A skilled modder has managed to make Half-Life 2 playable on Nintendo Switch thanks to the recent release of the Portal: Companion Collection. Portal was essentially developed as an extensive mod for Half-Life 2, borrowing the shooter's physics-based engine to create exciting puzzle mechanics. Portal 1 and 2 released on Nintendo Switch just recently, but modders have already managed to bring Half-Life 2 to the console too.
Valve's Half-Life and Portal franchises share a developer, an engine and even a setting. The original Half-Life sees Black Mesa scientist Gordon Freeman fight back an alien invasion, while Half-Life 2 sees Earth subsequently occupied by an alien force known as the Combine. The sequel was followed by two shorter sequel campaigns, with Portal releasing alongside Episode 2 as part of the Orange Box compilation. Black Mesa is the top competitor of Portal's Aperture Science, creating a shared universe between the games. Portal also uses Half-Life 2's Source Engine, essentially making the beloved title a big-budget Half-Life 2 mod created by Valve itself.
YouTuber and modder OatmealDome has successfully ported Half-Life 2 to Nintendo Switch through the Portal: Companion Collection. The physics-based puzzle game's arrival on Switch brought the Source Engine with it, letting OatmealDome access the entirety of Half-Life 2 outside of its maps and music. Models, voice clips and NPCs from the game were all ported to the Switch alongside Portal, so the modder was quickly able to get the beloved first-person shooter running. The Switch version of Half-Life 2 is a bit unstable, with issues including inaccessible maps, occasional crashes, bugged NPC animations, the inability to save and more. However, the video below shows the Switch miraculously running classic Half-Life 2 maps like Highway 17 and Ravenholm:
While OatmealDome used Portal to bring Half-Life 2 onto Switch, another game developer recently created a Nintendo 64 demake of Portal. Despite running on authentic N64 hardware, the project is able to accurately reflect the innovative portal technology that made the first-person puzzle game an instant classic. Pixelated portals and companion cubes are already present in the amazing demake, though it is still a work in progress. The developer plans to add signature sounds, character models, animations and particle effects from Portal before the title is deemed complete, bringing the iconic game to an old-school console.
Half-Life 2 is considered one of the greatest first-person shooters of all time, so its hasty introduction onto the Nintendo Switch is truly a sight to behold. Portal has always been closely linked to the Half-Life franchise, so it should be no surprise that its Switch port included code from Half-Life 2. Still, OatmealDome's ingenuity and modding skills let them quickly and easily bring the Switch version of Half-Life 2 to life.
Source: OatmealDome/YouTube, OatmealDome/Twitter (1, 2)