**Exploring City 17: A Reimagined Journey Through *Half-Life: Alex***
It has been 15 years since Valve released *Half-Life 2*, yet City 17 remains deeply ingrained in my memory. The iconic Eastern European city, where faded Soviet modernism clashes with the brittle, otherworldly architecture of the occupying Combine, is one of PC gaming’s most evocative settings. When I think about *Half-Life 2*, I envision yellow tenement blocks being devoured by monolithic, intimidating alien machinery; lonely playgrounds with empty swings; propaganda looping on holographic billboards; and the towering Citadel looming over everything. Now, *Half-Life: Alex* revisits this remarkable city, refreshed and reimagined with over a decade of advancements in graphics technology. Moreover, it offers an intimate experience where you can actually reach out and touch the world around you.
*Half-Life: Alex* begins not with the usual train ride into City 17 but with you standing on a cracked stone balcony, overlooking the city. Before you stretches a sea of terracotta roof tiles, corner domes, and brick chimneys, periodically interrupted by jagged chunks of Combine technology. Through the mist of the morning haze, you can see the shadow of the half-built Citadel, leeching power from the grid through a tangled mess of electricity cables. It’s a beautiful, powerful image—one that becomes even more impactful because *you* are there, craning your neck to look up at the tip of this colossal, unholy spire as it vanishes into the clouds. Its terrifyingly huge presence creates a strange sensation: seeing a videogame world that has looked the same in one’s mind for so long suddenly rendered with such fidelity is awe-inspiring.
That said, the impact of *Half-Life 2*’s version of City 17 hasn’t been dulled by time; it still looks great and always will, thanks to the brilliance of its art direction. However, modern gaming PCs are now capable of processing visuals with even greater fidelity, and the added intimacy of VR enhances the experience further. The things that make City 17 such a memorable, haunting setting are granted extra power in *Half-Life: Alex*.
In contrast to *Half-Life 2*, which often looked its best from a distance due to relatively low-resolution textures, *Half-Life: Alex* frequently leans into close-ups, encouraging players to explore details like cupboards and food packaging with Cyrillic lettering. Early in the game, Alex finds herself in the quarantine zone—a sealed-off area infested with alien creatures from Xen, including a new species of hand crab with an armored shell. You must fight through dilapidated apartment blocks that are slowly being consumed by Xen’s strange flora. Later, Alex visits the Northern Star, once a grand city hotel but now left in a state of chronic disrepair. This is one of the most visually striking locations in *Half-Life: Alex*, with shafts of dirty yellow sunlight pouring through its cracked windows, revealing dust-coated surfaces and the suitcases of former guests.
The important thing is that *Half-Life: Alex* doesn’t just recycle the setting from *Half-Life 2*. Instead, it takes what was done well in the original and expands upon it. I also appreciate how, despite the absence of *Half-Life 2*’s art director Victor Antonov, the artists at Valve have remained true to his artistic vision. Every location you visit in City 17 retains that distinctive feel: the past being rubbed out and perverted by Combine machinery—two wildly different levels of technology coexisting uneasily—and a sense that the Earth will never be the same again.
This was the root of what made *Half-Life 2*’s setting so memorable for me, and in *Half-Life: Alex*, it evolves brilliantly. The city remains a haunting yet fascinating blend of familiar and alien, where the past is constantly being overwritten by the Combine’s presence. From the yellow tenement blocks to the towering Citadel, City 17 feels alive in a way that draws you deeper into its world—a world that has aged gracefully but continues to evolve with each new iteration.
