We reviewed the fan-created "Black Mesa" remake of "Half-Life" in March 2020, calling it "a quality remake that expanded on the scope of the original and greatly improved the final chapter, deserving a score of 84%." However, it was not declared fully complete until the release of the "Definitive Edition" update, the "last major update," in November.

Now, a new group calling itself the HECU Collective is embarking on a similar overhaul for Gearbox's Half-Life expansion Blue Shift, dubbed Black Mesa: Blue Shift. Mesa resources, and will be developed in the same style and released in chapters like Black Mesa. It is unclear how far along the development process is at this point, but the team has released a few screens and said it hopes to present a demo soon. The team also has experience in this area, having previously released the Black Mesa mods "Black Ops" and "Azure Sheep."

The original Half-Life: Blueshift was released in 2001 and followed the adventures of Bernie Calhoun, a guard at the Black Mesa research facility, as he escaped the doomed facility. Although it was not a huge hit and was criticized for being too short and predictable, it succeeded in turning an NPC, an unnamed security guard, into an important and memorable supporting character.

Interestingly, this is not the first time someone has taken a crack at Black Mesa's Barney: as far as I know, the honor goes to Black Mesa: Insecurity, which was released in 2013. However, that project was cancelled (the last update on ModDB was in 2015), and the HECU Collective has stated that it was the impetus to embark on its own version.

(And in case anyone wonders why the team chose to remake "Blue Shift" instead of the more acclaimed expansion "Opposing Force," someone is already on the job: the 2013 release of "Operation Black Mesa" is still in development).

No release date has been set, but it would be a good time to remind everyone that it took 16 years to complete "Black Mesa." For now, you can follow the action on Discord and, if you speak the language, on the Russian social network VK. The first track of the Black Mesa: Blue Life soundtrack by composer Aslan Akhmetov can also be heard below.