Choose Half-Life
Choose Half-Life if you want the Multi-player, Online PvP, and PvP side of the pairing. 57,390 Steam reviews back the pick.
Half-Life vs Half-Life 2
Half-Life and Half-Life 2 both land in Action on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both are Action games on Steam. Half-Life (1998) is 6 years older than Half-Life 2 (2004). Both sit near 97% positive on Steam (Half-Life: 57,390 reviews, Half-Life 2: 88,441). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.
Which should you pick?
Choose Half-Life 2
Choose Half-Life 2 if you want the Includes Source SDK, Steam Timeline, and Subtitle Options side of the pairing. On Steam, it's the newer release (2004) and ships with the modern feature baseline. 88,441 Steam reviews back the pick.
Both Half-Life and Half-Life 2 sit in Action on Steam and both list Custom Volume Controls, Stereo Sound, and Playable without Timed Input, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Steam reviews are nearly tied (96.5% vs 97.4% positive), so genre fit is the cleanest tiebreaker — scroll the table for the feature-by-feature view.
Side-by-side comparison
 Half-Life |  Half-Life 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 1998 | 2004 |
| Genres | Action | Action |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows, Linux |
| Steam Deck | Deck Verified | Deck Verified |
| Price | 9.99 USD | 9.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 96.5% positive (57,390 reviews) | 97.4% positive (88,441 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Multi-player | Single-player only |
| Developers | Valve | Valve |
Side by side
- Both are Action games on Steam.
- Half-Life (1998) is 6 years older than Half-Life 2 (2004).
- Both sit near 97% positive on Steam (Half-Life: 57,390 reviews, Half-Life 2: 88,441).
- Half-Life 2 is currently ~0% cheaper on Steam than Half-Life (9.99 USD vs. 9.99 USD).
- Both are Deck Verified.
Half-Life vs Half-Life 2 — FAQ
- Which is better, Half-Life or Half-Life 2?
- On Steam reviews the two are nearly tied: Half-Life sits at 96.5% positive (57,390 reviews), Half-Life 2 at 97.4% (88,441). The choice usually comes down to genre fit and the platform features each one supports — see the comparison table above.
- Should I play Half-Life or Half-Life 2 first?
- If you want chronology, Half-Life (1998) came out before Half-Life 2 (2004). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.
- Are Half-Life and Half-Life 2 similar?
- They overlap on Action on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.
- Does Half-Life 2 have multiplayer like Half-Life?
- No. Half-Life supports multiplayer on Steam (Multi-player), while Half-Life 2 is listed as single-player only.
- Do Half-Life and Half-Life 2 both run on Steam Deck?
- Yes — both are Steam Deck Verified, meaning Valve confirms they run with full controller support, legible text, and default settings out of the box.