
- Restart or start Steam.
- Half-Life: Anti-Climax should now be listed in your Library tab.
If you require more help, please visit the Technical Help page.
The playthrough below is part of the Classic of the Month Event, run by Don AKA Unq.
WARNING: The screenshots contain spoilers.
1600 x 900
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3,971Overall
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353365 days
Using Gauge: Users
Manually: 20 Users
Time Taken:
Average: 1 Hours, 24 Mins
Shortest: 0 Hours, 30 Mins by yagnos
Longest: 3 Hours by vancanucksfan
Total Time Played: 29 Hours, 31 Mins
If you believe this release is missing important tags, please suggest them in a comment?
In case you don’t recognize the author’s name, Hezus has been mapping for a long time (particularly for Sven Co-op, but also for other mods and Black Mesa as well) – but this is his first release for Half-Life single player. Overall it’s a solid release. I found it nicely designed although there are a few annoyances.
At first glance this seems to be a small map pack at 3 maps, but it took me close to an hour to complete (and I didn’t even get the “good” ending which is pretty challenging). As the text describes, this pack is a great “what if” scenario based on the end of Half-Life if you were to refuse the G-man’s offer. And you’re taken on quite an interesting journey before really coming back to that battle and ending it.
To be honest, a good chunk of my playtime was actually trying to figure out where to go. Important hint: keep a close eye on the first teleporter you reach – it changes colors every few seconds, which means that your destination changes every few seconds. This was not obvious to me and I was very frustrated until I discovered this. A much better indication of this would have been to create custom sprites, perhaps showing the destination area, for the teleporter rather than just color changes.
You’ll have to visit the Lambda Complex as well as a couple Xen areas to complete your goals. One thing I really liked about this pack was how the areas and goals were intertwined – this is certainly not a linear experience. I really liked the (unfortunately small) Lambda Complex areas you get to visit. They were really well designed and could have nicely fit into the original game.
Let’s be clear on the next point I’ll make: I like Xen. I think the idea of Xen was the perfect final act to Half-Life – BUT I do think that of course the gameplay suffers quite a bit in the jumping sections. Relatively speaking though, that is not a huge part of the Xen chapters in the original game and I’ve actually come to think of Interloper as one of the best chapters in the game. That said, I found that Anti-Climax unfortunately repeats a lot of the same misjudgements in design that the loathed sections of the original Xen suffered from. There are a few jumping areas in Anti-Climax, and I found them pretty frustrating. One issue was that sometimes there were alien grunts in the area, and hitting any of their hornets in mid-air stops all your momentum instantly. Another is that in one section, you’re jumping island to island (which normally isn’t hard) – but a number of islands slant downward at their edges, and it’s really difficult to get a decent jump in Half-Life when you’re moving downward on a slope. These parts were frustrating for the wrong reason.
I don’t want to dwell on the drawbacks; I really did enjoy Anti-Climax and it’s definitely worth playing. The tie-in to Half-Life’s finale is really well handled, and there are a couple of nice twists that this pack throws your way. I really hope to see more HLSP from Hezus in the future.
Manually
Medium
50 Minutes
Anti-Climax is a gorgeous looking pack of three maps that expertly draws out the playtime to last around an hour.
Having only recently seen the mod appear on ModDB, this release caught me totally of guard. However, given the fantastic attention to detail on display in the screenshots, I just had to dive in as quickly as possible.
First of all, let me just say that anybody going into this mod expecting your usual Half-Life game play experience is going to be very surprised, in a good way. The mod uses only a handful of areas to deliver a solid follow up to Half-Life’s bad ending. The key is that the means to progress are multifaceted puzzles that require you to teleport between these different areas to complete them.
Solving these riddles is satisfying, but not without headaches. The mod suffers from an overall lack of narrative, in that it isn’t always clear what your goal is. The first location I found myself in was the lambda labs and I genuinely thought I had broken a sequence somewhere before returning to the main teleporter during an act of desperation. It is also possible to miss key elements. I think I must have walked over the keycard three times before consulting the included walkthrough.
Lastly, the one section of Xen that includes floating islands is riddled with clipping issues, making the dependence on accuracy in your jumps a rather frustrating experience.
Don’t get me wrong, this is an overall fantastic map pack with a satisfying and challenging conclusion (especially when shooting for that good ending) but it is marred by Goldsrc’s technical issues regarding complex terrain, and at times struggles to convey your primary goal.