"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enit's been 15 years since valve released half-life 2 but city 17 has never strayed far from my mind the synonymous Eastern European city remains one of PC gaming most evocative settings where faded Soviet modernism collides with the brittle otherworldly architecture of the occupying combine when I think about half-life 2 I think about yellow tenement blocks being devoured by monolithic intimidating alien machinery lonely playgrounds with empty swings propaganda looping on holographic billboards and the Citadel looming over at all and now half-life Alex let's as a revisit that remarkable City refreshed and reimagined with over a decade's worth of advances in graphics technology and in a way where we can actually reach out and touch it halflife Alex begins not with the usual train ride but with you standing on a cracked stone balcony overlooking the city before you stretches a sea of terracotta roof tiles corner domes and brick chimneys periodically interrupted by in Congress chunks of jagged combine technology and through the mist of the morning haze you can see the shadow of the half built citadel leeching power from the grid through a tangled mess of electricity cables it's a beautiful powerful image and all the more impactful because you are there craning your neck to look up at the tip of this colossal unholy spire as it vanishes into the clouds it's terrifyingly huge it's a strange sensation seeing a videogame world like this which has looked the same in my mind's eye for so long suddenly rendered with such fidelity that's not to say the impact of half-life 2's version of the say has been dulled by edge it still looks great and always will thanks to the brilliance of its art direction but with the visuals modern gaming pcs are now capable of processing and the added intimacy of VR the things that make city 17 such a memorable haunting setting a granted extra power the relatively low resolution textures in half-life 2 don't hold up to much scrutiny today meaning the original City 17 often looks its best from a distance but in half-life Alex a game we are frequently leaning into things for a closer look poking through cupboards are picking up food packaging to study the Cyrillic lettering a lot of effort has gone into making it look good up close early in the game Alex finds herself in the quarantine zone a sealed off area infested with alien creatures from Xen including a new species of hand crab with an armored shell you have to fight through dilapidated apartment blocks which are slowly being consumed by Xen strange flora later alex visits the northern star our once grand city hotel now left in a state of chronic disrepair this is one of the most visually striking locations in half-life Alex with shafts of dirty yellow sun lights pouring through it's cracked windows revealing dust coated surfaces and the suitcases of the former guests the important thing is that half-life Alex doesn't just recycle half-life 2 setting but takes what it did well and expands on it I also appreciate how despite the absence of half-life 2 art director victor Antonov the artists at valve have remained true to his artistic vision every location you visit has a distinctive city 17 feel of the past being rubbed out and perverted by combine machinery of two wildly different levels of Technology in an uneasy state of coexistence and a feeling like there's no way the earth will ever be the same again that was the roots of what made half-life 2 his setting so memorable for me and in half-life Alex evolve builds on that brilliantly youit's been 15 years since valve released half-life 2 but city 17 has never strayed far from my mind the synonymous Eastern European city remains one of PC gaming most evocative settings where faded Soviet modernism collides with the brittle otherworldly architecture of the occupying combine when I think about half-life 2 I think about yellow tenement blocks being devoured by monolithic intimidating alien machinery lonely playgrounds with empty swings propaganda looping on holographic billboards and the Citadel looming over at all and now half-life Alex let's as a revisit that remarkable City refreshed and reimagined with over a decade's worth of advances in graphics technology and in a way where we can actually reach out and touch it halflife Alex begins not with the usual train ride but with you standing on a cracked stone balcony overlooking the city before you stretches a sea of terracotta roof tiles corner domes and brick chimneys periodically interrupted by in Congress chunks of jagged combine technology and through the mist of the morning haze you can see the shadow of the half built citadel leeching power from the grid through a tangled mess of electricity cables it's a beautiful powerful image and all the more impactful because you are there craning your neck to look up at the tip of this colossal unholy spire as it vanishes into the clouds it's terrifyingly huge it's a strange sensation seeing a videogame world like this which has looked the same in my mind's eye for so long suddenly rendered with such fidelity that's not to say the impact of half-life 2's version of the say has been dulled by edge it still looks great and always will thanks to the brilliance of its art direction but with the visuals modern gaming pcs are now capable of processing and the added intimacy of VR the things that make city 17 such a memorable haunting setting a granted extra power the relatively low resolution textures in half-life 2 don't hold up to much scrutiny today meaning the original City 17 often looks its best from a distance but in half-life Alex a game we are frequently leaning into things for a closer look poking through cupboards are picking up food packaging to study the Cyrillic lettering a lot of effort has gone into making it look good up close early in the game Alex finds herself in the quarantine zone a sealed off area infested with alien creatures from Xen including a new species of hand crab with an armored shell you have to fight through dilapidated apartment blocks which are slowly being consumed by Xen strange flora later alex visits the northern star our once grand city hotel now left in a state of chronic disrepair this is one of the most visually striking locations in half-life Alex with shafts of dirty yellow sun lights pouring through it's cracked windows revealing dust coated surfaces and the suitcases of the former guests the important thing is that half-life Alex doesn't just recycle half-life 2 setting but takes what it did well and expands on it I also appreciate how despite the absence of half-life 2 art director victor Antonov the artists at valve have remained true to his artistic vision every location you visit has a distinctive city 17 feel of the past being rubbed out and perverted by combine machinery of two wildly different levels of Technology in an uneasy state of coexistence and a feeling like there's no way the earth will ever be the same again that was the roots of what made half-life 2 his setting so memorable for me and in half-life Alex evolve builds on that brilliantly you\n"
