Ranking The Half-Life Levels From Worst To Best

[@Jarekthegamingdragon]

I can't believe I didn't make this video sooner. I did some of these rankings over on my twitch, come follow if you want to hang out! www.twitch.tv/jarek4gamingdragon

[@agbrenv]

you should probably do more Chapter/Level rankings, they are fun and give more insight into which parts you like and for what reason

[@atariboy9084]

Last Nov Half-Life just turn 25 I got the game from day one back in 1998 for the PC on my Win98 when I was 26 years old and even got the PS2 console port. Hell I even got the ISO prototype of Half-Life for the Dreamcast CD burn and played it. Wonder if you going to talk about Half-Life 25th anniversary documentary?

[@jimbo2revengeance]

Office complex is the only chapter where you can save all the NPC's and bring them with you to the very end, yes even the freezer scientist.

[@ThommyofThenn]

Sometimes I feel bad forcing someone to play a game, but many simply arent familiar enough with gaming

[@clydemarshall8095]

You’re doing them a service and helping them begin a rite of passage.

[@nomyzs9928]

I recommended Half life to my friends once but they think it's just a boomer shooter and it's boring

[@ThommyofThenn]

@@nomyzs9928 that has to hurt :( it's really a shame, like someone not watching Twin Peaks because they hate Friends and assume they dislike all 90s tv

[@TheRealWalterClements]

@@ThommyofThenn pean twinks mentioned +social credit

[@tgnm9615]

Half life is a good game for non gamers. The game teaches you slowly over the course of the game

[@father042]

I knew Surface Tension would be first Will you rank Half-Life 2 chapters next?

[@steve_jedi2511]

I want for Sequel too.

[@alexalbuquerquerodriguesal108]

11:58 Hah, something told me this would be your favorite chapter as well. Coincidentally I was reminiscing the levels of Half Life since I've been playing Black Mesa recently and I also came to the conclusion that Surface Tension is my favorite chapter, It's really good stuff with combat from start to finish and the same is true for Black Mesa. Seeing this video I also decided to think about what my ranking for these chapters be since I thought "oh come on, how hard can that be", yeah It's way harder than It seems. I guess my ranking would be, for Black Mesa (since It's what I played most recently) with several of them being very close ties since they're so goddamn good, from worst to best: 18. On Rails 17. Residue Processing (I like plataforming in Half Life, God only knows why) 16. Interloper 15. Aprehension 14. Gonarch Lair (you may not like all that much, but I just loved her boss fight on this playthrough, It demands a lot of quick reflexes and spatial awareness) 13. Lambda Core 12. Unforseen Consequences 11. Power Up 10. Blast Pit (like Power Up there's a lot of back and forth and I just really like that) 9. Black Mesa Inbound 8. Anomalous Materials 7. Nihilanth 6. We've Got Hostiles 5. Forget About Freeman 4. Office Complex 3. Questionable Ethics 2. Xen 1. Surface Tension. Yeah, really hard, I've just did this and I'm not fully comfortable with this ranking.

[@Matt-md5yt]

Glad you did this ranking list on this great game

[@atariboy9084]

Last Nov Half-Life just turn 25 I got the game from day one back in 1998 for the PC on my Win98 when I was 26 years old and even got the PS2 console port. Hell I even got the ISO prototype of Half-Life for the Dreamcast CD burn and played it. Wonder if you going to talk about Half-Life 25th anniversary documentary?

[@BlazeRhodon]

Fun fact: Id Software probably was inspired by Half-Life chapters Xen, Interloper and Lambda Core by creating Doom 2016 (which is a really great game). I mean look at Argent Energy Tower and Kadingir Sanctum, it has similar level design. However in Doom 2016 platforming sections are actually pretty fun unlike in Half-Life.

[@CommanderWolf104th]

this is how i imagined my list would be tbh

[@tonygoodman]

Surface Tension is the Assault on the Control Room of Half-life. (I know Halo: Combat Evolved was released later, but that's how I view these levels)

[@Robster881]

Someone else recognises that Residue Processing as the worst level! Finally! I was so sick of having to stick up for On a Rail! It's an aimless slog with bad platforming and no easy way to work out where to go.

