Action

Half-Life

Single PlayerMultiplayer

Critic · Metacritic

4.4

Users · RAWG

1998

Released

Platforms

🔗🛒▶

📅 Release Info

Release DateNovember 19, 1998

Developer

Publisher

🏷️ Game Details

Genres

ActionShooter

Playable on

PCPlayStationOther

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LinuxmacOSPCPlayStation 2Dreamcast

Screenshots & Videos

About this game

Half-Life is a 1998 first-person shooter (FPS) game developed by Valve Corporation and published by Sierra Studios for Windows. It was Valve's debut product and the first game in the Half-Life series. The player assumes the role of Gordon Freeman, a theoretical physicist who must escape from the Black Mesa Research Facility after it is overrun by aliens following a disastrous scientific experiment. Its gameplay consists of diverse combat, exploration and puzzles.

Pros & Cons

Pros

Story unfolds through gameplay, environments, and in-world events.
Oppressive science-fiction atmosphere builds escalating danger and tension.
Varied environments and changing challenges shape campaign pacing.
Cinematic set pieces feature disaster, military response, and alien incursions.
Influenced later story-driven and cinematic first-person shooters.

Cons

Xen section is weaker than the Black Mesa campaign sections.
Original visuals, interface, and presentation conventions are dated by modern standards.
Xen platforming uses imprecise jumps and awkward movement.

Pros & Cons are AI-assisted summaries, not our own playthrough reviews. Sources and how we make recommendations.

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