Chapters 18 & 19: Nihilanth & Endgame
After fighting tooth and nail through the Borderworld, Freeman finally enters the lair of the Nihilanth, the immensely powerful being that spearheaded the invasion of Earth after the Resonance Cascade. With the fate of the planet hanging in the balance, Gordon must confront the Xenian mastermind and save humanity from annihilation, in the final chapter of Black Mesa.
Playlist with all completed chapters:
• Black Mesa: Definitive...
Notes:
- The scientists' voicelines at the beginning of the video are not part of the base game - I added them to make the transition into the Nihilanth's chamber less jarring
- The Nihilanth boss fight is much different from HL1's. Aside from the additional attacks that it uses against Freeman, the fight notably omits the green portals that it sends at him. In HL1, these portals would teleport Gordon to various other chambers in Xen, forcing him to fight other Xenians and perform a bit of platforming in order to return to Nihilanth's lair. Crowbar Collective omitted this feature out of choice - they felt that the teleporter attack takes the momentum out of the fight
- In HL1, other enemies (Vortigaunts, Alien Controllers) would also spawn in Nihilanth's chamber if its teleporter orbs hit the walls of the lair. This feature is omitted from Black Mesa
- Freeman can shoot the floating sections of Black Mesa (1:23) to bring them down without having to run towards them
- Freeman can shoot the objects that Nihilanth brings in from Black Mesa to destroy them, as opposed to having to dodge them (1:31)
- Getting close to the area directly below the Nihilanth will inflict heavy radiation damage to Freeman that bypasses his suit charge
- During Phase 3 of the battle, if Freeman tries to escape the vortex that Nihilanth creates by running towards the edge of the map, he will be picked up by the windgusts and flung around in the air (2:43)
- Refusing G-man's offer (6:18) will result in him leaving Gordon in the tram. The tram then disintegrates and Gordon is teleported in front of the Xenian army. It is implied that he perishes in this ending. The "canon" ending is the one where Freeman takes G-man up on his offer, though I always wondered if the Half-Life universe contains "multiverses" where Gordon refuses G-man's offer in different timelines (a thought I had after playing through Half-Life: Alyx)
- The end credit sequence with the changing backgrounds is not part of the base game - I added them in as a personal stylistic choice (7:00)
Trivia:
- In HL1, Freeman first spawns into NIhilanth's chamber on a floating rock platform in front of it, as opposed to falling directly to the floor (0:09)
- Nihilanth's arena differs from HL1's in many ways - the floor is not covered with Xen sludge, there is no jumppad, shield generators are present in addition to the healing crystals, and all the healing pools are at ground level (0:14)
- Nihilanth's appearance also differs from HL1's design - its head flaps are stitched together, though it lacks the stitches on its chest, its eyes have pupils, and its mouth contains teeth. Its skin colour is also less pale (0:18)
- There are two healing pools and a shield crystal cluster in the corners of the Nihilanth's lair - to keep the fight intense and focused I opted not to explore these areas. Interacting (i.e. pressing the "use" key) with the Xen flora growing next to each of these areas (3 in total) will unlock a secret encounter wherein three Gonarchs spawn in during Phase 3 of the boss battle, as shown in Bolloxed's video here: • Black Mesa: SECRET Ul...
- The various objects from Black Mesa that Nihilanth can bring through its portals to throw at Freeman include: tanks, forklifts, security vehicles, Humvees, and storage containers, among other things (1:31)
- Destroying all three shield crystals at the same time nets players the achievement "Specimen GG" (1:54)
- The Tower exploding (and presumably taking much of this local portion of the Borderworld with it) is not in HL1 (4:13)
- Freeman can jump off the edge of the rock at 4:13 and fall to his death
- The map shown at 4:57 is a nighttime variation of the multiplayer map "Crossfire"
- If one were to have brought the pizza box (first found in Questionable Ethics) all the way to Nihilanth's portal in the last moments of Interloper, pizza boxes will rain from the skies during the ending sequence (4:35). This also nets players the achievement "Pepperoni Precipitation"
- Similarly, bringing the purple hat (first found in Unforeseen Consequences) all the way to Nihilanth's portal will cause G-man to have it on his head during the ending sequence (4:35). This also nets players the achievement "The Rarest Specimen". Additionally, a post-credit scene where a Vort picks up the hat and wears it will play at the very end of the game