Valve went back to Half-Life to fix one decades-old bug with a new update

Gordon Freeman
(Image credit: Valve)

Half-Life's new update has fixed a bug that's plagued the original game for decades.

Half-Life just got a massive update last week, that restored reams of cut content from the original game, as well as remedied bugs. What it didn't fix, however, was the infamous 'tentacle animation glitch' that comes about in the game's sixth level, which remained broken and a bit of a distraction.

A few days after the original update, Valve suddenly put out another update for Half-Life on November 22. As first noted by Kotaku, this patch was worlds apart from the size and scope of the previous anniversary update, but it finally addressed the glitch with the tentacle that was mysteriously overlooked in the major patch last week.

If you're familiar with Half-Life, you might remember the 'Blast Pit' level, where a monstrous tentacle smashes through a wall and grabs a helpless worker. The problem is, there's been a glitch with the animation, and the entire thing looked very wonky and broken as a result.

Before, the worker sometimes wouldn't actually connect to the tentacle itself, so it looked like the beast was pulling the worker through the building in mid-air thanks to the Force. The hapless worker actually now connects to the tentacle itself though, meaning he gets a seamless transition to his demise.

It's a bit odd that Valve purposefully went back to dispel this single bug in a new update for Half-Life. Then again, the developer said that the big new update last week was meant to be "the definitive version" of the classic FPS, so it makes sense to wipe out as many bugs possible.

You'll find a whole lot of Half-Life in our list of the best FPS games if you're after more thrilling experiences. 

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.