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Half-Life
Named Game of the Year by over 50 publications, Valve's debut title blends action and adventure with award-winning technology to create a frighteningly realistic world where players must think to survive. Also includes an exciting multiplayer mode that allows you to play against friends and enemies
What players say
Steam review score and the most-helpful voices, which may include critical ones. Data as of 2026-05-20.
What reviewers agree on
90 of the 104 reviews raise this.
“While some levels were pretty fun, most hasn't aged that well Its a linear sequence of things happening, and those things were very impressive back in the day, but now its just a high effort walking sim Its certainly…”
“I played Half life in 2026 and I can say that it is quite enjoyable to play. It is really great that even though the game was released a long time ago, Valve is celebrating its creation and providing players with free…”
“A revolutionary game. Half-Life is probably one of the most influential games of all time. It paved the way for the FPS genre and also brought immersion on a new level. And considering all this, the game was released in…”
20 of the 104 reviews raise this.
“Game is fun for some goofy moments and some strange interactions and even as a gaming culture piece, but it does not really hold up. Good things first, it's got some super unique level design and some moments where…”
“It's a legendary game, and it's not even boring, both in the online mode and in the story. Even after all these years, it's still enjoyable to play, especially the shooting (I don't know, but it's very satisfying).…”
“An absolute classic. A timeless gem. A masterpiece in enviromental storytelling and level design. The Xen section at the end of the game does hold it back from being a 10/10 experience, but apart from that, it is just…”
10 of the 104 reviews raise this.
“[h1] A great work of art [/h1] It is impossible to describe in words how much Half-Life has contributed to the game industry and how many developers it has inspired to create their own games. This is a true masterpiece…”
“Save your progress often (and at safe locations). I learned that the hard way. This is really my first PC game to play all the way through. I'm catching up on the franchise just so I can fully enjoy Half Life Alyx. I…”
“for a game that started a large gaming standard it makes like of sense unless like of games today i had to use my brain and even though the puzzles were confusing at first i was not even mad at how they were shown to…”
7 of the 104 reviews raise this.
“Masterpiece of a game. So glad I finally played it. Tricky puzzles and platforming, intelligent ai and enemies, great and addicting gunplay with satisfying sounds and animation. Great ambience and soundtrack. Stellar…”
“Amazing game, but I don't like the tentactle boss fight. I can tell this game is absolutely generational. Very good at making you feel like you're going to get killed the first playthrough!”
“for a game that started a large gaming standard it makes like of sense unless like of games today i had to use my brain and even though the puzzles were confusing at first i was not even mad at how they were shown to…”
6 of the 104 reviews raise this.
“Runs phenomenally on steam deck, great game and great first person shooter”
“---{ Graphics }--- ☐ You forget what reality is ☐ Beautiful ☐ Good ☐ Decent ☐ Bad ☐ Don‘t look too long at it ☑ MS-DOS ---{ Gameplay }--- ☑ Very good ☐ Good ☐ It's just gameplay ☐ Mehh ☐ Watch paint dry instead ☐ Just…”
“A classic PC game that everyone should play at least once. It has everything I have and will ever love about videogames. 25th anniversary update makes it run better than ever on modern PCs and has extra stuff like the…”
17 of the 104 reviews raise this · 15 of them still recommend the game.
“With all the love I have for the series... Half-life 1 can be a very frustrating experience! It badly shows its age, some parts of the game are really janky, or as I said, frustrating to go through. If you never played…”
“Far from a faultless game but from the time it was made a damn fine one, hard to put down from start to finish. Certain area's feel a little cruel but far from ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ (especially so with the save/load mechanic being…”
“Its such a good FPS game in my opinion and the story im a huge Fan of. Sadly i didnt get to finish it because the game was too Complicated and i got Disorientated easily. Overall 9/10”
16 of the 104 reviews raise this · 12 of them still recommend the game.
“While some levels were pretty fun, most hasn't aged that well Its a linear sequence of things happening, and those things were very impressive back in the day, but now its just a high effort walking sim Its certainly…”
“With all the love I have for the series... Half-life 1 can be a very frustrating experience! It badly shows its age, some parts of the game are really janky, or as I said, frustrating to go through. If you never played…”
“Game is fun for some goofy moments and some strange interactions and even as a gaming culture piece, but it does not really hold up. Good things first, it's got some super unique level design and some moments where…”
8 of the 104 reviews raise this · 8 of them still recommend the game.