[@Zet237yt]

So, Blast Pit is your personal favorite chapter? Ah, I see you’re a man of culture as well.

[@havoc3-243]

Residue Processing is so forgettable it never gets mentioned in the general "worst Half-Life level" discussion

[@SmoKKz0r]

Half-life is the damn GOAT…

[@chairforceoneYT]

I just started watching your channel and you make great content man. Do you have any opinions on the Path traced mods for some FPS games like Quake 2 or Half Life?

[@XanderNiles]

Brilliant list Jarek. I concur for the majority of the ranking especially Residue Processing being at the very last. I dislike that chapter strongly. Platforming in Half-Life is not its strongest feature but that doesn't take away the experience the game as a whole can give you.

[@slothsong080]

Honestly, I'd swap Interloper and On a Rail. Despite being somewhat chained to a train car, I'd rather explore the areas in OoR than be stuck in the vomit factory. Plus "Yore dead, Freeman" puts a smile on my face every time.

[@afd19850]

I would rather plan an entire game of Xen than an hour on residue processing. That said On a Rail> Xen. Just don’t use the train/rail cart

[@juancho650]

Idk, if i have to pick between residue processing and on a Rail, Id rather play residue, on a rail takes away your free movement and is tedious to traverse, i hated it on half life, I hated it on Doom 3

[@alewis514]

Interloper sucks the most. On a rail is ok Residue processing is very 1990s

[@afd19850]

Now do HL2 please 😂

[@vazzeg]

Wow, talk about different tastes. Blast pit is my least favorite.

[@dotcomgamingd5564]

hm, I actually agree with Residue Processing being the worst now that you mention it. though I actually fucking love On A Rail.

[@15braincellsremaining]

On a rail is fun if you ditch the train and just bunnyhop away

[@XanderNiles]

Platforming is not enjoyable in Half-Life. Also, the pathing is not as clear as the other chapters. It can be very time consuming if you don't know where to go.

[@Eric_Nomad_Hixtone]

It's ok to be wrong

[@pokade3659]

@@15braincellsremaining no, its also fun with the train

[@Swattii]

I actually like On A Rail. I don't know why people hated it. I'm more surprised that Jarek rated the Xen chapters higher. I just didn't find the chapters fun at all.

[@michaelpitcher2820]

I love on a rail. Call me crazy. I just like the deep underground feeling and the exploration of the random stops along the way. People dog on that chapter way too much.

[@Eric_Nomad_Hixtone]

Yes you have lost your mind lol

[@OrangeBunt]

I love all the different things you can do and choices

[@nood1le]

Yeah and the stops you would make aren't even bad. The only thing I can see as frustrating is that the game never let's you know that you have to shoot at the signs in order to switch directions. Also that ending were you almost rum over the two marines was cool

[@miecraftandmoregames]

take a drink for every video of jarek that starts with "i loooove half life" lol 😂

[@Megaspartan23]

Your liver will hate you for it

[@tornado8564]

I respect diverse opinions about the Half-Life chapters; this is an excellent ranking. Personally, I actually like On a Rail; although it does drag on for about an hour and the traps set by the HECU get utterly vicious (showing their desperation to stop Freeman), the gameplay otherwise is very fun throughout and you get to launch a rocket into space. Nice combat setpieces between both vorts and Marines. I would say that Apprehension is far worse than On a Rail; I don't really like Apprehension that much. Other than the Icthyosaur and Black-Ops fights, it's mainly going through a drab underground industrial area just to be ambushed at the end. Apprehension is mostly responsible for the slog that is Residue Processing. The whole getting captured and losing all your weapons trope is not really good. Duke Nukem 3D's Death Row did it much better, but otherwise I don't like it. The second half of Interloper is the only other "bad" part. Other than that, Half-Life is a timeless masterpiece.

[@edibritschgi3500]

Surface tension is without a doubt my favorite chapter, because it makes me feel like being in a 80's action movie 😎💥🔥

[@cecilharvey2005]

Honestly I agree with Residue Processing being the worst chapter, but my least favorite section to play through is that stupid trip mine section in that one warehouse.

