History YMMV / HalfLife1

* DisappointingLastLevel: There's a reason this trope used to be called "Xen Syndrome." Xen is plagued with annoyingly-designed jumping puzzles seen throughout the alien world levels. A drastic DifficultySpike due to the overuse of [[GoddamnedBats Alien Controllers]] didn't help either.[[note]]An annoyance that justifiably got {{nerf}}ed hard in the Source port. The "Interloper" level in particular really toned down on the Alien Controllers that can spawn in.[[/note]] Players do agree however, that the artwork for Xen is actually quite unique and nice to look at. The FanRemake ''VideoGame/BlackMesa'' took fixing the issues with Xen so seriously that they decided to completely rebuild the entire area effectively from scratch, which is why [[ScheduleSlip/VideoGames it delayed the completion of the game for over half a decade]] (the first half of Xen, up to Gonarch's Lair, entered public beta in July 2019 before the final version of the game finally released at the end of November).

** One of the rooms early on in the original game contains several cargo crates suspended over what appears to be a bottomless pit. Thanks to ''Machinima/FreemansMind'', it has become known to some as the box-smashing room.

** Near the end of ''Surface Tension,'' you reach a map layout that requires you to find, and escort, a security guard to open a door to the next area. Getting stuck in doors usually does a slight bit of damage to you. However, due to an error in the scripting for this map, the doors instead do the exact opposite and HEALS you instead; to the point that purposefully getting stuck in the door will allow the player to obtain health levels ''[[UpToEleven beyond]]'' the 100 health limit. Want 4000+ health? Just get yourself stuck in the doorway. This tends to be a commonly used bug for speed-runners as it allows for players to explosion jump all over the place, and not have to worry about dying to the self-explosions.

** To get an idea of how phoned-in the gameplay aspects of the port are, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08cUc_DQ3JE this video]] shows that the attack helicopters don't have armor against small-arms fire like they did in the original game, meaning that they can be killed with a ''handful of pistol shots''. Issues like this served as part of the motivation behind the FanRemake ''VideoGame/BlackMesa''.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: The Vortigaunts are slaves to the Nihilanth, which the game doesn't really allude to, or delve further into in any way, that it's something that can go completely unnoticed to the player. Even when the player come across that one group of Vortigaunts who don't attack you in Xen's Grunt Factory, it doesn't really tell all that much. It's for this reason that it comes as a complete surprise to some people when they first witness the Vortigaunts now as allies in ''VideoGame/HalfLife2''.

** In ''Deathmatch,'' expect the Skeleton skin to be banned or forbidden to use. It is notorious for how absurdly well it blends in with the mostly grey-and-beige surroundings, and because of the nature of the model, there is also far less to spot. Ultimately, it makes ambushing other players far too easy for the community to consider fair.

** When playing multiplier, expect Skeleton skin to be banned or forbidden to use. This comes from how absurdly well it blended with the grey-and-beige surroundings and the model being mostly transparent, making it ''significantly'' harder to spot and then hit player using this skin

* BrokenBase: Reactions toward ''Blue-Shift's'' High-Definition pack have been deeply mixed. Some find it to be a welcome update to the character models, while others see it as an unnecessary mod that clashes with the rest of the game's assets, especially since not all of the models were enhanced. Additionally, some of the weapons, while functionally the same, were reskinned as entirely different designs. The most contentious changes are the ones made to the submachine gun, the pisto, and the shotgun.

** The first Xen level of all things (simply titled "Xen"). It serves mainly as a tutorial for how the mechanics of Xen work (such as the lower gravity and the healing pools), has no enemies except houndeyes, some sentry turrets and a single vortigaunt. It's also only about five minutes long.

* BrokenBase: The High-Definition pack. Is it a welcome update to the character models, or is it an unnecessary mod that clashes with the rest of the game's assets and purpose? (The [=PS2=] version somewhat fixes this by giving more map props HD models, although there are still plenty of map textures which were clearly made by a different artist.) Which is weirder, a submachine gun with a grenade launcher or an assault rifle that hits like a nerf gun and uses pistol rounds? Should the shotgun's stock be opened or folded? Should the 9mm pistol be a Glock or a Beretta M9?

