We may earn a commission when you buy through links in our articles. Learn more.

It might not be Half-Life 3, but Black Mesa’s new maps bring us a little closer

New maps have been added to the Interloper chapter in a cycle of new releases

Black Mesa, the unofficial, yet official reimagining of Half-Life, has released five new maps into public beta for you to enjoy. The team of fans have been ‘crunching’ to get them out for the us to enjoy and are looking forward to a response from their audience.

These first five maps for the Interloper chapter aren’t the last. Crowbar Collective, the independent team behind the revival, are still working on three more which will be released ‘shortly’. They may stagger the them so that they can really concentrate on the responses they receive and alter or fix any issues that arise. A refreshing attitude. Along with the new map releases, the team have rolled out some fixes to the base game, improving or fixing multiple aspects of the Xen and Gonarch’s regions.

If you’re wondering about the connection between Black Mesa and Half-Life, it’s pretty much the best way to explore the world of Half-Life in the modern day. Valve did, at one point, remake Half-Life, but it wasn’t up to players’ standards.

Enter stage left, the Crowbar Collective, who remade the classic over a really long time. Long enough, in fact, that there were questions about it ever being released, but once it did in 2012, it received a welcome reception. You’d hope as much, considering that at its core the remake was a passion project.

Black Mesa isn’t simply a blow for blow, shot for shot remake of the original, but a true reimagining of the game in a new era. Now 20 years on from the first Half-Life, Black Mesa is still growing, a game in its own right and with a sizeable team pouring hours into these next expansions to make a remake the original deserves.

If you want to check out Black Mesa, here’s the steam page, or if you just want to look at the notes for the newest update, here’s the link for you.