Warning: The Video attached to this article contains strong language, viewer discretion is advised.

It’s a fresh renaissance of Half-Life content, both canon and fanmade. We got a new Half-Life game with Half-Life: Alyx. There is also the long-anticipated definitive version of Black Mesa, a fan remake of the first Half-Life, is out. What about the silly video content, you may ask? Where is this generation’s equivalent of Half-Life: Full Life Consequences and Freeman’s Mind?

Half-Life VR but the AI is Self-Aware is a series made by Wayneradiotv, a Twitch streamer. On the surface, it looks like a run of the first Half-Life except with VR controls enabled, with the host roleplaying as Gordon Freeman. Partway in however, he runs into the first supposed NPC (actually a character controlled by a collaborator), and instead of acting like a normal guard, the NPC acts hostile and standoffish, demanding that Gordon present his passport… for some reason.

This sets the stage for the rest of the series. Gordon’s journey through the Black Mesa facility is accompanied by a cast of off-kilter NPCs whose helpfulness varies from moment to moment. There’s Dr. Coomer, who flings from pointless acts of violence to spouting “Hello, Gordon” and getting caught in barnacle traps. There’s Bubby, the incompetent scientist that flings himself into explosives. There’s that guard, Benrey, who keeps stalking Gordon while being incredibly unhelpful. Finally there’s Tommy, who in spite of coming off as a manchild, is probably the most smart and sensible out of the “NPC” cast.

The series is a fun take on the original Half-Life, with the gang of protagonists rampaging across the facility, killing enemies and friendly normal NPCs alike. As the series is streamed over Twitch, a lot of the humor and re-contextualized plot is improvised, like how Black Mesa inexplicably owns Wikipedia. Though there is clearly a planned structure for some things, such as Dr. Coomer’s growing character arc of becoming self-aware. Personally, it brings to mind the Real-Time Fandub stuff under Snapcube, a series of videos that re-contextualize the events of a game’s story through improvised dubbing.

At the time of writing, Half-Life VR but the AI is Self-Aware is having the rest of Act 3 of the playthrough put up on Youtube, where all the parts are uploaded with highlights and captioned dialogue. Act 4 of the series is due to be streamed on April 9th, so if you’re all caught up but don’t want to wait around for the condensed videos, consider catching the stream.

Phenixx Gaming is everywhere you are. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.