Iconic first-person shooter Half-Life is one of Valve’s most important and influential games, so seeing it as a Game Boy demake is a surreal experience.
According to Game Rant, one talented indie creator took it upon themselves to recreate the PC classic using a Game Boy-inspired aesthetic. Half-Life GB is an entertaining exercise in taking a modern game and stripping it down to its essentials. Everything’s here the way you recognize it, but it now looks like a Game Boy game.
Creator Jackarte took to YouTube with a 15-minute video showing off their work. Half-Life GB looks more like the game viewed through a filter than an honest-to-goodness Game Boy game, but it’s still impressive.
With 8-bit sound, Game Boy-styled visuals, and reworked mechanics, it’s a good effort at bringing the shooter to the handheld gaming machine.
This is the only playable project from Jackarte on Itch.io, but they’re responsible for some intriguing game videos on YouTube. One of their creations includes a strange version of Cyberpunk 2077 with hilariously low-res graphics.
Half-Life GB, which is available on Jackarte’s Itch.io page, is a work in progress. Download it for a blast from the past.
