Half-Life: Blue Shift on Steam - User reviews, Price & Information
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Made by Gearbox Software and originally released in 2001 as an add-on to Half-Life, Blue Shift is a return to the Black Mesa Research Facility in which you play as Barney Calhoun, the security guard sidekick who helped Gordon out of so many sticky situations.
Half-Life: Blue Shift is a fps, action and sci-fi game
developed by Gearbox Software
and published by Valve.
Released on June 01st 2001 is available on Windows, MacOS and Linux
in 3 languages: English, French and German.
It has received 18,794 reviews of which 17,384 were positive and 1,410 were negative resulting in an impressive rating of 9.0 out of 10. 😍
The game is currently priced at 4.99€ on Steam.
The Steam community has classified Half-Life: Blue Shift into these genres:
Media & Screenshots
Get an in-depth look at Half-Life: Blue Shift through various videos and screenshots.
System requirements
These are the minimum specifications needed to play the game. For the best experience, we recommend that you verify them.
Windows
Minimum: 500 mhz processor, 96mb ram, 16mb video card, Windows XP, Mouse, Keyboard, Internet Connection
Recommended: 800 mhz processor, 128mb ram, 32mb+ video card, Windows XP, Mouse, Keyboard, Internet Connection
MacOS
Minimum: OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.3, 1GB RAM, 4GB Hard Drive Space,NVIDIA GeForce 8 or higher, ATI X1600 or higher, or Intel HD 3000 or higher Mouse, Keyboard, Internet Connection
Linux
Minimum: Linux Ubuntu 12.04, Dual-core from Intel or AMD at 2.8 GHz, 1GB Memory, nVidia GeForce 8600/9600GT, ATI/AMD Radeaon HD2600/3600 (Graphic Drivers: nVidia 310, AMD 12.11), OpenGL 2.1, 4GB Hard Drive Space, OpenAL Compatible Sound Card
User reviews & Ratings
Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.
> be me > Calhoun > 2-year community college dropout, majoring in “idk lol” > get assigned to Black Mesa because I passed a CPR class once > day one: scientists tell me my safety is a rounding error > “guard these donuts and shut up” > jokes on them, I got books on *aliens* and *gov conspiracies* in my closet > then alien sphaghetti monsters show up and start eating brains > scientists: "it's theoretical teleportation physics!" > me: "bro i dropped out of chem 101" > still end up pushing buttons and doing real-ass teleportation magic > become interdimensional uber driver > save everyone > scientists become my ride-or-die bros > we go on a cross-dimensional road trip > 10/10 would get laughed at by PhDs again 👮♂️🚀🧠🛸
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This game was like sprinkles on a donut, half life is the main course "the donut" but putting the sprinkles "blue shift" on the donut adds more too it. Sure it's just sprinkles but most people would agree that adding sprinkles will enhance the favor of the dount. The security in blue shift certainly would agree, and I do too.
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---{ Graphics }--- ☐ You forget what reality is ☐ Beautiful ☑ Good ☐ Decent ☐ Bad ☐ Don‘t look too long at it ☐ MS-DOS ---{ Gameplay }--- ☐ Very good ☑ Good ☐ It's just gameplay ☐ Mehh ☐ Watch paint dry instead ☐ Just don't ---{ Audio }--- ☑ Eargasm ☐ Very good ☐ Good ☐ Not too bad ☐ Bad ☐ I'm now deaf ---{ Audience }--- ☑ Kids ☑ Teens ☑ Adults ☐ Grandma ---{ PC Requirements }--- ☑ Check if you can run paint ☐ Potato ☐ Decent ☐ Fast ☐ Rich boi ☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer ---{ Game Size }--- ☐ Floppy Disk ☑ Old Fashioned ☐ Workable ☐ Big ☐ Will eat 10% of your 1TB hard drive ☐ You will want an entire hard drive to hold it ☐ You will need to invest in a black hole to hold all the data ---{ Difficulty }--- ☐ Just press 'W' ☐ Easy ☑ Easy to learn / Hard to master ☐ Significant brain usage ☐ Difficult ☐ Dark Souls ---{ Grind }--- ☑ Nothing to grind ☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks ☐ Isn't necessary to progress ☐ Average grind level ☐ Too much grind ☐ You'll need a second life for grinding ---{ Story }--- ☐ No Story ☐ Some lore ☐ Average ☑ Good ☐ Lovely ☐ It'll replace your life ---{ Game Time }--- ☑ Long enough for a cup of coffee ☐ Short ☐ Average ☐ Long ☐ To infinity and beyond ---{ Price }--- ☐ It's free! ☑ Worth the price ☐ If it's on sale ☐ If u have some spare money left ☐ Not recommended ☐ You could also just burn your money ---{ Bugs }--- ☐ Never heard of ☑ Minor bugs ☐ Can get annoying ☐ ARK: Survival Evolved ☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs ---{ ? / 10 }--- ☐ 1 ☐ 2 ☐ 3 ☐ 4 ☐ 5 ☐ 6 ☐ 7 ☑ 8 ☐ 9 ☐ 10
