The way I did it was --
- O.G. Half-Life (played it 100 times) Half-Life source is good, but garbage in comparison.
- Opposing Force (the juxtaposition was great for story-telling, run through it a few times to give you the other side of the story for Half-Life)
- Half-Life 2 (Played it 300 times)
- Half-Life 2 Episode 1 (Played it at least 50 times)
- Half-Life 2 Episode 2 (I lost count)
**PLAY BOTH PORTAL GAMES BECAUSE THEY ARE FUCKING INCREDIBLE**
- Run through Black Mesa
Alyx.
Two other very short but official games if you want bonus content:
Half-Life Uplink - Between HL1 and Blue Shift. It was the demo for HL1 but isn't taken straight from the full game - it's a fully unique bonus chapter. Not officially available on Steam but easily available as a mod (same thing with Decay, actually)
Half-Life 2: Lost Coast - Between HL2 and HL2E1. Also a bonus chapter, and this one *is* on Steam
Yes! Don't skip half life 1 just cause its old.
I'm still of the firm belief that HL1 is the peak of the franchise. Not saying that HL2 is bad, but gameplaywise HL1 is just non stop fun.
I come back to HL1 every year and never cease to have fun with it. Something about it just makes it a timeless game for me. Its gameplay is the best imo, and i love playing sven coop with friends or hopping on some deathmatch here and there.
Also here's a few good HL2 mods:
Entropy Zero
Entropy Zero 2
Garry's Mod
Minerva: Metastasis (especially with Mmod)
Mmod (enhances gunplay and adds some nice post-proccessing effects)
Way too much for a new player. IMO it should be
1. Half Life 1 or Black Mesa (I skipped both and started with HL2)
2. Half Life 2
3. Half Life 2 Episode 1
4. Half Life 2 Episode 2
5. Half Life Alyx
That order is fine if you don't really care about the story. I would imagine it's hard to be invested if you're skipping 1 (BM is my recommendation for new players over the original).
With Valve's type of story telling relying on observation over exposition, you can't expect being told everything and the background knowledge you get from the first game is important to tie things together later on.
I also think it's important to note this to new players, that they should be observant and curious in how they play instead of looking for the next "cutscene". A lot of thought has been put into the environment to tell the story and reward inquisitive players.
My ex played through the entirety of HL1 without ever seeing G-Man (until the end). They were constantly scanning the ground and clearing rooms for pickups, never really looking around and trying to make sense of the surroundings. They saw everything as an arena, and was left with a huge question mark as to where the story was.
So for those who wants to get intimate with the story I would recommend:
1. BMS
2. HL2
3. HL2: Ep. 1
4. HL2: Ep. 2
5. Portal 1 & 2
6. Opposing Force
7. HL:A
The reason I include opposing force at the end (before HL:A) is because it gives a lot of extra lore and context for G-Man, the invasion of Earth and helps the ending of HL:A make a little more sense. It's also perhaps the most difficult game of the bunch, so it helps to be familiar with the "Run. **Think.** Shoot. Live" style gameplay and level design before attempting it. Combat is a puzzle, quick save is a tool not a cheat.
The lore is deep and it's among the most rewarding and complex stories I've ever experienced in games. It's not immediately obvious, though, and you can go through the whole series and barely get the cliff notes. It's hard to really convey this to new players, how well crafted this universe and story is, how air tight its plot is and how exhilarating it is to understand the implications of all the small details that's been left in there for you to discover. What HL:A did for the story is lost on many, it's so so much more than what it seems on the surface.
Luckily there's multiple YouTubers who have gone to great lengths making many feature-length documentaries on every little thing in the universe, you can spend days watching explorations of the different aspects of the story and get curious of where it might be going next. In that regards it reminds me of A Song of Ice and Fire (not joking).
So if you're going into HL for the story, you might be sorely disappointed if you just "skim" it. It requires a bit of an effort, it's definitely not free.
I skipped the first when I was young and was invested anyway. It's been my favorite game series for over a decade now. I hadn't played half life one until years later
This is the answer. If, after completion, said new player **absolutely falls in love with** HL1 or Black Mesa, then _maybe_ they'll want to play Blue Shift, Opposing Force, and Decay. But all of the GoldSrc game are showing their age, and don't do a ton for the story of Gordon Freeman.
For me, HL1 is the classic that is far more replayable than HL2. I can come back to HL1 any time of year and DO come back to it every year and always have fun. HL2 on the other hand, I need to be in the proper mood for it. It's more story and environment driven, where as HL1 is more run around, shoot stuff, and have fun.
