I first played this game in January 2025, a little over 26 years after its initial release.
I was very impressed to see it still holds up today.

What I enjoyed the most was the immersive storytelling. You are directed from one objective to the next through NPCs talking to you, with fairly realistic dialogues and personalities. They also talk to each other, so by listening to their conversation (both allies and enemies) you get a better idea of where you are and what is going on. I got very attached to security guards and scientists and tended to reload saves to prevent them from dying^^'
The chapters directly follow each other without breaks or pause, so the rythm really makes you feel the urgency of your situation and how little choice you have in your actions. The fact that everyone and everything shoots at you will make you feel how unfair your situation is.

Outside of the immersion, I really enjoyed the puzzle side of the game. The puzzles take full advantage of the environment and the many ways you can interact with it, and they're fairly varied. At the time the physics involved must have been revolutionary, to still feel so solid today.

The shooting itself is where I'm a bit more mixed. There is a wide variety of weapons, they all have situations in which they shine and it's really fun to test them all, especially since the game is generous with ammo. However, enemy damage is not always well shown, so it's sometimes hard to say whether your weapon is effective or not, or what else you should be using.
Also, careful if you're not familiar with FPSs : play on easy, you'll still get shot plenty... (And play the tutorial to learn the controls !)

All in all still a very good game, you will definitely have a fun time playing, but keep in mind it's still old and may not have everything you expect from an FPS.

Why do we all have to wear these ridiculous ties?

Since 1998
Half-Life

Half-Life 2 is garbage.