Manually
Medium
1 Hour, 5 Minutes
Well, that was disappointing, starts up OK…at least the credits do, but after jumping into the teleporter all I get is a black screen…there’s nothing to play…any known bugs ?
….or am I NOT supposed to jump into the teleporter ?
I guess not…more happened when I didn’t, but it’s too hard for me to play..don’t like it.
Exactly, don’t take the teleporter in the tram. It’s a recreation of the end of Half-Life, and it starts when you refuse the G-Man’s offer… so you have to refuse his offer. 🙂
This map was super cool! Really difficult but not to any unbeatable or ridiculous extent. The level design really felt like it was part of Half-Life and I actually really wish it was. The use of sound effects and dialogue was extremely well done and nothing was over or underused. I haven’t got the good ending (unless that’s just stepping into the portal at the beginning) or found the pink Xen pod, but even without that I have to say this mod was one of my favourites!
Manually
Medium
1 Hour
I didn’t really like the map. The idea was great, but it already started off bad by presenting you with much too much of the thing everybody hated about Xen, which is the jumping! It even became worse in the second outside Xen map in which it was indeed much too easy to overlook the keycard. Also there were several logical issues, like how is the player supposed to guess that the yellow crystal is teleported back to Xen? I assumed it would be some kind of riddle with the other teleporter. And why would anyone assume that a Vortigaut would teleport in and open that locked door? That’s a completely stupid Deus Ex Machina…
Didn’t like it at all right off the start. Too hard, too dark, seemingly nowhere visible to go, then die, repeatedly. If I was in the wrong area then its a basic design problem. Deleted it off the hard drive.
i finished it in medium difficulty, first without walkthrough and I got bad ending then I went to your walkthrough to see what I’ve missed.
Overall this is a « short » in size but pretty difficult mod as I’m not a great lover of jump+crouch / long jump.
But, then, I liked what you did with that random teleport thing, what’s interesting is that you want to tell a tiny story without messing too much with HL lore (everything that happens stays within HL1 and HL2 boundaries), it seems you really wanted to make that « a battle [you] cannot win » so it is overall intended to not casual gamers.
It could really fit as a « cut content » of HL1.
I liked also the light hearted tone here and there and especially in the good ending
Manually
Medium
1 Hour, 30 Minutes
I really liked this mod. The concept is good, the execution is brilliant and it just clicks together.
In terms of actual gameplay, it’s very heavy on long-jumping. I liked the original Xen levels, and this mod replicates them very well- the tilted surfaces make frequent quickloading necessary when trying to make a long jump, however.
The storytelling is also well-done- finding what to do isn’t too difficult, and even though the levels are non-linear there’s still a definite plot.
Technically the map is well-made- there were only a couple of problems including a sticky door in the weapons lab which was hard to get past, and the Xen jumppads not always working but overall it was well-made and very fun.
I’d completely recommend it. It feels just like part of Half-Life 1 and is brilliantly polished.
Manually
Medium
2 Hours, 30 Minutes
Can we say that an “instant classic mod” is still possible within the Half-Life community, here now in 2019, right after 21 years! the beloved HL was launched? Well… Anticlimax proves exactly this. Because the whole work is an instant classic mod.
And it is because of that mere great concept nobody had worked with, I mean, that final possibility of GMan offering Freeman a battle where he could’ve no chance at all to win…
Here Hezus the author of this mod just made a masterpiece, exploring that not developed story-arc, and really does it delightfully offering us a bundle of 3 maps and some alternative endings. I guess if HL would’ve offered this possibility of an alternative ending on its moment the game could’ve been even more epic than it was back in 98.
Now, you may ask if this mod is that good why recommend it as a Play it Now, and not a Personal Favorite? Well, this is because the game is not easy to beat. And also the possible multiple endings including the bad one, the good one, and the joke one, are just not accessible to get and that is indeed very frustrating in my opinion. I got -I guess is the usual one- the bad one so although the feeling of ending it was pretty nice after all those hard jumping sections, I just dislike this kind of issues related to alternative endings. Because what is the point to put them there if they are far beyond than challenging. I think if authors offer alternative endings then those MUST be accessible to the gamers, call me a lazy guy if you want, but that just increase the chances of having nice replayability instead of just having a frustrating time killing yourself hundreds of times just to get some other endings you already can watch on a youtube video.
Despite that, and that the xenian section was also hard to jump. This mod as a concept is a great work that came to light and I guess every HL worthy and veteran player, should try out almost as a mandatory experience.
Play it Now.
Updated download to v1.11, adds a longjump training map and improved Xen sections along with various fixes.