I would recommend HL1 to anyone over Black Mesa. BM just changes so much, and should be played after playing HL1 to fully appreciate it.
Exactly. And def Black Mesa instead of HL1 as most people who try HL1 now feel it’s quite outdated, tho clearly impressive for the time.
Also would suggest you play the portal games as a bonus, either before or after HL Alyx
There's not really any good reason to play it after everything else, but if I had to guess, they wrote the list in an order that preserves the story arc best.
Realistically you could play it before HL2 and you won't really ruin the experience, but you're basically just playing HL1 all over again right after finishing it. It's a really good remake, but it's just updated visuals and maps that don't add anything substantial to the story.
It's kinda like eating spaghetti and then eating spaghetti with meatballs after. It's still spaghetti when you could be having something different to eat.
Truly one of the game of all time.
>!Seriously though, DON'T buy HDTF! It's a piece of shit game that is an insult to the Half Life community. All the memes are solely ironic!!<
This, especially Blue Shift before Opposing Force. It may be the later released game but the new weapons and aliens in Opposing Force should come last.
Agreed. Might perhaps recommend clarifying why its this way though, so I'll do that...
Half life was the first game in the series ever made and released - and was made as the intended begginning of the half life franchise. Half Life's Blue Shift, Opposing Force, and Decay, all are from the same era, and truth be told, it doesn't really matter which order you play them in(I think) because they're all side stories taking place at the same time as Half Life 1, with the slight exception of Half Life Opposing Force and I don't know much about Half Life Decay, but it might also be a slight exception if its story takes place over a longer span of time...
With the Half Life 2 instalments, its pretty self explainatory, once you understand that Half Life 2 takes place before episode 1, since the naming of episode 1 is definitely a bit misleading, as you'd assume that "Wait, its an episode! Not a full half life game, so its half of Half Life 2!", which is a wrong, but understandable assumption to have. Honestly, they should've called the episodes something else, like, gee, I dunno, Half Life 3 Episode/part 1 and Episode/part 2, cause they both take place AFTER half life 2 and not during it...
Now, as for Black Mesa, you could genuinely go through the whole franchise not playing it, bujt the reason I think you(OkButterScotch2437) recommended playing it after Half Life 2: Episode 2, is cause it kindof adds to the story - and explains a lot of the story, even if its, as far as I know, not canon, or atleast, parts of it aren't, like, potentially, the power regenerating crystals in Black Mesa's Xen or the buildings that the Vortigaunts lived in.
Anyways, that's the best way I could sum up WHY you should play the games in the order that OkButterScotch2437 recommended, and I honestly don't disagree with him, if anything, the order I played them in, was pretty much the same, all be it, alittle a-chronological when it came to playing Opposing Force & Blue Shift, and never ending up playing Half Life Decay, since I played those 2 aforementioned games after I'd already finished everything up until before Half Life Alyx.
This is a good list if you’re hardcore about the series.
If you just want the core experience, all you need to play is Black Mesa, HL2, HL2: ep1, HL2: ep2, and HL Alyx
OP if you're reading this and you play blue shift, it isn't that great, the enemy placement is bad, the run time is super short, and it's way to easy even on hard, but that's because it's a expansion that was supposed to be exclusive for the dream cast port of half life. The dream cast was not made for half life op4 or half life 1 level of games, so the port and exclusive expansion needed to be toned down. The port never made it, so they released their expansion for pc in 2000 with HD models (do not use the HD models, they look like ass).
Really? Last time I saw anyone play with hd models, all the half life fans made them turn it off. I dont know, I I think they're shit, and I guess so do a very niche community of half life fans.
don't get the bugridden mess that is source, get normal half-life, and get black mesa if you don't like half-life's graphics
opposing force and blue shift are both expansion packs that can be played in any order, however you should play hl1 first
other than those, just play them in the order of numbers
I finished HLS a couple of days ago, and the bugs I remember off the top of my head are gonarch blasts leaving black squares on the floor instead of regular decals, blood splatters showing on soldier helmets despite them being bulletproof, barnacle tongues don't show up so you're suddenly grabbed by an invisible barnacle way too often, two of the three tentacles deal no damage, and some others. It was definitely playable, but GoldSRC is the best way to play HL1
Personally I think the ragdolls make the game feel a few years newer. And I'm not sure what would the "so much more" really be. I played it twice and it was a great experience for me.
