Half-Life's infamous tram opening is even creepier when voiced by TikTok

Half Life tram
(Image credit: Valve)

As far as intro sequences go, Half-Life's is an all-timer. A tram ride through Black Mesa's mad science labyrinth, as a somewhat stilted automated voice sets a clinical, unnerving tone for the extradimensional disaster story to come.

That said, it's all a bit old fashioned, isn't it? Between stodgy old corridors, rattling old trams and crackling radio announcers, how is Black Mesa meant to attract a whole new class of zoomer physics graduates? How does Half-Life capture the TikTok generation?

Like this, I'd imagine.

Over the weekend, modder TheFloofierLove innocuously tweeted "half life but every single voice clips is redone by the tik tok text to speech voice(s)". Two days later, that reality now partially exists as a mod on GameBanana, swapping out the tram announcer's voice with a relentlessly chirpy digital woman who'll be familiar to anyone who's ever skimmed TikTok.

The TikTok TTS voice isn't your stilted Microsoft Sam voice, mind. Its speech is almost (but not quite) natural, and there's something distinctly uncanny about that upbeat, Disney-esque voice narrating your entry into Black Mesa. 

And honestly? It works better than it should. Half-Life's 1960s sci-fi is recontextualised through 2010s sci-fi, less "government experiments gone wrong" and more the clinical face of our modern corporate dystopia, ever smiling even as it tears apart the fabric of reality. 

That's how I'm choosing to read it, at least.

Natalie Clayton
Features Producer

20 years ago, Nat played Jet Set Radio Future for the first time, and she's not stopped thinking about games since. Joining PC Gamer in 2020, she comes from three years of freelance reporting at Rock Paper Shotgun, Waypoint, VG247 and more. Embedded in the European indie scene and a part-time game developer herself, Nat is always looking for a new curiosity to scream about—whether it's the next best indie darling, or simply someone modding a Scotmid into Black Mesa. She also unofficially appears in Apex Legends under the pseudonym Horizon.

Read more
Screenshots from Half-Life 2 RTX, showing the various new effects delivered by full ray tracing and enhanced assets.
I just played Half-Life 2 RTX, a fully ray-traced overhaul of the original, and its meaty headcrabs have me hankering for more
The G-Man looking at the camera.
G-Man's voice actor rings in the new year by dropping a cryptic tweet grenade promising 'unexpected surprises' into the starving Half-Life 3 fanbase
A noir Chicago with Combine metro cops from Half-Life 2
If you missed it over the holidays, this noir Half-Life 2 mod turns you into a hardboiled detective in Prohibition-era Chicago
The starting chamber in Portal, but the floor is covered in lava.
Portal Randomized mixes up Valve's beloved puzzler by turning the floor into lava and filling chambers with a deadly neurotoxin
Official Doom Guy art superimposed over Vault 666 Fallout-themed background.
Fallout-themed Doom mod Vault 666 has multiple endings, an OP Dogmeat companion, and a Ron Perlman-impersonating narrator so good, I was worried it was AI-generated at first
Mortimer Goth swanning around inside a New Vegas casino built inside the Sims 2
A Fallout: New Vegas fan is so fed up waiting for a remake he's decided to do it himself. The twist? He's making it in the Sims 2
Latest in FPS
CS 1.6 remade in CS: Legacy.
A gorgeous ground-up remake of Counter-Strike 1.6 is on its way to Steam, and one of the game's original creators says 'it really gives me old vibes'
Metro Exodus
'I want to raise this glass to our fans, to our community': 4A Games celebrates Metro 2033's 15th anniversary and hints at next Metro game
Official artwork of Valorant showing the game's characters in a row
Valorant dev accepts there's too much random crap cluttering up the screen: 'The balance team generally agrees with this take'
Fragpunk FPS
Fragpunk review
Battlefield 1
The best Battlefield game of the last decade is 95% off until Thursday
Grab the brilliant Doom 2016 for its lowest price ever
Latest in News
Three sheep with big guns in Palworld.
It was 'super popular to hate Palworld' after launch, says community manager: 'A lot of companies might crumble under the threats, under the pressure'
Palworld Ancient Civilization Parts - Grizzbolt with a minigun
'It was a very depressing day': Palworld community manager reveals studio's reaction to Nintendo lawsuit
CS 1.6 remade in CS: Legacy.
A gorgeous ground-up remake of Counter-Strike 1.6 is on its way to Steam, and one of the game's original creators says 'it really gives me old vibes'
Portal P3 pinball table
There's a new Portal game and it costs $12,500
MrBeast posing in front of a stack of cashing, promoting Beast Games season 2
Beast Games opens casting for season 2: MrBeast lost a ton of money on season 1 but apparently not enough that he won't do it again
Ark: Lost Colony teaser still.
Ark 2 is still on: The next Ark expansion 'leads into the events of Ark 2,' says Studio Wildcard