Half-Life mod is giving it a ray-tracing overhaul

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There's new lighting, shadows, and more for Valve's classic

Half-Life
(Image credit: Valve)

The first Half-Life is being given a ray-traced coat of paint thanks to a new mod.

The mod, which is officially dubbed "Half-Life: RAY TRACED" was revealed earlier this month on January 2 in a brief YouTube video. The minute-long trailer gives a glimpse into the new mod from YouTuber 'sultim_t,' showing Gordon Freeman roaming around the Black Mesa facility.

It'll be interesting to see which one of these overhauled Half-Life mods actually ends up launching first. Considering that the newer spin-off mod appears to only have one developer working on it, perhaps the older mod on GitHub will be with us sooner, given that it's got an entire team seemingly working on it. Either way, Gordon Freeman's original adventure from all the way back in the late 90s will soon be getting a pretty impressive graphical upgrade.

Hirun Cryer
Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.