Between now and the release of Half-Life: Alyx, all Half-Life games are free to play on Steam. This provides fans of the upcoming game a chance to catch up on the story ahead of Alyx’s arrival. Given the number of years since the last game’s release, this may be a good idea.
The caveat is that players do not get to keep the games, but they are unlimited in the number of hours you can play for the next couple of months. Players can journey through Half-Life: Source, Blue Shift, and Opposing Force as well as Half-Life 2 and its two additional episodes.
Half-Life: Source
Winner of over 50 Game of the Year awards, Half-Life set new standards for action games when it was released in 1998. Half-Life: Source is a digitally remastered version of the critically acclaimed and best selling PC game, enhanced via Source technology to include physics simulation, enhanced effects, and more.
Half-Life: Blue Shift
Made by Gearbox Software and originally released in 2001 as an add-on to Half-Life, Blue Shift is a return to the Black Mesa Research Facility in which you play as Barney Calhoun, the security guard sidekick who helped Gordon out of so many sticky situations.
Half-Life: Opposing Force
Return to the Black Mesa Research Facility as one of the military specialists assigned to eliminate Gordon Freeman. Experience an entirely new episode of single player action. Meet fierce alien opponents, and experiment with new weaponry. Named ‘Game of the Year’ by the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences.
Half-Life 2
By taking the suspense, challenge and visceral charge of the original, and adding startling new realism and responsiveness, Half-Life 2 opens the door to a world where the player’s presence affects everything around him, from the physical environment to the behaviors even the emotions of both friends and enemies.
Episode 1
Episode One is the first in a series of games that reveal the aftermath of Half-Life 2 and launch a journey beyond City 17. Also features two multiplayer games. Half-Life 2 not required.
Episode 2
As Dr. Gordon Freeman, you were last seen exiting City 17 with Alyx Vance as the Citadel erupted amidst a storm of unknown proportions. In Episode Two, you must battle and race against Combine forces as you traverse the White Forest to deliver a crucial information packet stolen from the Citadel to an enclave of fellow resistance scientists.
Learn more about all of the Half-Life games by visiting Steam.