[@Tucher97]

People complaining Xen is the worse when I think its just fine, because all the complaints towards Xen being different and Alien, I was very confused as I felt that was the intention and it succeeds in making you the player feel uncomfortable and very out of your element.

[@monolith5703]

I'd love to see a Black Mesa version of this, as well as HL2+Episodes

[@IcyXzavien]

I don't hate the Gonarch boss fight, just the mini headcrabs that it spawns mostly. They're just hard to see at times.

[@ChrisDelChris]

Haven’t watched yet but I’m gonna be mad if On a Rail is ranked worst. On a Rail Defense Gang rise up

[@QuakeGamerROTMG]

The last time I played Half Life after not playing it for a couple years I got to On a Rail and groaned. By the end I was saying "wait why do people hate this one again? That was a pretty good chapter"

[@Catdash5510]

MUAHAHAHAHA... I CAN CHANGE THE LIKE COUNTER FROM 999 TO 1K! NOBODY CAN STOP MEEEE!

[@redayan9017]

Xen is not the worst, i agree Interloper is. My god do i hate Interloper

[@zii8568]

I enjoy when you do these type of videos!

[@Abel_Unstable]

I remember enjoying the entire run through of Half Life with remaster mod. Residue processing is actually good with zombies and scientists all around, loved the entire "environmental story telling." But modded or not, Interloper is always been the one I hated the most lmao.

[@Eric_Nomad_Hixtone]

What remaster mod u mean? I'd like to replay with it!

[@radladstudios]

Funnily enough, I hated On a Rail on my first playthrough But now it's my favorite chapter in the entire game lmao.

[@marsuniversity-tm]

My Ranking 1. Questionable Ethics 2. Surface Tension 3. Power Up 4. We've Got Hostiles 5. Blast Pit 6. Office Complex 7. Apprehension 8. Unforseen Consequences 9. Forget About Freeman 10. Residue PRocessing 11. Lambda Core 12. Ninhilanth 13. Gonarch's Lair 14. Anomalous Materials 15. Black Mesa Inbound 16. Xen 17. Interloper 18. On a Rail

[@N3Selina]

i guess because i know my way around every chapter in this game, no chapter is truly a slog anymore. "residue processing" was a real slog though the first time. same for "on a rail". nice list

[@Midekai]

While the game feel, particularly the shooting in half life wasnt all that amazinf, the level design was top notch and full of mixups and curve balls. Love the game for this. The level designers really were trying to give us a new type of shooter.

[@TheSixteen60]

I actually enjoy On A Rail. Especially the Uncut On A Rail addon for Black Mesa.

[@erikpng]

I agree with the number 1 pick. Always my favorite chapter of HL1.

[@giehlemanns]

i can think about it a million times but it still blows my mind that this game was released in 98. no wonder it was so revolutionary.

[@UltimateEnd0]

Played through Black Mesa two times on hard, one with On-A-Rail installed and the other time without it. The Black Mesa portion of the game just felt a little lacking without it. I agree Residue Processing is the worst chapter but it's not bad per se.

[@andrewdrawsstuff]

Good list only thing i would change is that i'd put On A Rail above Xen, Cause i'm a huge cart defender

[@pecadorr93]

What game again? Don't think I heard this Half Life anywhere...Doesn't seem like much tbh... How to trigger Jarek :3

[@Randomstuffs261]

I personally find that most levels in Half-Life fall short of the groundbreaking quality we saw in *Hunt Down the Freeman*

[@nicholasdelaney1407]

I personally don't think Half Life Xen was 'bad' but I can understand people's criticism towards it...

[@azazel7505]

do hl2, now

[@Teimberar]

I actually cannot say a chapter is bad, I liked everything (Of the first game)

[@psychodrummer1567]

If you were to rank Black Mesa chapters, would the order be different?

[@dbstop9194]

Surface tension is the one of the best levels in the history of gaming.

[@ClarkKentai]

The absolute worst level in the Half-Life series is Residue Processing, bar none.

[@herosendgame]

FINALLY someone agrees with me on the worse part of half life 😂

[@Nightmare279]

Yeah, residue processing SUCKS

[@Ayranenjoyer]

on a rail bros... it could've been worse...

[@drosmel3116]

Dammit! Now I want to play Half Life again!

