New Half-Life 2 Update Gives NPCs the Power … to Blink

With great power comes great blinking, at least when it comes to a new Half-Life 2 update from Valve. That’s right, a new update has arrived and though it in no way indicates that we’ll finally be getting a Half-Life 3, it does make a few random changes that honestly don’t even seem worth it at this point but whatever, you do you, Valve. 

The latest update affects Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode One and Two, Half-Life 2: Lost Coast, and Half-Life: Source. The changes are simple, but fix one majorly creepy feature of the game including NPCs and their very dry eyes. 

According to Valve: 

• Fixed a hitch when saving games
• Fixed SteamVR running when entering the settings menu
• Fixed missing sounds on combine soldiers
• Fixed NPCs not blinking

Seems random, right? But hey, better late than never and let’s be real – we’re sure that Valve never actually intended their NPCs to be an incidental “Clear Eye for dry eyes” commercial.

Haven’t played Half-Life 2 yet? It’s an incredibly revered game in the community that first made its debut back in 2004. Even after all of these years it still has an “Overwhelmingly Positive” score on Steam and for good reason. From its immersive narrative, to the badass protagonist, Half-Life 2 was definitely an adventure than many are begging to continue with a third entry. 

For more about the game itself: 

“By taking the suspense, challenge and visceral charge of the original, and adding startling new realism and responsiveness, Half-Life 2 opens the door to a world where the player’s presence affects everything around him, from the physical environment to the behaviors even the emotions of both friends and enemies.

“The player again picks up the crowbar of research scientist Gordon Freeman, who finds himself on an alien-infested Earth being picked to the bone, its resources depleted, its populace dwindling. Freeman is thrust into the unenviable role of rescuing the world from the wrong he unleashed back at Black Mesa. And a lot of people he cares about are counting on him.”