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Half-Life

Half-Life

Valve · released Nov 18, 1998

ActionPCPlayStation 2

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 around the world.

Steam page ↗Metacritic 96 · users 8.9 ↗
91
VGC Score
■Stablehigh confidence

anchored at patch: “Half-Life 25th Anniversary Update” (2y ago)

n/a
At launch
96%
Steam all-time
96%
Press
90%
Player sentiment
96%
Recent sentiment

Screenshots & trailers

What players say

Why the number is what it is: aspect mentions counted across 378 sampled Steam reviews (355 positive / 23 negative), recent and most-helpful. Plain keyword counting, fully reproducible; nothing here is written by a machine.

What positive reviews talk about

  • Story & writing14% mention it
  • Performance7% mention it
  • Visuals & art7% mention it
  • World & exploration6% mention it

What negative reviews complain about

  • Story & writing17% mention it
  • Controls & UI17% mention it
  • Bugs & crashes17% mention it
  • World & exploration13% mention it
  • Combat13% mention it

Satisfaction by hours played

Same score, different games: see how sentiment holds up the longer people play.

Under 5h

89%

76 reviews

5-15h

94%

164 reviews

15-40h

96%

112 reviews

40-100h

100%

21 reviews

Review sentiment over time

Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.

How this score was computed

The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.

ComponentPositiveQuality (0-100)Weight (pseudo-reviews)
Press reviews (Metacritic)–966
All-time Steam reviews96%921214
Metacritic user ratings–932
Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted)96%913000
Calibration prior (typical game)–7250

Scoring window: since the last significant patch (Nov 17, 2023) · 300 reviews sampled · 47362 total reviews in window · weighted 198.2 up / 7.5 down · computed 2h ago · full methodology →

Press & Creators reviews (24)

Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.

  • 96
    GamingExcellence
    trust 68–

    “Everything in this game is perfect, including the excellent characters and graphics, and the realistic sound effects. Half-Life is not a game, it is an adventure.”

    read full review ↗
  • 94
    GameSpotGameSpot
    trust 66–

    “The closest thing to a revolutionary step the genre has ever taken. Through a series of subtle and artistic design decisions, Half-Life creates a reality that is self-contained, believable, and thoroughly engaging.”

    read full review ↗
  • 100
    Adrenaline Vault
    trust 64–

    “If you want an incredible 3D experience that will cause you to lose sleep, meals, PTA meetings, and romantic rendezvous, this is the game.”

    read full review ↗
  • 94
    My Gamer
    trust 64–

    “The storyline runs in perfect harmony with the action and acts as a conduit not a stopgap, or a padding device. Each gaming element compliments the next and the entire presentation is nothing short of, well…dare we say it…revolutionary.”

    read full review ↗
  • 97
    PC GamerPC Gamer
    trust 64–

    “This is The Big One, and it's even better than we could've hoped. [Jan 1999, p.166]”

  • 100
    Hot Games
    trust 62–

    “The way scientists and guards talk to you and each other, the huge stages that you can make a little bit more progress in each time you play, the absolutely amazing animation...it all adds up to a totally immersive gaming experience that makes everything else look quite shoddy in comparison.”

    read full review ↗
  • 90
    Happy Puppy
    trust 62–

    “Realism aside, Half-Life provides some of the best unrealistic opponents seen to date as well. The creature design here is outstanding.”

    read full review ↗
  • 100
    Just Adventure
    trust 62–

    “It features a fully interactive environment that's a blast to play through. It's really like an interactive movie because it's so immersive. It's easily the most revolutionary shooter since "System Shock."”

    read full review ↗
  • 95
    IGNIGN
    trust 61–

    “It constantly presents you with variety, surprises, and new challenges to keep you hooked. It is a tour de force in game design, the definitive single player game in a first person shooter.”

    read full review ↗
  • 90
    GamerArchive
    trust 60–

    “Once you have dominated the death match realm, you can truly call yourself either an expert gamer, or an obsessive stinking nerd.”

    read full review ↗
  • 96
    PC Gameworld
    trust 60–

    “The best FPS ever created. Makes everything else pale in comparison. It's everything you always wanted in a FPS.”

    read full review ↗
  • 100
    CPUGamer
    trust 59–

    “Single player has a great story line with lots of twists and turns that keeps you interested.”

    read full review ↗

…and 12 more tracked reviews.

Patch history

  1. October 2, 2024 Update
    Oct 2, 2024
  2. December 22, 2023 Update
    Dec 22, 2023
  3. December 12, 2023 Update
    Dec 12, 2023
  4. December 1, 2023 Update
    Dec 1, 2023
  5. November 29, 2023 Update
    Nov 29, 2023
  6. November 22, 2023 Update
    Nov 22, 2023
  7. November 21, 2023 Update
    Nov 21, 2023
  8. November 19, 2023 Update
    Nov 19, 2023
  9. Half-Life 25th Anniversary Update
    Nov 17, 2023significant · resets scoring window
  10. Half-Life update released
    Aug 18, 2020
  11. Half-Life Update Released
    Oct 25, 2019
  12. Half-Life update released
    Oct 8, 2019significant · resets scoring window
  13. Half-Life updates released
    Apr 16, 2019significant · resets scoring window
  14. Half-Life update released
    Aug 21, 2018
  15. Half-Life update released
    Aug 1, 2017
  16. Half-Life update released
    Aug 1, 2017
  17. Half-Life update released
    Jul 10, 2017
  18. Half-Life update released
    Jul 10, 2017
  19. Half-Life 1 update released
    Sep 4, 2013
  20. Half-Life 1 update released
    Sep 4, 2013
  21. Half-Life 1 update released
    Sep 2, 2013
  22. Half-Life 1 update released
    Sep 2, 2013
  23. Half-Life 1 SDK update released
    Aug 30, 2013
  24. Half-Life 1 SDK update released
    Aug 30, 2013
  25. Half-Life 1 Beta updated
    Aug 29, 2013
  26. Half-Life 1 Beta updated
    Aug 29, 2013
  27. Half-Life 1 Beta updated
    Aug 8, 2013
  28. Half-Life 1 Beta updated
    Aug 8, 2013
  29. Half-Life 1 updated
    May 16, 2013
  30. Half-Life 1 updated
    May 16, 2013
  31. Half-Life 1 updated
    Feb 20, 2013significant · resets scoring window
  32. Half-Life 1 updated
    Feb 20, 2013significant · resets scoring window
  33. Half-Life 1 and Counter-Strike 1.6 BETA updated
    Feb 15, 2013
  34. Half-Life 1 and Counter-Strike 1.6 BETA updated
    Feb 15, 2013
  35. Half-Life 1 and Counter-Strike 1.6 BETA updated
    Feb 15, 2013
  36. Half-Life 1 and Counter-Strike 1.6 BETA updated
    Feb 15, 2013
  37. Half-Life 1 update released
    Feb 14, 2013
  38. Half-Life 1 update released
    Feb 14, 2013
  39. Half-Life 1 and Counter-Strike 1.6 BETA updated
    Feb 13, 2013
  40. Half-Life 1 and Counter-Strike 1.6 BETA updated
    Feb 13, 2013

…and 24 earlier patch announcements.