After nearly 20 years, Half Life is finally uncensored in Germany
An uncensored release of Half Life is now available in Germany for the first time since it launched in 1998 for Windows PC.
The country has a history of censoring games, with the likes of Fallout 3 and Red Faction falling victim to alterations in the past. But now, PC players can pick up the FPS classic on Steam for free.
It’s worth noting that the uncensored version will overwrite the previous release once installed, so those hoping to keep a piece of history might not want to update things.
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In 1998, Gabe Newell explained in an interview with Link that the German version replaces blood and flesh enemies with ones filled with oil. In a nutshell, you were shooting at robots instead of mercenaries and aliens.
It is not exactly clear why the decision was made to remove Half Life from Germany’s list of censored games, which currently contains both The Witcher 2 and Bionic Commando among others.
Half Life, despite its archaic visuals, still holds up today with its tense narrative and creative gunplay. There is also Black Mesa, a fan-created remake that is now available on Steam.
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Still no sign of Half Life 3, though…
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
