First-person shooters are typically never shy when it comes to big body counts, but Gordon Freeman’s career as an alien “problem solver” has apparently hit some staggering numbers. A Reddit user has tallied every bad guy the glasses-wearing physicist put down in theHalf-Lifeseries to date, and the results are impressive.
It’s been over ten years since Freeman’s last official outing, with the conclusion ofHalf-Life 2: Episode 2remaining indefinitely unresolved. While players may never see the conclusion to his story in theHalf-Lifeuniverse, the MIT physicist and former Black Mesa researcher has proven remarkably handy with firearms, crowbars, and gravity guns.
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Reddit user TK-576 said they, along with some friends, have determined that Freeman has 1,527 kills across all his titles, when subbing in theBlack MesaandBlack Mesa: Xenremakes for the originalHalf-Life. The game-by-game breakdown is as follows:
• Half-Life(1998): 526 kills
•Black Mesa(2012): 399 kills
•Black Mesa: Xen(2020): 178 kills
•Half-Life 2 (2004): 751 kills
•Half-Life 2 Episode 1&Episode 2: 199 kills
It is worth noting the researchers only tallied enemies that do not infinitely spawn, due to constraints on time, available ammunition, and character reasons. Even though that is a lot of dead aliens, HECU soldiers, and Combine units,Gordon’s kill count is still overshadowed by other protagonists like Max Payne.
However, while heroes like Nathan Drake and Max Payne dispatch soldiers, crooks, and rival gunfighters, theHalf-Lifefranchise pits Gordon againsta host of terrifying creatures. Even without this consideration, there is still a way that Gordon’s kill count could be considered one of the highest among video game action heroes.
By killing the Nihilanth at the end ofBlack Mesa: Xen, Gordon indirectly catalyzes the Combine invasion of Earth, as its enthralled Vortigaunt forces are the only thing holding back the Combine empire. In that sense, every death resulting from the Seven Hour War could fall on Gordon’s head.
Freeman may not be finished, either, asHalf-Life Alyx’s ending preps the series for a third installment. Should another Gordon-centricHalf-Lifeinstallment appear, TK-576 assures gamers that it will be added to the tally.
It may be a long time before the next title arrives, however. Gabe Newell has stated thatHalf-Lifegames are supposed to solve problemsand represent technical breakthroughs for the video game industry as a whole, as opposed to merely driving sales and advancing the franchise’s story. Fans have shown they are willing to wait for quality, and it’s a fitting legacy for a science-themed franchise that mixes its gunplay with physics puzzles.