[@raykensorbes1603]

This game will never gonna die.

[@ambrusraul2297]

On a Rail Worst

[@steve_jedi2511]

Will you do Half-Life 2 levels?

[@TheOro44]

Lambda Core would be my fav if it wasn't for the portal platforming, but it's a tie between On A Rail and Surface Tension

[@i-firebrand-i5543]

Between me sucking at platforming on keyboard as well as it being my first playthrough of HL1 ever, 100% agree with Residue Processing being at the bottom, I was stuck for probably 2 hours before I got through that hell lol

[@matteodelapaz1698]

7:10 the main reason I’m not a big fan of this boss is because there’s a bug where the spider stays in the tunnel and doesn’t jump at the web trampoline. Thank god you can still progress.

[@Jarekthegamingdragon]

This shouldn't happen unless you're playing Half-life source, then this boss is entirely broken.

[@timeryar]

​@@Jarekthegamingdragon it happened to me in hl1 and i thankfully had grenades and satchels so i could still progress

[@solidone4237]

Seems to happen every time i play half life 1 on pc and ps2 for some reason

[@theblinkstykrab3106]

i could be remembering wrong but I swear it happened in black mesa too, lol​@@solidone4237

[@evilguineapig]

Of course I need to replay surface tension after this...

[@RollerCoasterLineProductions]

Man, I remember my buddy talking me into buying a PlayStation one and loving the games but was BLOWN AWAY when he showed me HL on his PC….had to have it, it would take almost 2 years to get there, loved the multiplayer deathmatch and being a newb I couldn’t understand why 32/32 players in multiplayer was lagging on a 56k modem 😂 I freaking LOVE Black Mesa and the musical scores in that masterpiece.

[@DoctorBreenBB]

Imho even chapters which most people consider "bad" kinda cool, I like Xen idea, although Xen levels are better and more nice to look at in addons, On a Rail have gloomy atmosphere, and having a vehicle is cool quirk for chapter, Residue Processing is abit of meh though, still have own quirk, since it's chapter about avoiding various dangerous machinery rather than just combat. Also speaking of Gargantua, I really like that Half-Life allows you to kill them with own arsenal, it's adds variety, so if you don't have enough explosives, or don't want to waste them you have alternative means of killing them, and if you fully armed you can just kill it outright, I killed it with own arsenal on first playthrough, without knowing that I actually supposed to lure it into generator, I didn't noticed what that door leading to generator is opened, and just started to throw explosives at Garg just for fun from switch room with wounded guard guy, since I was not sure what to do next, and it unexpectedly exploded. Also two funny facts about Garg, if you kill it in this chapter at beginning, its "ghost" will continue to wreak havoc on facility, and Snarks actually works against Garg, and can finish it off - once they burst on death, they deal "Blast" damage.

[@Zack_Wester]

I played on a rail not to long ago and I think still the biggest problem whit that map is the fact there is no map at all and it loops. Office complex is a as you said a extension of the Unforeseen Consequences Horror . because if we had gone from survival horror Unforeseen Consequences to We've Got Hostiles Action it would feel odd.

[@glucosaminecondroitan9135]

I have never beat Half Life. I have watched the Game Informer Super Replay of it. Which doesn't give me any authority on which levels are the best.

[@ThommyofThenn]

The long jump module was akward feeling for me at first, perhaps in part of this weird custom contro scheme I use for most fps games. Even when mapped to a streamlined key, the timing was a bit hard to perfect. But before long I was leaping around rocks, taking ridculous fall damage and loving it

[@wonkehcheetah1138]

I hope Residue Processing the the worst level, I always hated that one. YES!

[@alm5992]

I have played this game about once a year since 2001 and I still get lost in Residue Processing from time to time.

[@nuclearfish010]

I remember as a kid. Residue processing was the ending for me 😂

[@twyssecondacc7709]

On A Rail is the second best half life 1 chapter

[@jammy86]

Thanks for the great video!

[@JohnSmith-sn9tj]

Your opinions are bad and you should feel bad.

[@Saint20117]

take a chill pill buddy

[@Jarekthegamingdragon]

Your comments are bad and you should feel bad