Half-Life games ranked, worst to best

The Half-Life video game series is among the most renowned gaming franchises of all time, mainly because it represented a transition into a new era for FPS (first-person shooters), but it also left a huge mark on science fiction due to its out-of-the-box thinking, which eventually led to other modern classics such as Portal. Getting into the series might seem dauting at first, but we’re here to make your journey easier with a list of all the Half-Life games ranked, worst to best.

Half-Life’s overarching storyline kicks off when alien lifeforms invade the Black Mesa Research Facility, which is located in the New Mexico desert, through a portal after an experiment goes wrong. It all leads eventually to a full-scale alien invasion of planet Earth and the formation of a human resistance movement. Players assume the role of theoretical physicist (turned action man) Gordon Freeman in the mainline games.

If you’re looking for more awesome sci-fi games, you might want to check out our list of the best space exploration games or maybe the all-spooky best space horror games list. On top of all this, we also have some suggestions about space games that should be movies or TV shows as well as upcoming space games to keep an eye on.

But if you want to find out what the fuss with Half-Life is all about, read on below. The Xen, the Combine, and the mysterious G-Man await…

9. Half-Life: Decay

• Platform: PS2
• Developer: Valve, Gearbox Software

Few people talk about Half-Life: Decay nowadays, and with good reason: it was a multiplayer-oriented expansion pack for the first game that released exclusively on PS2. Making it a PS2 exclusive was a massive mistake that greatly reduced its impact, given that the core Half-Life community was born (and flourished) on PC.

Decay is set in the same location as Half-Life and runs in parallel following doctors Colette Green and Gina Cross, who work with members of Black Mesa’s science team to contain and stabilize the situation. Sadly, this new POV wasn’t nearly as interesting as the other two expansion’s. Given the focus on co-op (though it can be played solo), there’s a heavier emphasis on puzzles, but they often bring the flow of the traditional Half-Life experience down.

8. Half-Life 2: Episode 1

• Platforms: PC, Xbox 360, PS3, MacOS, Linux, Android
• Developer: Valve

There’s nothing really wrong with Half-Life 2’s (HL2) first episodic release – Valve switched to this development model after HL2 to release games more frequently – but it mostly feels like a retread of its predecessor’s late-game beats. It doesn’t move the plot forward in a meaningful way over the four to six hours it takes to complete. At the end of the day, it felt like a filler chapter designed to take the tech further and little else.

The game’s biggest positive might be how it expanded on the character of Alyx Vance, Gordon Freeman’s trusted companion in HL2, and her AI. This gave HL2: Episode 1’s moment-to-moment gameplay a special, more cooperative (though single-player) flavor.

7. Half-Life: Blue Shift

• Platforms: PC, MacOS, Linux
• Developer: Valve, Gearbox Software

Blue Shift was the second expansion pack the original classic received. Like the other two, it returned to the setting and events of the base game, portraying the story through another character’s eyes. In this instance, players control security guard Barney Calhoun, a friend of Gordon’s who most players might remember from Half-Life 2.

This expansion’s biggest sin was to recycle much of the original game’s premise and structure. Though it lacks any substantial changes or additions, it was the first Half-Life title that featured consistent interactions with recurrent non-player characters and packed a number of much-welcomed graphical enhancements.

6. Half-Life: Opposing Force

• Platforms: PC, MacOS, Linux
• Developer: Valve, Gearbox Software

Opposing Force is undoubtedly the best out of Half-Life’s three expansion packs despite being Gearbox’s first collaboration with Valve. Bringing in talent from other areas of the video game industry for the project gave it a distinct flavor, and its core premise is a notable departure from the base game. Here the events are portrayed through the eyes of one of the U.S. marines sent to neutralize the Black Mesa Research Facility and contain the alien invasion.