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Half-Life Blue Shift was developed by Gearbox Software and released in 2001. It is the second and final expansion for Half-Life. Originally intended as a simple little add-on for the Dreamcast version of Half-Life, Blue Shift was ported to PC after SEGA abandoned their console. This eventful development explains the lack of anything really new in the game compared with the first two. Barney Calhoun leads a quiet life as a security guard at Black Mesa. He looks after the safety of the staff, manages the surveillance cameras and does a little maintenance here and there. One day, he's called in to try and solve a minor lift breakdown so that the scientists can use it. Then disaster struck in the anomalous materials lab. The elevator falls several floors and crashes dozens of meters below. Barney escapes unharmed, but has to deal with unforeseen consequences. The science experiment gone wrong causes an alien invasion, and the soldiers who are supposed to kill the aliens, also take down the Black Mesa personnel. Dr Rosenberg and his team of scientists must be helped to repair an old teleporter, which remains the only hope of escape from Black Mesa. The puzzles are conventional, albeit pleasant, while the combat is very classic but effective, since it's no different from Half-Life. That said, it's always fun to visit previously unexplored parts of Black Mesa. Scientists and fellow Security Guards will help Barney progress, as in previous games. Apart from Rosenberg who is an important character, no new scientist or security guard models are introduced. As for the bestiary, the creatures are the same as in Half-Life. Headcrabs, Zombies, Bullsquids, Alien Controllers, Alien Grunts, Houndeyes and Vortigaunts are once again the only alien enemies to fight. The Race X aliens that appeared in Opposing Force are not reintroduced in Blue Shift. Forget the Pit Drones, Shock Troopers and Voltigores, which would have been perfectly at home in the game. But the battle-hardened H.E.C.U. soldiers are still out to get you, unlike the Black Ops, who are nowhere to be seen. Calhoun isn't lucky enough to have Gordon Freeman's H.E.V. Suit, or Adrian Shephard's P.C.V.. As a security guard, Barney is required to wear his regulation bulletproof vest and helmet. This renders the H.E.V. terminals unusable, but that doesn't stop Barney from going to Xen! When it comes to weapons, Blue Shift keeps things simple. All the weaponry comes from the first Half-Life, but biological and experimental weapons are left out. Weapons are limited to a pistol, an M16 (or MP5), a SPAS-12, a .357 Magnum, Grenades and C4. Barney's only tool is the Crowbar, although Gearbox could have given him a personal melee weapon. How about a police baton, for example? The soundtrack comes from Opposing Force, Nothing was composed for Blue Shift. Blue Shift is famous in the Half-Life community, for bringing the "Half-Life High Definition Pack". This is a set of higher-quality models replacing weapons and characters from Half-Life, Opposing Force and Blue Shift. Although it is optional and can be activated via the options menu, the HD Pack is much underappreciated. Despite Gearbox's good will, the game still looks kinda old in 2001, compared with games like Halo Combat Evolved or GTA III. Half-Life Blue Shift is a relatively pleasant game to play, but it's too short and not very innovative. In fact, it feels like a regression compared to Half-Life and Opposing Force. Its lack of originality is offset by some intense combat and well-thought-out puzzles, but there's nothing really exceptional about it. Fans of Valve's games will undoubtedly appreciate Blue Shift, which serves as the conclusion to the GoldSrc era of Half-Life games. To think that Half-Life 2 was still in development at the time...
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Blue Shift is definitely underrated. Sure it wasn't as good as Opposing Force but it was still enjoyable.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Half-Life: Blue Shift is currently priced at 4.99€ on Steam.
Half-Life: Blue Shift is currently not on sale. You can purchase it for 4.99€ on Steam.
Half-Life: Blue Shift received 17,384 positive votes out of a total of 18,794 achieving an impressive rating of 9.03.
😍
Half-Life: Blue Shift was developed by Gearbox Software and published by Valve.
Half-Life: Blue Shift is playable and fully supported on Windows.
Half-Life: Blue Shift is playable and fully supported on MacOS.
Half-Life: Blue Shift is playable and fully supported on Linux.
Half-Life: Blue Shift is a single-player game.
Half-Life: Blue Shift does not currently offer any DLC.
Half-Life: Blue Shift does not support mods via Steam Workshop.
Half-Life: Blue Shift does not support Steam Remote Play.
Half-Life: Blue Shift is enabled for Steam Family Sharing. This means you can share the game with authorized users from your Steam Library, allowing them to play it on their own accounts. For more details on how the feature works, you can read the original Steam Family Sharing announcement or visit the Steam Family Sharing user guide and FAQ page.
You can find solutions or submit a support ticket by visiting the Steam Support page for Half-Life: Blue Shift.
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Last Updates| Steam data | 08 June 2025 06:16 |
|---|---|
| SteamSpy data | 11 June 2025 12:37 |
| Steam price | 15 June 2025 04:44 |
| Steam reviews | 13 June 2025 11:57 |
If you'd like to dive deeper into the details about Half-Life: Blue Shift, we invite you to check out a few dedicated websites that offer extensive information and insights. These platforms provide valuable data, analysis, and user-generated reports to enhance your understanding of the game and its performance.
- SteamDB - A comprehensive database of everything on Steam about Half-Life: Blue Shift
- SteamCharts - Analysis of Half-Life: Blue Shift concurrent players on Steam
- ProtonDB - Crowdsourced reports on Linux and Steam Deck Half-Life: Blue Shift compatibility
Game modes
Features
Online players
39
Developer
Gearbox Software
Publisher
Valve
Release
01 Jun 2001
Platforms