We already commented after Gamescom 2024 that the Half-Life 2 RTX: An RTX Remix Project looked like it was shaping up to be one of the best retro game remasters we've seen. Over 100 contributors are working on the project. And now Nvidia's given us another glimpse in a video that pays tribute to the original game.
Orbifold Studios is making use of Nvidia's RTX Remix generative AI abilities to update the game for RTX more quickly than could have been possible before. The latest video has us even more excited. showing a game that looks set to recreate the ideal memory of half-life 2 on cutting edge tech.
The Half-Life 2 20th Anniversary Tribute Video shows developers including project lead Wormslayer talk about what made the original Half-Life 2 so special, highlighting the impact that the game had on them at the time and praising the groundbreaking pointing emotional range of the characters.
Wormslayer says the team wanted to "recapture that sense of awe that we all had 20 years ago playing it for the first time" while overcoming the technical limitations imposed by the original game engine back in 2004. Using the RTX Remix modding platform, the developers have added self-shadowing 3D details, physically based rendering material to give metal realistic reflections, volumetric fog with cool lighting and shadows, and ray-traced reflections and refractions on water and glass. Hanging lights, for example, now have their own physically accurate light source attached to them.
You can Wishlist Half-Life 2 RTX on Steam. In the meantime, here are the best prices on the best games consoles.
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Joe is a regular freelance journalist and editor at Creative Bloq. He writes news, features and buying guides and keeps track of the best equipment and software for creatives, from video editing programs to monitors and accessories. A veteran news writer and photographer, he now works as a project manager at the London and Buenos Aires-based design, production and branding agency Hermana Creatives. There he manages a team of designers, photographers and video editors who specialise in producing visual content and design assets for the hospitality sector. He also dances Argentine tango.