While eagerly waiting for the next official installment to the Half-Life: Alyx titled Half-Life Alyx: Levitation, which is scheduled to release this year. The well-made gameplay from the trailers and the chance to see Alyx Vance on another adventure have led to the mod receiving press coverage and high anticipation.
Despite being fan-made editions to preexisting games, many mods achieve some popularity on their own. Sometimes, these popular mods develop into their own official standalone releases, which leads to games like Dota 2.
Cry of Fear (2013)
Seemingly inspired by beloved horror franchises like Silent Hill and F.E.A.R., Cry of Fear is a freeware psychological horror FPS that follows a teenager named Simon Henriksson who's hit by a car while trying to help an injured man. Afterwards, he awakens in a random ally and discovers that the city is filled with nightmarish monsters. As he explores the city, solves puzzles, and fights monsters, he eventually discovers the truth behind this new bloody and surreal world.
Originally created as a mod for the 1998 FPS Half-Life in 2012, the game was re-released as a standalone title in 2013 and is still available for free to this day. Besides being a well-made horror experience, the game also has multiple endings depending on the choices the player makes, which gives some replay value.
Garry's Mod (2006)
Created by Garry Newman, who founded Facepunch Studios that also developed the survival game Rust, Garry's Mod is a physics sandbox where players are allowed to create anything they want. Originally made as a mod of Valve's Source game engine in 2004, the mod was expanded into a standalone release that was officially published by Valve in 2006.
Since Garry's Mod has no objectives or rules, the experience is whatever the player wants it to be, which includes building things, spawning objects, or simply messing around with friends in co-op. Outside the base game, players can and play with "addons" made by other players that range from simple maps Prop Hunt. Facepunch Studios is currently working on a spiritual successor titled S&box, which is based on the Source 2 engine.
No More Room in Hell (2013)
Another game that was initially a Source engine mod is the 2013 freeware co-op survival horror FPS No More Room in Hell, whose title is based on a quote from George Romero's film Dawn of the Dead. Taking place during a zombie apocalypse, the game follows up to eight survivors as they try to survive against hordes of zombies while completing objectives or defending their bases.
Unlike other co-op zombie games like Left 4 Dead, this game tries to make the experience as realistic as possible by having extremely limited resources and no HUD icons except for ammo, which can also be turned off. Along with players getting infected by zombie bites and maps that can change each playthrough, the game provides an incredibly tense survival experience. A sequel titled No More Room in Hell 2 is planned to release on Oct. 31 of this year.
Team Fortress Classic (1999)
In 1996, three indie developers created the first Team Fortress by modding the historic FPS Quake. After Valve hired the developers to work on a sequel, they also created a standalone version of the original mod in 1999 titled Team Fortress Classic, which was made to make the wait between entries easier and to showcase the modding capabilities of the GoldSrc engine.
Unlike the sequel, which has a more cartoonish art-style and humorous tone, Team Fortress Classic has a more realistic art-style and serious tone. Despite these differences, the core gameplay is basically the same with two teams fighting against each other in various game modes, like capture the flag, and each teammate playing as one of nine unique classes that have varied attributes and skills.
Dear Esther (2012)
Created by The Chinese Room, who also developed Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs, Dear Esther is a 2012 atmospheric exploration game that popularized the "walking sim" genre and was originally released as a Source engine mod in 2008. The game follows a man as he explores an unnamed island in Hebrides, Scotland, after his wife, Esther, died in a car crash. Each time the player reaches a new location, the man reads out a letter to his wife that relates to it.
With the letters and certain items changing each playthrough, it becomes clear that the man's journey is a metaphorical one that represents his grief and guilt over his wife's death. In 2015, the developers made a spiritual successor titled Everybody's Gone to the Rapture.
Antichamber (2013)
One of the best puzzle games that deliberately messes with a player's perception of reality is the 2013 first-person psychological exploration game Antichamber. After waking up in an antechamber, the player notices that the exit is behind a glass wall, but they'll have to solve many puzzles that utilize impossible spaces and objects in order to reach it.
Years before being fully released as an award-winning standalone title, the indie developer, Alexander Bruce, began developing the game as a mod of Unreal Tournament 3 titled Hazard: The Journey of Life. After making a coding error that created an impossible space (via CultureLab), Bruce was inspired to change Hazard into the mind-warping experience that exists today.
The Stanley Parable (2013)
Inspired by the 2009 psychological horror game The Path, Half-Life 2 mod in 2011. The game follows a silent office worker named Stanley who discovers that all of his co-workers have mysteriously vanished. As the disembodied voice of The Narrator attempts to guide Stanley through the story, the player can choose whether they will follow his instructions or deliberately find alternative paths.
Even years after the original mod's release, the game's core themes, such as whether a player's choices truly matter, continue to be revolutionary. Because of this, it's not surprising that the game received another remake earlier this year titled The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe.
Counter-Strike (2000)
Counter-Strike is a multiplayer FPS where a team of terrorists and a team of counter-terrorists battle each other by either completing objectives or simply killing off of the other team. Originally released as a 1999 mod of Half-Life, the indie developers were hired by Valve, and the game was officially released the following year, which led to the popular ongoing Counter-Strike series.
Besides having objectives such as implanting bombs or rescuing hostages, Counter-Strike set itself apart from other similar titles by not allowing players to respawn until the end of the round. This required players to utilize a more tactical approach to the gameplay.
The Forgotten City (2021)
Created as an expanded version of the 2015 magical premise to discuss important social issues. While investigating some ancient ruins, the player is magically sent back to when the city was alive during the Roman Empire.
If anyone in the city commits a sin, then the gods, who are protecting the city, will punish everyone by turning them all into gold statues, which is known as the "Golden Rule." Besides containing a well-written story, the game was praised for its deep philosophical discussions about morality, laws, and contradicting belief systems.
Dota 2 (2013)
Released in 2013, Dota 2 is a free-to-play MOBA where two teams of five players battle each other in order to try to reach the other team's base and destroy their "Ancient." Each player controls a unique "hero" that has particular stats and capabilities, and players gain items and points during matches so that they can overpower the other players.
Dota 2 is a sequel to Defense of the Ancients, which was a 2003 mod for Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos. After Valve acquired the property, Dota became a popular multimedia franchise. With challenging gameplay and intriguing lore, Dota is possibly the only MOBA that truly competes with League of Legends.