This is a really interesting idea that suffers from some bad execution. Let’s go over the good and bad things.
Good things:
– The environments were for the most part really well done. I especially liked the floating islands area
– I liked that there was a twist with the enemies. I didn’t figure out what was going on with the vortigaunts until the very end though
– The mod has at least 2 different endings which made it more interesting. Also the enemies you face in certain areas (floating islands, pump room) can be different when you replay the mod
Bad things:
– Overall this is a mod where you have to play and keep dying until you figure out what you are supposed to do. So from that point of view it isn’t very enjoyable. I don’t mind a challenge but sometimes this mod was ridiculous and you could easily miss things. For example, I didn’t realize that I was supposed to go back and get the crowbar while trying to survive in the first jumping area. So there was a lot of unnecessary dying and frustrating gameplay at first.
– The first jump you have to make in the floating islands area without using a jumppad also really frustrated me. I guess I’m not a long jumping expert and I died so many times that I gave up and noclipped past it. On subsequent replays I figured out what I was doing wrong and fixed it, but it lowered my enjoyment of the mod.
– I didn’t understand the transporter at first and of course when I tried it I ended up dying because I went to the wrong place. Once again after several plays and documenting how it worked myself it became usable.
Overall if the author had spent just a little more time making it enjoyable on the first pass I think I would have enjoyed it more. I don’t like mods where you suddenly die from things you couldn’t foresee, and this mod was like that. Once you know the secrets, though, it’s not bad to play a second time. My long jumping skills are definitely better now than they were before I started the mod!
Manually
Easy
3 Hours
Perfect just dowland now and play
Manually
Medium
2 Hours, 26 Minutes
How can you get the “good ending”???
The leveldesign and therefor the atmosphere in this mod are truly outstanding and very close to what I consider to be the original feel-good Half-Life style.
The puzzles are rather hard, especially in the beginning, but not impossible and let’s not forget: there is always F7.
The Xen levels are very creative and absolutely authentic.
Funny Quote (me): “Huh, so this is what an Alien server room looks like.”
Very very good work!
Manually
Hard
1 Hour, 10 Minutes
Whereever you go, you just always get rickrolled
Please, anyone, tell how we can get the good and the joke ending.
Good ending: SPOILER: After you free the vortigaunts, go back to the lab area and go up to the locked door (near the laser). A vortigaunt will let you in so you can get one of the weapons. Use the transporter to go to the area with the alient grunts and kill all of them
Joke ending: same as above but SPOILER: make sure a number of vortigaunts who are fighting with you survive. I don’t know how many or if there is a specific one that matters
GREAT! I’ve already got, the good ending thanks to your advice!! many thanks!
I loved it. You’ve turned the bad ending of Half-Life into a playable map. I am surprised that it was not done before.
I like how you’ve made 2 endings (good and bad). Most modders settle for 1, so I’m glad you’re rewarding players with a good ending.
Overall, great job. I’ll be checking out more of your work.
Manually
Medium
1 Hour
If you want to give a middle finger to Gman’s “a battle you have no chance of winning”, this is your mod.
The mod, as it stated, is not a linear progression. Rather, you go from places to places, there and back again to piece parts together and show Gman that this battle is winnable. I like the concept and it sounds good, but the way the teleporter works is quite confusing. The destination changes every time the portal changes color and it might be too subtle to notice.
The beginning of the mod can be an infuriating cycle of trial and error since you have to escape the Alien Grunts and Controllers while platforming through pitch-black areas. The fact that the Crowbar drops behind the player whilst being chased is a bad decision since I was too occupied in running for my life.
Anti-Climax also seems to claim that it has RNG in terms of enemy spawns. I’m not sure if this happens to others, but I had to fight two Alien Grunts with a pistol while trapped in a chokepoint. Fortunately, there is an instakill laser in the room but it is still finicky to trick them into walking into it.
Because Nihilanth’s death broke the slavery of the Vortigaunts, it was awesome to liberate them and fight with them to annihilate the remnant of Nihilanth’s army. This also affects the ending if the Vortigaunts survived the final fight, which can be hard to manage on the high difficulty I Presume. Both endings are good, but the good ending really won my heart about Gordon’s freedom after Black Mesa.
Also, you can choose to accept Gman’s offer in the beginning and it brings up the normal ending of Half-Life. It was funny when I tried it.
Manually
Medium
1 Hour
If you want to give a middle finger to Gman’s “a battle you have no chance of winning”, this is your mod.
