If you have a graphics card capable of Ray Tracing, preferably a GeForce RTX 3060 Ti or higher, you should try the Half-Life 2 RTX demo on Steam right now. It was recently released and is free for everyone who already owns Half-Life 2, which should be everyone reading this really.
Interested gamers can simply navigate to the Half-Life 2 RTX page on Steam and click on the “Install Now” button. Wait for the download to finish, and start playing! This demo is roughly two (2) hours long and features a chapter from Ravenholm and a chapter from Nova Prospekt.
The project is not even close to being completed, and there is no release date for the full mod. However, you can check out how your PC runs Half-Life 2 RTX, and hope it doesn’t melt when full Ray Tracing is enabled.
A Mix Reception For Half-Life 2 RTX Demo
So far, the mod has a “mixed” rating on Steam. While some users are enjoying it, others are having technical issues, and it only looks “slightly” better. I don’t know about slightly…honestly…Maybe gamers should go back and play the 2004 version of Half-Life 2.
One review that did stick out for me is a user called “CT,” who said:
This doesn’t feel like a game; it feels like a glorified tech demo designed to sell you a new GPU. Ray tracing is impressive in theory, but in practice, it’s still not viable without serious compromises. We need better optimization and stronger hardware before this becomes standard.
With gamers experiencing issues and slowdowns on older GPUs capable of Ray Tracing, it does feel that way just a bit. In any case, you can check out the official video from NVIDIA showcasing a comparison between the original, and Half-Life 2 RTX.
The mod boasts full Ray Tracing, DLSS4, remastered assets, and more. It is being developed not directly by NVIDIA, but instead by Orbifold Studios, a “collective of passionate, community-assembled developers.” These devs have celebrated projects out already, such as HL2 VR, Project 17, and Raising the Bar: Redux.
