Half-Life

Classic sci-fi first-person shooter mixing alien combat and environmental puzzles

Valve · Released Nov 19, 1998

Reviews: Overwhelmingly Positive; 96% of 164K
Recent reviews: Very Positive; 94% of 1,009 in 30 days
Players: 778; daily peak, Oct 26, 2026
Steam Deck: Verified
Last update on Steam: 2 years ago; Oct 2, 2024
Minimum PC: –; not published

What is Half-Life?

A science-fiction first-person shooter built around a story-driven single-player campaign, with online PvP multiplayer. You guide a silent protagonist through industrial environments, fighting aliens, exploring, and solving puzzles.

For you if...

+you want a story-driven science-fiction shooter
+you enjoy fast shooting and environmental puzzles
+you also want online player-versus-player matches

Not for you if...

−you dislike high difficulty and frequent deaths
−you want smooth modern movement and platforming
−you prefer clearly signposted puzzles and routes

What players say

96% of 164,248 reviews are positive · 94% of 1,009 in the last 30 days

Players praise the industrial atmosphere, world-building, fast shooting, and puzzle-focused level design. Common complaints include high difficulty, frequent deaths, unclear routes, slippery movement, awkward platforming, and heavy reliance on manual saves.

Screenshots and trailer

Half-Life system requirements

As published by the developer.

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

Does Half-Life have co-op or multiplayer?

Yes: PvP online. It also has a single-player mode.

Does Half-Life run on Steam Deck?

Verified Yes, Verified by Valve: it works on Steam Deck out of the box.

All functionality is accessible with the default controller configuration
Shows Steam Deck controller icons
In-game text is legible on Steam Deck
Default graphics settings perform well on Steam Deck
External controllers are not supported for the primary player

PC version details

DRM: None declared on Steam
Controller: Full controller support
Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux
Steam features: Cloud saves, Family Sharing
Languages: Full audio: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish - Spain, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean.