Did Breen truly believe joining the Combine would advance the human race? Or was he merely doing his best to save the species from extinction? We may never know. Or maybe we will… We investigate this enigma in an attempt to bring new theories to light.

Are we being deceived? While unlikely, it’s interesting to speculate that we may be lead astray by the Vortigaunts.

Nihilanth is shrouded in mystery. Our first and only encounter with him doesn’t reveal much. We know very little about him – but he is key to the Half-Life story.

From a technical standpoint, Aperture Science and the Combine go together like peas in a prisoner pod. There are some startling similarities between their weapons and equipment that may point to an unseen element of the story.

In 2012, Half-Life writer Marc Laidlaw began posting some strange things on Twitter under the name @BreenGrub.

It became apparent that he was giving us something. A brief history lesson involving Vortigaunts and the ‘Shu’ulathoi’ – the Advisor race of the Universal Union, through the mind of Dr. Breen, now transferred to a young Combine Advisor body.

If you have been following Valve employee Marc Laidlaw on Twitter, you might have noticed that his account recently disappeared.

Like any story with its depth and complexity, the Half-Life series leaves a lot to the imagination. In fact, considering the latest installment’s cliffhanger, it leaves more to the imagination than anyone wants.