by theygamesWith Half-Life 3 still just a potential twinkle in Gabe Newell’s eye, the return of Valve’s epochal PC shooter feels more like a pipe dream every day. The Steam maker did give us the excellent Half-Life: Alyx not long ago, but locking it behind VR headsets meant many of us didn’t have the money, space, or hardware to make it work. That’s why the Half-Life: Alyx NoVR project was such a godsend, because it means all you need to do is buy the game to play it as you would any other FPS. Now, the team behind the mod is making its own shooter called Chemical-Burn, and it looks like a true spiritual successor to Half-Life 2.
The Half-Life: Alyx NoVR project is nothing short of incredible. You can play through Valve’s newest FPS game without a headset, and it’s almost like making your way through a version of Half-Life 2 we never got. The development team even made sure that the NoVR mod works on Steam Deck, so you can play one of the most inventive shooters in years on the go. The team at City 1 Studios isn’t done, though, because now it’s making an entirely new experience.
This is Chemical-Burn, a completely original “Half-Like” shooter. You’ll play as Cindy, who navigates a dystopian hellscape alongside her dog Buddy while blasting all manner of robots, drones, and other foes. All of Chemical-Burn’s DNA feels very Half-Life, but with a fresh take. According to an interview with The Gamer, City 1 Studios says that Chemical-Burn development began as a Half-Life mod built in Source, but the team grew dissatisfied with the engine and decided to make the jump to Unreal Engine 5.
In case it wasn’t already obvious, City 1 Studios is taking a lot of inspiration from Half-Life 2. The game’s pistol looks like the USP Match, the submachine gun looks similar, the metropolis is called Hazard City (Water Hazard is one of HL2’s most famous levels), you have a dog companion while Half-Life 2 has a robot called Dog, and the name Chemical-Burn even has a hyphen in the middle. City 1 Studios loves Half-Life, and isn’t shying away from it as inspiration.
Still, Chemical-Burn has plenty of its own ideas. Your dog, Buddy, can attack enemies and retrieve ammo for you, just like Fallout 4’s Dogmeat. The adorable pooch can even go to places Cindy can’t, helping her solve puzzles and explore the hidden corners of Hazard City. Chemical-Burn even has some immersive sim elements, as levels have multiple areas and you can choose exactly how you want to tackle each fight. You even have your own apartment to return to between missions, where you can catch up on lore, check your gear in the armory, or just spend some much-deserved time with Buddy.
Chemical-Burn isn’t quite an imsim, then, but it’s certainly inspired by the genre. “System Shock is a big influence for how we represent the corporations and cyberpunk twist the world has,” project and studio lead Anthony Marrelli tells TheGamer. “The dark colors and bright accents, the way the world makes the player feel insignificant and small, along with how we approach enemy design. We are leaning into the body horror of System Shock and Half-Life, with humans turned into synthetic zombies after taking too many drugs, mecha-dogs similar to the monkeys in System Shock 2, and more.”
City 1 Studios is hoping to release a Chemical-Burn demo by the end of 2025, with a full release date currently set for 2026. You can wishlist the game on Steam right here.
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