The mod, as it stated, is not a linear progression. Rather, you go from places to places, there and back again to piece parts together and show Gman that this battle is winnable. I like the concept and it sounds good, but the way the teleporter works is quite confusing. The destination changes every time the portal changes color and it might be too subtle to notice.
The beginning of the mod can be an infuriating cycle of trial and error since you have to escape the Alien Grunts and Controllers while platforming through pitch-black areas. The fact that the Crowbar drops behind the player whilst being chased is a bad decision since I was too occupied in running for my life.
Anti-Climax also seems to claim that it has RNG in terms of enemy spawns. I’m not sure if this happens to others, but I had to fight two Alien Grunts with a pistol while trapped in a chokepoint. Fortunately, there is an instakill laser in the room but it is still finicky to trick them into walking into it.
Because Nihilanth’s death broke the slavery of the Vortigaunts, it was awesome to liberate them and fight with them to annihilate the remnant of Nihilanth’s army. This also affects the ending if the Vortigaunts survived the final fight, which can be hard to manage on the high difficulty I Presume. Both endings are good, but the good ending really won my heart about Gordon’s freedom after Black Mesa.
Also, you can choose to accept Gman’s offer in the beginning and it brings up the normal ending of Half-Life. It was funny when I tried it.
Manually
Medium
1 Hour
Even if I’ve never been a fan of jump/long jump puzzle and Xen part. i Follow the recommandation for this one and give it a chance.
The construction of this episode was really well done even if it’s not obvious to know what’s next, when you finish it’s pretty cool to remember about it.
The layout, the atmosphere is interesting. Gameplay can be challenging in some parts but all in all it’s good. The way to have 2 different ending was also cool like the easter egg with that disco expetience I saw in a video walkthrough.
And don’t forget that you can finish this mod if you take the portal at start this was also well thaught and amazing
Didn’t regret to give it a try 🙂
Manually
Medium
1 Hour, 30 Minutes
For a Gldsrc game it looks surprisingly well, the levels are very detailed which is dont see alot. I love how it picks up in Ep3 with Gman, Alyx and Gordon in The Borealis looking at the Combine world. This Mod has a bunch of cool moments aswell there is so many i can write them all here cause im lazy lol. anyway 10/10 map.
Manually
Medium
2 Hours
This is the biggest middle finger to gman ever. Its short but fun, had to look up a youtube tutorial to figure out the teleport puzzle and the keycard. So il give it a 7/10
Manually
Easy
1 Hour
Visually very good. Gameplay wise it was also good, and bad. Mostly agree with unq’s comment.
+ mapping is superb (tiny bit of lag in teleporter/coolant room, and clipping problems)
+ lighting
+ even xen looked good
– quite unclear where to go
– I jumped in the teleporter in the beginning (i didnt listen), and thought the mod was broken waisting 5 minutes in darkness
I did enjoy it alot though, mostly because it was pleasant to look around the map.
Manually
Easy
40 Minutes
I like the concept of the map (Story after the ending of HL1). I also like the maps, but some jumps are hard to do, and getting the good ending is not easy. (I just used the cheats to see the good ending :P) Anyway I like the overall of the mod.
Manually
Medium
1 Hour
This map acts as an expansion to the non-canon ending of Half-Life, where you refuse G-Man’s offer and he gives you a battle you have no chance of winning. As it turns out, you’re Gordon Freeman, so you actually do have a chance. The result is a really fun and challenging return to Xen with some cool bits of story telling.
Manually
Medium
1 Hour
Ah I really liked this! I think this should be added to the Long Jump collection. Now Uplink and Deliverance are up next for me!
I sweat blood trying to win on Very Hard and by luck i did (15 to 20 quickloads and i did it)
Please play it On Normal or Hard so you won’t lose the impression of this mod.
Very Good, an interesting take on events if we turned down the mystery man’s offer
Manually
Medium
1 Hour
Anti-Climax is a very curious mod
There are things that we can rescue from this mod
I love how this mod takes place after the main story as a direct continuation, something that not many mods do and that I would like more mods to do.
I love the dynamics of the portals in this mod, that it changes every so often and I love it
Yes, there are several bugs, for example it happened to me that precisely with the portals they bugged me several times and they teleported me to places that did not belong to the portal
The mod was also very difficult for little things like the ending which was quite difficult to beat but quite satisfying as soon as you achieved it.
Using Gauge
Hard
1 Hour, 20 Minutes
a perfect short challenge.
Manually
Easy
30 Minutes