** Alien Grunts. They come in squads, have close to 100 hit points, fire [[BeeBeeGun bee projectiles]] that chew through your armor and health as fast the soldiers' assault rifles, can make said projectiles home in on you rendering cover effectively useless, take zero damage from bullets when shot in the armor, and can kill you in a few punches if you get close. The only safe way to deal with them is to use a powerful weapon with rare ammo (e.g. grenade launcher, rocket launcher, Gluon Gun), or circle strafe while firing your submachine gun/assault rifle or shotgun secondary fire, hoping that they miss enough shots so that they die before you do... if you hadn't taken out their buddies yet. ''Half-Life: Source'' on the other hand basically turns them into a joke, as now ''anything'' will stun them for at least a little bit, which combined with their larger profiles means that they won't even be able to fire back if you spray automatic fire at them.

* GameBreaker: In ''Half-Life: Source'', it's possible to take no damage while fighting an alien grunt if you use....''the crowbar''. If you're right in front of the grunt, it will attack with melee. But if you hit it with the crowbar, it will restart the attack. Because you can swing the crowbar faster than they can swing their wrists, all they can do is repeat an animation over and over while you kill them.

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: The vast majority of the game's innovations have since been copied by every single first person shooter to come since, which can make it difficult for newcomers to appreciate what a landmark title it was in 1998.

* UnintentionallyUnwinnable:
** In the "Questionable Ethics" chapter, you can deliberately trap yourself in the rotating door near the end, by triggering the turning process and moving back, then entering the side part of the rotating door.
** The worst case scenario regarding the Saving system happens if the player has no other saves and has accidentally quick-saved at the exact moment when the player, or any crucial NPC dies by merely seconds, leaving the player no time to react.

* UnwinnableByInsanity:

* PolishedPort: The Playstation 2 port, released three years after the original, runs very well and features updated graphics superior to the ''Blue Shift'' High Definition Pack. It also adds a nifty (and toggleable) lock on feature, a co-op multiplayer expansion (''Decay''), a couple of secret levels, and a cheat code that lets you play as a Vortigaunt. Overall it was one of the best shooters on the system. Its only real problem is that it doesn't include the other add-ons (which were never ported), even ''Team Fortress Classic'' which came free with the original PC version. Though given the lack of online support for the [=PS2=], the then-lack of bots for the multiplayer add-ons, and the fact that ''Blue Shift'' was originally supposed to be a Dreamcast exclusive before that port was abruptly cancelled, this is understandable. ''Opposing Force'' never being ported is the only glaring issue.

** ''"FOR GOD'S SAKE, OPEN THE SILO DOOR! THEY'RE COMING FOR US! IT'S OUR ONLY WAY OUT! OH MY GOD, WE'RE DOOMED!"'' [[labelnote:Explanation]]The panicking scientest at the start of "We've Got Hostiles!" has become a bit of a meme in recent years. Partly because of how memorable his dialogue is the moment you first enter the level, and because said scientist running off into a trip mine is scripted really weird to the point of it coming off rather comically. He not only runs through the explosion perfectly unharmed, but he then immediately falls to the ground screaming in death shortly afterwards. A lot of players have found amusement in this, and has resulted in them messing around with the scientist.[[/labelnote]]

** In particular, the infamous ElevatorFailure scene is [[https://youtu.be/aFRXO6Ro8F0?t=24 quite slapstick in its timing]], with the doppler effect of the screaming scientists inside, the fact that they just ''stand there'' in perfect formation with no movement whatsoever while falling, and the LudicrousGibs once they hit the bottom. Interestingly, the remake, ''VideoGame/BlackMesa'', makes this moment more upsetting and [[ShooOutTheClowns removes pretty much]] ''[[ShooOutTheClowns all]]'' [[ShooOutTheClowns the narm factor]].

** In particular, the infamous ElevatorFailure scene is [[https://youtu.be/aFRXO6Ro8F0?t=24 quite slapstick in its timing]], with the doppler effect of the screaming scientists inside and the LudicrousGibs once they hit the bottom. Interestingly, the remake, ''VideoGame/BlackMesa'', makes this moment more upsetting and [[ShooOutTheClowns removes pretty much]] ''[[ShooOutTheClowns all]]'' [[ShooOutTheClowns the narm factor]].

