The Half-Life vibes are intense in the free Steam demo for co-op survival game Abiotic Factor

GamesActionAbiotic FactorThe Half-Life vibes are intense in the free Steam demo for co-op survival game Abiotic FactorWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

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(Image credit: Deep Field Games)

Scientists in a lab

You think Gordon Freeman had it tough? Dude never had to stop what he was doing and run to the bathroom to poop while fighting his way through interdimensional monsters and psychotic marines in the Black Mesa Research Facility.

Ol' heroic Gordo was also pretty content to get the help of a bunch of science nerds while he was rampaging through the lab, and had very few qualms about leaving them behind once they’d unlocked all those doors for him. In a way, those dorky scientists were the true heroes of Half-Life.

Crafting in Abiotic Factor starts humbly enough, using torn strips of fabric as nets to catch and immobilize alien critters (one is like Half-Life’s headcrab, though it uses a long tongue to grab you and then pulls itself over like a grappling hook). But there’s plenty more gizmos down the tech tree that would make Isaac Kleiner proud, like laser cannons, proximity mines, electric traps, and (just speculating here) teleporters. And while I haven’t found a crowbar, I’m doing pretty well with a hammer, a screwdriver, and a knife I found in a kitchen.

(Image credit: Deep Field Games)

Scientists in a lab

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There’s also plenty of those Valve-ish scripted sequences you see in Half-Life, where you come along just in time to watch some NPC get dragged offscreen or perish horribly right in front of you. Developer Deep Field Games really nailed the vibe: it’s weird to feel so much nostalgia in a game that isn’t even out yet.

I’m not too far into the demo yet, but I’m already looking forward to playing the full game when it launches on May 2. I played alone, but you won’t have to: Abiotic Factor supports up to 6 players in co-op.

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