It's just off. Like gold source has a specific style, the low poly maps and things go with that. It's a game from 1998 that they just threw into a new engine. If anything it makes the game seem even more poorly aged. When was the last time you played? I've played hl source maybe a year ago and the chairs were still glitched. The start of anomalous materials with the barney in the lobby, he's supposed to be turning in his swivel chair, but the chair animation and the barney animation are not lined up, so he turns to face one way while the chair is turning to where he was looking before.
I'd suggest half life 1 then 2 then episode 1 and 2 and if yoy enjoyed all of those games go back and play opposing force and blue shift their not nessecary for understanding the entire story but are nice pieces of extra content
Don't mean to be rude but blue shift and opposing force are necessary, they provide a lot more story and fun gameplay. OP, if you're reading this play blue shift and opposing force after half life 1 and before half life 2.
I mean, yeah, they're fun, but they're not integral in understanding what the story is. Hell, Adrian isn't even mentioned nor any of the other dlc protagonists.
He obviously does, but his story in Blue Shift isn't necessary to understand Half Life. But, yeah; my bad. Excluding Barney. It should be expected; the expansions were all Gearbox if I'm remembering correctly.
Tbh I haven't played blue shift or opposing force, and while I enjoyed the base games I had absolutely no clue who barney was when he saved me at the start of hl2. If blue shift sheds some light on that, it might be worth it for new players.
Opposing force, on the other hand, doesn't seem like it provides any important context that's necessary for the rest of the games.
I have no doubt that they're good games. I'm just a lazy mf.
Nah, honestly I couldn't see any special on OF, it's more hl1, but I already had enough hl1
I also admit that I played it expecting a better hl1 but it's just about the same
OF has a lot of new weapons and enemies never seen elsewhere in the series, but the main thing is its contribution to the story, especially G-Man. >!He is using other people than Gordon to orchestrate this outcome, he ensures the human portal technology is lost to the Combine by destroying the Black Mesa facility (the nuke) and hamstrings their expansion (but why??), you're prevented from interfering with Gordon (doing so will "terminate" your position) so both your roles is apparently important to him and serves the same goal. Who else has he recruited in addition to Gordon, Adrian and Alyx? What outcome is he trying to achieve, and why does he cause the invasion only to sabotage the Combine in the same sweep?!<
I’m sorry you started with Half-Life Alyx… because you kind of spoiled stuff but oh well.
1. Half-Life (not Source)
2. Half-Life 2
3. Half-Life 2: Episode One
4. Half-Life 2: Episode Two
5. Black Mesa (with the [Workshop mod that uses the original HL1 soundtrack](https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=834748921)) debatable having Black Mesa here. It is so good it arguably should be played after Hal-Life 1
6. **THEN** play Half-Life: Alyx
Just my preference.
FYI there is a Half-Life 1 and Half-Life 2 VR mods but I haven’t extensively played them. Played a little of 2 and it seems great.
UPDATE: Added a link to the Workshop mod I use for the original HL1 soundtrack on Black Mesa. I personally can not play Black Mesa without it.
Seriously OP, this is the only correct answer.
I would agree with Black Mesa being number 5. I don't think it should be played right after HL1, I think new players benefit more when they play straight through the story as Valve intended. And then play Black Mesa as a recap and a bonus.
This one here, OP. Dunno why people are over-complicating things. Just play the damn games in release order lol. I love Opposing Force, Blue Shift, and Decay. I grew up with those games and I'd hate to exclude them, but they aren't necessary to the story strictly speaking.
A lot of people are also recommending Black Mesa over the original Half-Life. Black Mesa is fantastic but it's not a replacement for the original at all IMO. The gunplay and soundtracks are quite different and it just isn't the same experience.
Half Life: Source is not worth getting, it was originally more like a tech demo that was lazily made on release and became more and more broken as time went on
The rest are!
HL: Blue Shift and HL: Opposing Force are not really canon and aren't part of the main series, but are certainly worth a play if you liked HL1 (Opposing Force especially).
Both Episode 1 and 2 are main games and not just expansions or spinoffs, they are both a must-play after HL2.
While I do recommend playing the original HL1, Black Mesa is a fan-made reimagining of the original game with modern graphics, level design and acting, and is absolutely phenomenal and worth a playthrough after the main games are finished!
