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Half-Life 2
Reawakened from stasis in the occupied metropolis of City 17, Gordon Freeman is joined by Alyx Vance as he leads a desperate human resistance. Experience the landmark first-person shooter packed with immersive world-building, boundary-pushing physics, and exhilarating combat.
In short, Steam reviewers most often praise “fun physics-driven shooter gameplay” (74 of 102 reviews) and “immersive storytelling and memorable characters” (36); the most common complaint is “dated, repetitive, or clunky gameplay” (6). What reviewers agree on ↓
View on Steam ↗ $9.99 (US · as of 2026-10-24)What players say
Steam review score and the most-helpful voices, which may include critical ones. Score via Steam as of 2026-10-15 · quoted reviews as of 2026-05-09.
What reviewers agree on
74 of the 102 reviews raise this.
“Too long didn't read Get this on sale it's amazing I haven't liked the game this much since Halo Reach I know a lot of people like to glaze old the games I mean This game is not overhyped it's just how good it is It's…”
“I really like action and shooting games. It has all of them, I recommend it.”
“I beat the game for the first time ever recently with a friend. It frustrated me to some extent, and had uneven difficulty scaling. A lot of chapters just kind of give you a new gimmick but a lot of them don't culminate…”
36 of the 102 reviews raise this.
“Half-Life 2 is the most important shooter game ever made, next to the original Half-Life. It changed the industry forever, and still holds up as an incredible game. Overall, while graphically and story wise better than…”
“This is by far one of the best FPS games I've ever played. From the soundtrack, lore, animation, timeless visuals, and amazing voice acting Half Life 2 is what I'd consider one of my favorite games. I honestly wasn't…”
“I beat the game for the first time ever recently with a friend. It frustrated me to some extent, and had uneven difficulty scaling. A lot of chapters just kind of give you a new gimmick but a lot of them don't culminate…”
26 of the 102 reviews raise this.
“Half-Life 2 is the most important shooter game ever made, next to the original Half-Life. It changed the industry forever, and still holds up as an incredible game. Overall, while graphically and story wise better than…”
“This is by far one of the best FPS games I've ever played. From the soundtrack, lore, animation, timeless visuals, and amazing voice acting Half Life 2 is what I'd consider one of my favorite games. I honestly wasn't…”
“One of the greatest games in history, truly, the best there ever is and if you play this in 2026 and think everything looks so good, remember it was released in 2004! This game CHANGED everything, can't wait for…”
11 of the 102 reviews raise this.
“Well, of course I'll recommend this classic. I played it many times growing up and now came back to it after at least 10-11 years as a part of me starting to play some games again. It's a masterpiece for its time and…”
“This is by far one of the best FPS games I've ever played. From the soundtrack, lore, animation, timeless visuals, and amazing voice acting Half Life 2 is what I'd consider one of my favorite games. I honestly wasn't…”
“Very good game along with the episodes,a lot of lore wrapping around it,both about the game itself and how the devs worked on it,cut content,some disturbing stuff,etc. great soundracks also,memorable characters,a lot of…”
11 of the 102 reviews raise this.
“Well, of course I'll recommend this classic. I played it many times growing up and now came back to it after at least 10-11 years as a part of me starting to play some games again. It's a masterpiece for its time and…”
“Very good game along with the episodes,a lot of lore wrapping around it,both about the game itself and how the devs worked on it,cut content,some disturbing stuff,etc. great soundracks also,memorable characters,a lot of…”
“Half-Life 2 has raised generations, and it is the ultimate game, even today. The story, lore, and everything is just SO good it's hard to describe. Trust me, it lives up, even to 2026. Plus, if you get bored, you can…”
6 of the 102 reviews raise this · 5 of them still recommend the game.
“Half-Life 2 is the most important shooter game ever made, next to the original Half-Life. It changed the industry forever, and still holds up as an incredible game. Overall, while graphically and story wise better than…”
“Well, of course I'll recommend this classic. I played it many times growing up and now came back to it after at least 10-11 years as a part of me starting to play some games again. It's a masterpiece for its time and…”
“It's a highly overrated game. It is fun for like the first couple of lvls but then it gets boring fast and has only minimal moments where I could say ''wow, they really cared about this one''. I could only recommend…”
6 of the 102 reviews raise this · 5 of them still recommend the game.
“Solid game. The gameplay and mechanics still holds up to this day. Using objects in the environment to clear puzzles is what I liked the most. Had some trouble while between weapons but that just a minor nitpick.”
“how can they do half life 3. half life 2, has done every possible gameplay idea they can do for first person shooters and done it well, and half life episode 2 flat out expanded a ton on what half life 2 has done. if we…”
“Damn, this game rips. After beating the game, I was left in awe at how cool the setting was and how it fits the atmosphere of the game really well! Although the combat can feel clunky at times and the puzzles just feel…”
4 of the 102 reviews raise this · 3 of them still recommend the game.
