>>11859125 (OP)inb4 the zoomer brigade arrives with their hate-boner for Half-Life despite never having played it.
Half-Life was mind-blowing when it first released because the whole thing was basically one continuous experience from beginning to end, and it felt like a genuine action movie with all of its scripted sequences, lived-in world feel, and how you were in control of Gordon for 99.5% of the game. It was also incredibly terrifying because of how immersive it was. Valve must have made a deal with the devil or something during its development, because its alpha looks nothing like what they ended up making.