From now through the weekend (until November 18th at 10am Pacific) Half-Life 2 is free to own, so if you've never played before, grab it now and keep it forever.
- HALF-LIFE sends a shock through the game industry with its combination of pounding action and continuous, immersive storytelling. Valve's debut title wins more than 50 game-of-the-year awards on its way to being named "Best PC Game Ever" by PC Gamer, and launches a franchise with more than eight million retail units sold…
Still one of the greatest ever
Not as good as Half Life 3
Heard of, but haven't played Alyx yet, is it any good?
Yeah it's insane
@maxryan: Never played that, but all I can say was when I was playing Alyx i was genuinely gobsmacked for the first time in many years. Every level is a completely different theme or environment and it has the smooth flowing story of all the previous games, but this time you're IN the game and it doesn't look the kind of jerky glitchy HL2 graphics from 2005.
I since sold my VR headset as no other game can or will ever compare so there's literally no point even trying any other game after that life changer.
I didn't want to shell out on VR gear so played a novr mod of it. It was awesome fun still, but missing that immersive element of actual interactive VR. One day I'd like to get into it with a headset. For heaven's sake, even friendlyjordies has played it in VR!
you've only lived half a life
Presuming you aren't being sarcastic, you must be young…
A bit of gaming history - we probably owe everything about modern FPS games with story-telling narrative, plus the birth of the "Steam" platform itself (rather than buying games on disc) to the legacy of this significant family of games… !
If you are interested, you can read this article "How Half Life Changed the Gaming World"
https://www.projectreylo.com/post/how-half-life-changed-the-….
sweet dont know why i never bought it for a few dollars, played a friends account years back
This must mean half life 3 getting released just in time for Christmas
That’s when I would know I must have died in my sleep
A man can dream
…or die happy
No, today is the 20th anniversary for half life 2
This move is definitely half life 3 confirmed.
'Just add and forget'? Sacrilege!
You don't forget the classics
Got HL1 for free last year. Have to get around to actually playing them, I loved Portal…
With all due respect, you do not just add and forget Half Life 2.
The disrespect is all by OP
OP said grab it and keep it forever. Not forget! Or is it edited?
Sick, I didn't know that existed!
Wow. That took 5 seconds.
Anyone know how I could VR mod this and play it through a Quest 3s? Too ambitious?
I played it in VR on my Oculus Developer Kit 1 in 2012 so I know there's some type of mod somewhere
There’s a full VR mod for this in the Steam Workshop
I actually reckon it’s even better than Alyx
Thanks OP.
This is because I bought the Half-Life series when I bought a Steam Deck and still never played it, isn't it?
I've started HL1 so many times but never got too far, even had the PS2 version at one point, had the DC version in all my emulators for years, then some of my Game Boys started to get PortMaster and I put the real thing on there, then I got a SD and finally could play actual proper PC Half-Life with zero compromizes. Still haven't touched it. Some day I'd like to. :'( Woe is me.
yeah back in the day everyone pretty much smashed thru it on pc
if it was a book you'd say you couldnt put it down
Check out black mesa, it's a rebuild of half life one but with a lot of QOL improvements
I saw it was on sale the other day for a few bucks (wasn't included in my big bundle), is that the way to play? I thought Source would be most accurate but modern, but if BM is perfectly fine as a jump in point I'd probs pick that
Linux version has issues on Steam Deck, need to force the Windows version.
For authentic the Source versions the way to go. Pretty much the original with nicer water etc.
Black Mesa modernises the game but changes things up along the way, including the final 1/3 being drastically overhauled I believe.
Both are probably fine to go with, depending what you want to experience.
If you enjoy the game, then the Opposing Force expansion from memory was worth a go.
you've got to watch Freeman's Mind! changed my perception of HL 1 and 2 forever 😂
Counter-Strike Source is also 20 years old this month - I wonder why no big sale on it, would buy it again for the nostalgia to play once or twice, but it's not even reduced
One of the greatest series of games of all time! Thanks OP!
They're waiting for you Gordon….. In the testchambeR
Back in the day, I bought the orange box, best collection of games ever. Nothing since came even close to the value from those few games. If you haven't played HL2 yet this is a must
Man, what a time it was to be alive. A time when games were made for gamers and not to promote bs woke agendas for cookie points with some loud minorities.
If you think inclusion is just about cookie points then you deserve to diane in your boomer old age
I have the orange box on PS3 in a box in the shed… But having HL2 on my PC is always handy if I get bored much like LFD2
🥲
Half life 2 the main reason to have steam back in the day. Good memories!
Anyone else spun out when they bought this at retail 20 years ago only to get a piece of paper with a code on it….
And then you had to install some crappy app, that you would probably never use again, just to download and play HL2.
Nah. I got the collectors edition that day plus I believe the Raising the Bar art book the same day. The art book was all the physical content I needed.
Haven’t needed it for years, but looking at the eBay listing for the collectors edition, it did include a disc still. I do vaguely recall getting a jewel DVD case and probably still have it around somewhere.
I do remember going home and setting up Steam but.
Yeah i remember a jewel dvd case in the box but no dvd just a code
I’ll have to check mine. Out of town but so can’t. This eBay listing has a DVD but.
Not that what is in that disc will be of any use now days.
Can’t remember what happened with my shirt either. Still have the box, but I assume I did wear the shirt to death and then chucked it.
HL3 confirmed
HL2's 20th anniversary… dear lord…
Remember how ground breaking the physics was when this came out? Good memories. Especially with Gmod
A full nvidia-sponsored, fan-made RTX Remaster is dropping soon : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FZ49Ou8zAE
Announced yesterday.
Wishlistable here : https://store.steampowered.com/app/2477290/HalfLife_2_RTX/
I think several fan groups amalgamated into this one project, so it looks real.
I've waited 20 years for this to become free, worth the wait suckers!
I feel sorry for the people that actually haven't played this.
When are they going to release Full Life?
Something's brewing at Valve, sequel to Alyx incoming..
Absolute classic. Reminds me of the days playing cs at the internet cafes.
Weird, after installing Half Life2 in steam, antivirus deleted a file in HalfLife2 bin folder marking as Trojan
Which antivirus? Most are more malware themselves than actually stopping any malware, these days.
I still remember the moment I booted up the game and entered City 17 for the first time. Life was so much simpler back then…
RTX says also free but not available yet?
Yeah comes out soon.
If it's like Portal RTX, it'll be free for anyone who owns the original version, so get that now.
"Another free Steam game for you. Just add and forget."
Not that it matters, but I guess this highlights how seriously people take posting on OzB. For this dude it was a race to post something he knows nothing about as quickly as possible.
What a game
![[PC, Steam] Free - Half-Life 2 @ Steam](https://files.ozbargain.com.au/n/96/877196.jpg?h=21875f02)
This game hits me right in the feels