Basically, players got to play as the enemy in this unexpected follow-up to Half-Life, and that was an exciting take on the formula even though it hadn’t changed much under the surface. While puzzles are part of the equation, Opposing Force emphasizes the high-octane action found in some sections of the original game. Moreover, the player character is often assisted by NPCs that don’t feel like a burden.

5. Half-Life: Alyx

• Platforms: PC, Linux
• Developer: Valve

After more than a decade of waiting for a continuation to HL2: Episode 2, fans received official confirmation of a new Half-Life game running on the Source 2 engine, though it wasn’t a sequel and ditched common hardware in favor of VR. While Half-Life: Alyx garnered lots of praise upon release, most fans haven’t been able to play it as the best VR headsets aren’t the most affordable (nor widely used) piece of tech around.

As the title suggests, Alyx follows Gordon’s companion five years before the events of Half-Life 2. This gave longtime fans a deeper insight into life in City 17, where the Combine government has implemented a brutal police state. It’s perhaps the most impressive VR game currently available, and it packs quite a few surprises, but it’s a shame more players can’t check it out.

4. Half-Life 2: Episode 2

• Platforms: PC, Xbox 360, PS3, MacOS, Linux, Android
• Developer: Valve

The second (and final) post-HL2 episode remains an impressive tech showcase and an exciting ride that more than makes up for Episode 1’s shortcomings. It also fixed some long-standing issues of the Half-Life formula, packing a more relentless pacing and wildly different sections that never overstay their welcome.

Perhaps its biggest failing is a deeply uninspired finale that feels like Valve rushing to the finish line as they run out of ideas to keep the gameplay fresh. And, of course, the criminal, unresolved cliffhanger inevitably leaves a sour taste in your mouth since the next chapter in Gordon Freeman’s story may never happen.

3. Half-Life

• Platforms: PC, MacOS, Linux, PS2
• Developer: Valve

The original Half-Life remains an impressive achievement and a major step forward for the FPS genre that shouldn’t be missed regardless of your level of interest in the series as a whole. The shooting is solid, the level design still works, and its way more immersive than any shooter that came before it. And, if you want to play a slightly upgraded version of the original experience, Half-Life: Source works wonderfully.

While HL1’s plot might seem simple at first, it packs quite a few surprises and planted the seeds for unique mysteries, some of which still haven’t been answered. Science fiction fanatics will have extra fun with it, as it borrows several elements from the best sci-fi movies as well as the best sci-fi books such as Stephen King’s The Mist.

2. Black Mesa

• Platforms: PC, Linux
• Developer: Crowbar Collective

While we heartily recommend playing through the original game, it’s hard to deny that mod-turned-full-game Black Mesa is the best version of Valve’s original masterpiece that you can find today. Developed by a team of modders who wanted a true remake of HL1, Black Mesa was approved by Valve for a commercial release after it made a splash in 2012 as a free mod which rebuilt the earlier sections of the game.

After facing major delays over the years, the final release (launched in March 2020) surpassed all expectations and crowned itself as the perfect modern remake of a defining FPS. It works on an improved version of the Source engine, packs many gameplay improvements over the original and its sequels, and, more importantly, heavily reworked the oft-criticized final chapters of the classic.

1. Half-Life 2

• Platforms: PC, Xbox, Xbox 360, PS3, MacOS, Linux, Android
• Developer: Valve

The second mainline Half-Life installment still is the zenith of the franchise. It kickstarted a second revolution in the FPS genre by doubling down on player agency and interactions with the game world beyond shooting at enemies and talking to NPCs. This led to more than a decade of community-driven modifications that found large amounts of success, with some of them eventually making the transition to full-fledged games.

The impact of HL2 and its ramifications can still be felt today in the gaming industry and community, and several multiplayer games born from it are very much active today – such as the two more “recent” Counter-Strike titles and the Left 4 Dead games.

As for the story and overall scale, everything was increased tenfold, and while the focus remained on Gordon Freeman’s struggles, there’s quite a lot of impressive, grounded world-building done in this entry.