“Well, of course I'll recommend this classic. I played it many times growing up and now came back to it after at least 10-11 years as a part of me starting to play some games again. It's a masterpiece for its time and…”
“Classic. It certainly showing it's age in terms of graphics, but the game play and plot are still compelling and fun.”
“I am playing this game for the first time in 2026 and I am amazed. The graphics and gun play show aging but the story is fun and immersive. You want to keep playing it and seeing this world. The camera on the airship…”
4 of the 102 reviews raise this · 4 of them still recommend the game.
“great game , just wish the continuation was faster than it has been, whats it been 20 plus years for part 3? .. i dont include alex since i dont use VR. anyways one of the best games of all time”
“its a good game but with a catch, after finishing it you WILL want a third chapter. The unfortunate news is that there isnt and never will be a third chapter.”
“One of the greatest games ever made. This is by far my favorite game that valve has made. The graphics are incredible for the time and still hold up today. City 17 felt like a real place with all the subtle details…”
3 of the 102 reviews raise this · 2 of them still recommend the game.
“I beat the game for the first time ever recently with a friend. It frustrated me to some extent, and had uneven difficulty scaling. A lot of chapters just kind of give you a new gimmick but a lot of them don't culminate…”
“Interesting but difficult game, would easily recommend for all players”
Counted across 102 English reviews, sampled to match this game's 97.6% positive rating · as of 2026-05-09
“ACTUALLY, one of the greatest games ive ever played, probably ever made. im shocked I hadn't played it sooner. this game has one of the greatest stories ive ever seen in media, so much so, it needs a movie, a book, a show, and its own town named after it. if you do not like…”
— a player, Steam review · 38 hrs played“Loved It. Classic, and very fun. Cant wait for Half Life 3!”
— a player, Steam review · 28 hrs played“Very realistic, the moment i met authorities i got my soul beaten out of me”
— a player, Steam review · 1 hrs playedPlayer activity
Monthly average concurrent players. Live data self-collected from the Steam API · history through 2026-06 via SteamCharts.
Achievement stats
Global completion rates across all Steam players — a data view of how far people actually get. Source: Steam official stats · as of 2026-10-20.
Price tracking
US-region pricing (USD), sampled twice daily by our own tracker since 2026-07-11. Steam prices vary by region — always confirm your local price on Steam.
Regional prices at last sample, in local currency — Steam sets each region's price independently.
Cheapest → most expensive, converted to USD at ECB reference rates (2026-10-23). Relative comparison only.
Games like Half-Life 2
From our knowledge graph — ranked by shared traits, not a black box. Each card says why it's here.
Half-Life 2: Episode One
95.1% · 14,693 reviews
shares Silent Protagonist, Moddable, Dystopian, Classic
Half-Life 2: Episode Two
96.8% · 20,061 reviews
shares Silent Protagonist, Dystopian, Classic, Aliens
Half-Life: Blue Shift
92.4% · 11,274 reviews
shares Silent Protagonist, Moddable, Classic, Aliens
Half-Life: Opposing Force
95.2% · 15,096 reviews
shares Silent Protagonist, Moddable, Classic, Aliens
Half-Life 2: Lost Coast
89.7% · 6,962 reviews
shares Silent Protagonist, Dystopian, Classic, Aliens
Black Mesa
94.9% · 74,744 reviews
shares Classic, Aliens, Zombies, Great Soundtrack
Half-Life
96.5% · 77,975 reviews
shares Silent Protagonist, Moddable, Classic, Aliens
Crysis
78.6% · 5,839 reviews
shares Moddable, Classic, Aliens, Great Soundtrack
Screenshots
Official Steam store screenshots — click any shot to enlarge.
Facts & details
From the Steam store record, snapshot 2026-05-09.
| Genres | Action |
| Player tags | FPS · Action · Sci-fi · Classic · Singleplayer · Story Rich · Shooter · First-Person · Adventure · Dystopian · Atmospheric · Zombies (SteamSpy community voting) |
| Features | Single-player · Steam Achievements · Full controller support · Steam Trading Cards · Captions available · Steam Workshop · Camera Comfort · Custom Volume Controls |
| Languages | English * , French * , German * , Italian * , Korean * , Spanish - Spain * , Russian * , Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Dutch, Danish, Finnish, Japanese, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese - Portugal, Swedish, Thai,… |
| Controller | Full support |
| Achievements | 69 |
| Official site | http://www.half-life.com/halflife2 |
Minimum system requirements (PC)
Minimum: OS *: Windows 7, Vista, XP Processor: 1.7 Ghz Memory: 512 MB RAM Graphics: DirectX 8.1 level Graphics Card (requires support for SSE) Storage: 6500 MB available space