* GoddamnedBats: The Alien Controllers, MiniMook versions of the Nihilanth with small bodies and big heads who would fly around throwing balls of lightning at you while screeching creepily.

** Redubbing movie scenes with ''Half-Life'' samples can make for a good laugh. [[https://youtu.be/tV8IzC0fb50 Back to the Future]], and [[https://youtu.be/7F1ma_0vwog Chernobyl]] for instance. The latter actually winds up just as tense and scary as the source material due to the effective usage of the sound effects, only for the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCE7GDkOhMM follow up]] episode to remove the tension with a technician running frantically into the control room to ask if anyone knows who ate all the doughnuts.

** Near the end of ''Surface Tension,'' you reach a map layout that requires you to find, and escort, a security guard to open a door to the next area. Getting stuck in doors usually does a slight bit of damage to you. However, due to an error in the scripting for this map, the doors instead do the exact opposite and HEALS you instead; to the point that purposefully getting stuck in the door will allow the player to obtain health levels ''[[UpToEleven beyond]]'' the 100 health limit. Want 4000+ health? Just get yourself stuck in the doorway. This tends to be a commonly used bug for speedrunners as it allows for players to explosion jump all over the place, and not have to worry about dying to the self-explosions.

** Near the end of ''Surface Tension,'' you reach a map layout that requires you to find, and escort, a security guard to open a door to the next area. Getting stuck in doors usually does a slight bit of damage to you. However, due to an error in the scripting for this map, the doors instead do the exact opposite and HEALS you instead; to the point that purposefully getting stuck in the door will allow the player to obtain health levels ''[[UpToEleven beyond]]'' the 100 health limit. Want 4000+ health? Just get yourself stuck in the doorway. This bug tends to be a commonly used bug for speedrunners as it allows for players to explosion jump all over the place, and not have to worry about dying to the self-explosions.

** Near the end of ''Surface Tension,'' you reach a map layout that requires you to find, and escort, a security guard to open a door to the next area. Getting stuck in doors usually does a slight bit of damage to you. However, due to an error in the scripting for this map, the doors instead do the exact opposite and HEALS you instead; to the point that purposefully getting stuck in the door will allow the player to obtain health levels ''[[UpToEleven beyond]]'' the 100 health limit. Want 4000+ health? Just get yourself stuck in the doorway.

* UnderusedGameMechanic: The Long Jump Module. You get it so late in the game that the only time you can actually use it on Earth is within the final teleporter room of the "Lambda Core" level. One can only imagine how fun it would have been to long jump on the earlier levels, such as the long stretches of "Surface Tension."

** Given how Gordon is on the move all the time and how it's not too easy to predict an enemy attack wave for the first time, Tripmines are more or less useless too. The only time they're truly useful is, funny enough, the level they're introduced in due to a segment that requires {{Backtracking}}. ''Power Up'' requires the player to go back through hallways you just fought through after fixing the flooded power generator, which will bring in new groups of HECU soldiers that you have to fight your way through again on the way back to the tram station at the start of the level. However, if you just so happen to already know about the HECU soldiers that arrive during the backtracking portion, then it's easy to set up Tripmines for those future engagements during the journey towards the power generator.

** Given how Gordon is on the move all the time and how it's not too easy to predict an enemy attack wave for the first time, Tripmines are more or less useless too. The only time they're truly useful in is, funny enough, the level they're introduced in due to a segment that requires {{Backtracking}}. ''Power Up'' requires the player to go back through hallways you just fought through after fixing the flooded power generator, which will bring in new groups of HECU soldiers that you have to fight your way through again on the way back to the tram station at the start of the level. However, if you just so happen to already know about the HECU soldiers that arrive during the backtracking portion, then it's easy to set up Tripmines for those future engagements during the journey towards the power generator.

** Given how Gordon is on the move all the time and how it's not too easy to predict an enemy attack wave for the first time, Tripmines are more or less useless too.