Snowdrop Escape mod for Half-Life 2: Episode Two

As you may know, ModDB is an excellent site for modders. Every year, the site hosts a competition where users vote for the mod which they consider the most outstanding.

You can vote for Swelter, but we'd also like to recommend a few Source mods we find deserving. Interestingly, ModDB allows you to nominate mods from any year. However, we will limit our recommendations to those released in 2023, including media, early access, and project updates.

Evacuation

Store.steampowered.com
Moddb.com

A full release featuring a short story mod with nice forest-themed visuals, dynamic gameplay, good music, and original content.

Portal: Crumbs Of Truth

Moddb.com

It features puzzles that are not overly complex, but rather concise. It has a decent balance of difficulty, and the playtime is reasonable. The level design is quite good, with a significant plus for Portal mods: the opportunity for the player to explore the backstage.
During the modding process for Portal 2, and through analyzing the game's universe, its future possibilities, and the core philosophy of its world, our affection for the second part gradually diminished. This experience also simultaneously reinforced our love for the original Portal. This shift in preference wasn't unique to just one member of the SDE Dev Team. Therefore, with much curiosity and hope, we are keenly focused on projects dedicated to the classic Portal from the Orange Box.

Amalgam

Store.steampowered.com
Moddb.com

This mod, which initially released a couple of years ago, has recently received a substantial and expansive update this year — almost like a second release. The mod has indeed improved, becoming more diverse and polished. So, if you've played it before, a replay will still be engaging.

Entropy : Zero - Uprising

Moddb.com

Although the mod was released in early access (only the first chapter is available), it can be seen as a complete product: the scope and quality of production of this first episode alone surpasses many projects.
The gameplay of the mod is interesting; the author has attempted to diversify the shooter with various activities such as transportation sections, puzzles, and exploration segments. We are waiting for the next chapter with anticipation! Script-wise and narratively Uprising is more satisfying than EZ2: the story is more serious and mature, there are more living characters, and the artistic component actively relies on real architectural forms instead of abstract corridors. EZ-Uprising episode 2 seems more promising than EZ3 at the moment.

Portal: Ambition

Moddb.com

The demo consists of six maps dedicated to the test chambers. The visual quality is comparable to the original game, and the puzzles are especially interesting due to geometrically unusual room designs.

Dark Interval

Moddb.com

The mod stands out from other projects dedicated to pre-release concepts of Half-Life 2. This project can be perceived as a special, an author/director's version of HL: instead of mindlessly following the concepts from Raising the Bar pages, much attention is paid to the development of in-game philosophy and world rules, without strict and unnecessary attachments to the subjective and ephemeral, supposedly existing canon. Rather than "restoring" the beta, as many projects do, DI exactly evolves the beta's ideas.
Painstaking work with the HL2 universe, great artwork and non-corridor level design, excellent work with many new assets.

Urban Chaos

Moddb.com

The Half-Life community has seen many attempts to continue the fate of Adrian Shepard or involve him in a side story. Almost all of these projects failed to reach even an average level of quality. Urban Chaos was a pleasant exception, marking a significant breakthrough in quality compared to other Opposing Force sequel projects. This result is expected: the current team has all the necessary knowledge and skills, and the key members of the team are invested in a promising masterpiece with sincere inspiration and enviable dedication.

Blasted Lands 2

Moddb.com

This is the sequel to an intriguing modification that was released about two years ago. Noteworthy features include well-staged scenes, gloomy locations, and engaging gameplay. So far, not much media has been published to ascertain the development status, but the author has proven himself with the first part, so we wish further success in the development of the project and wait for the next release with hope.

It should be emphasized that this selection is not the position of the entire team, it is primarily a personal recommendation of the SDE Dev Team leader - MyCbEH (Musien).