“---{ Graphics }--- ☐ You forget what reality is ☐ Beautiful ☐ Good ☐ Decent ☐ Bad ☐ Don‘t look too long at it ☑ MS-DOS ---{ Gameplay }--- ☑ Very good ☐ Good ☐ It's just gameplay ☐ Mehh ☐ Watch paint dry instead ☐ Just…”
“It was fun, even for a 28 year old game. Graphics are obviously dated, but it's not bad at all.”
“This game is good as long as you can get past the graphics which are not even bad.”
6 of the 104 reviews raise this · 6 of them still recommend the game.
“Loved every bit about the game. The only thing that was cheeks was the final boss and a couple of bugs here and there.”
“It is a pretty good game, all things considered but i've been encountering alot of bugs, namely one ive been encountering is that all of my keybinds just disappear when i load up ANY save. and sometimes the game will…”
“If you can get past the jank, which is def there and has been there since the beginning, it's pretty much the best at what it does. An experience every PC gamer should have.”
4 of the 104 reviews raise this · 4 of them still recommend the game.
“I played this a lot when it was new and it is just like I remember. Very immersive and quite a challenge, sometimes to the point of frustration. I keep playing though and try not to use the cheat book I still have. I…”
“Save your progress often (and at safe locations). I learned that the hard way. This is really my first PC game to play all the way through. I'm catching up on the franchise just so I can fully enjoy Half Life Alyx. I…”
“Confusing at times but a great story regardless, consider playing black mesa instead if you want it to be more modern in terms of progression.”
Counted across 104 English reviews, sampled to match this game's 96.5% positive rating · as of 2026-05-20
“Honestly the best game since ever. Who needs modern Graphics Anyways?”
— a player, Steam review · 301 hrs played“so.. My uncle had an affair with a waitress in our town, it went of for 7 months before word got out. my mom (his sister) saw the waitress and fainted. the waitress was the child she gave up for adoption💀 oh yea half life the game is good play it.”
— a player, Steam review · 10 hrs played“This game came out in 1998? WOW. Some games were infinitely better back then. Half-Life scales its skill level and enemy power levels very nicely. Whenever it introduces a new item or enemy, you need to figure out on your own how to use that item or the right tactic to defeat…”
— a player, Steam review · 41 hrs playedPlayer activity
Monthly average concurrent players. Live count fetched 2026-07-11 11:12 UTC · history via SteamCharts.
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 (2026-07-24). Relative comparison only.
Games like Half-Life
From our knowledge graph — ranked by shared traits, not a black box. Each card says why it's here.
Half-Life: Opposing Force
95.2% · 15,096 reviews
shares Silent Protagonist, Moddable, Classic, Aliens
Half-Life: Blue Shift
92.4% · 11,274 reviews
shares Silent Protagonist, Moddable, Classic, Aliens
Half-Life 2
97.4% · 120,362 reviews
shares Silent Protagonist, Moddable, Classic, Aliens
Final DOOM
84.4% · 821 reviews
shares Moddable, Classic, 1990s, Gore
Quake 4
85.1% · 2,070 reviews
shares Moddable, Classic, Aliens, Gore
Half-Life 2: Episode One
95.1% · 14,693 reviews
shares Silent Protagonist, Moddable, Classic, Aliens
Half-Life 2: Lost Coast
89.7% · 6,962 reviews
shares Silent Protagonist, Classic, Aliens, FPS
Half-Life 2: Episode Two
96.8% · 20,061 reviews
shares Silent Protagonist, Classic, Aliens, FPS
Screenshots
Official Steam store screenshots — click any shot to enlarge.
Facts & details
From the Steam store record, snapshot 2026-05-20.
| Genres | Action |
| Player tags | FPS · Classic · 1990's · Singleplayer · Sci-fi · Multiplayer · Shooter · Action · First-Person · Aliens · Story Rich · Silent Protagonist (SteamSpy community voting) |
| Features | Single-player · Multi-player · PvP · Online PvP · Full controller support · Color Alternatives · Custom Volume Controls · Adjustable Difficulty |
| Languages | English * , French * , German * , Italian * , Spanish - Spain * , Simplified Chinese * , Traditional Chinese * , Korean * * |
| Controller | Full support |
| Estimated owners | 10,000,000 – 20,000,000 (SteamSpy) |
| Official site | http://www.half-life.com/ |
Minimum system requirements (PC)
Minimum: 500 mhz processor, 96mb ram, 16mb video card, Windows XP, Mouse, Keyboard, Internet Connection Recommended: 800 mhz processor, 128mb ram, 32mb+ video card, Windows XP, Mouse, Keyboard, Internet Connection