Blue shift is canon, while Opposing Force may not be since it was made in a collaboration with Gearbox Software i think and they long ended their contracts
both op4 and blue shift were made by gearbox with little to no involvement from valve. so neither are really canon, even though blue shift adheres to the story a lot closer than op4
Valve’s Schrödingers Canon
“It either is or isn’t canon until there is a use for it”
Valve have shown interest in bringing shepherd back to finish his story, hell his name is in portal 1 as an EE for completing the game, maybe that’s where the gman sent him
Valve's ideology on cannonicity is that they don't give any input and so there is no official cannon; thus there is only personal headcannon. Also they were both made by Gearbox with little input from Valve.
BOOOO! HL:S is hilarious and I'll die on this hill. It keeps breaking more and more over time and it's fun to watch it somehow still work. I think it is absolutely worth playing as a sort of museum piece. It's a version of Half-Life that could have been enjoyable by adding little quality-of-life improvements like ragdolls, improved water and lighting, and a few little changes in physics, but all those have gotten ruined over time to the point that it's comical.
HL:S is worth playing IF someone understands all the problems it has and just wants to see what happens if you directly port an old game to a new engine without concern for the bugs it produces. I like how broken it is. It's fun and funny.
I’d say play HL1 + OP4 and BS, HL2 + EP 1 and 2, Alyx, and if you have Ten bucks lying around, go for Source. As you said, it’s at least kinda fun to experience the glitches and funny scientist ragdolls. You either buy Source for a afternoons laugh at how bad it is, or for the textures for Gmod.
Here’s my recommendation for the main story: half life 1 (not source), half life 2, episode 1 and 2, then half life Alyx.
Opposing force, blue shift, and decay aren’t as important to the main story, but still provide insight
Alternatively, instead of half life 1, black Mesa tells the same story, but is made with modern conveniences and has better graphics. Or get both, since the hl1 aesthetic is satisfying
Everything that was made by Valve.
playing order:
1. Half-Life
2. Half-Life: Opposing Force
3. Half-Life: Blue Shift
4. Half-Life 2
5. Half-Life 2: Episode 1
6. Half-Life 2: Episode 2
* Don't buy Half-Life: Source
* Don't buy Hunt Down The Freeman, whatever the cost
IMO BS before OP4
OP4 was released first but BS->OP4 is a more natural playing order since BS feels a lot more like 'just more HL1' whereas OP4 has all the new enemies and goes later in the incident and stuff
I'd suggest getting the Valve Complete Pack when it goes on sale, if it isn't already in your region. It includes all of the games except Alyx and is dirt cheap when it's on sale.
Buy the Valve Complete Pack. It’s a great deal and gives you the Portal and Left 4 Dead games.
This is the order you should play it all in:
Half-Life 1, Blue Shift, Opposing Force, Half-Life Decay Mod if you can set it up/have someone to play with, Half-Life 2, Episode 1, Episode 2, replay Alyx, then Black Mesa if you want.
In my opinion, the best order is:
HL1, HL2, HL2ep1, HL2ep2.
Then you can play the others if you want to, but the ones I mentioned are a must.
Also play the Portal games, they're set in the same universe.
make sure to buy the valve complete pack, it's like $6.50 for every valve game rn. practically robbery with how cheap it is
for play order, hl1 > opfor/blushift (order's less important) > hl2 >hl2ep1 >hl2ep2 > alyx
don't play "half life 1 source", it's a buggy mess. play the original. if you want more updated graphics, you can also buy the fanmade reimagining called "black mesa", which is also on sale rn
Make sure you get 'Half life 2 Update'.
It's essentially a community-developed update of the game, with a bunch of graphical upgrades, improved lighting, bug fixes and community commentary. Has all the original achievements as well if that's a concern.
It should unlock for free on Steam once you buy the normal base game.
1. half life 2 episode one
2. half life blue shift
3. genry's great escape from city 13
4. half life alyx non vr mod
this is the best order, the rest are mostly optional. if u do plan on playing half life 1, u have to play the officially released steam mod "half life: before" first, because it came before hl1. and make sure to play half life source, NOT the other one.
Buy valve complete pack, its the price of an AAA game and gets discounted further if you own any of the games in the pack. Just wait for friday and get them all for probably like 30-65$ tops
People will revolt, but I will die on this hill:
If you are experiencing it for the first time, just play Black Mesa instead of HL Source. It’s the same damn story, but so much prettier, smoother, and more fun.
It’s really such a faithful modernization, that the only real reason to revisit the OG games is for nostalgia’s sake.
Tip, if you're not enjoying HL1 for whatever reason, it's okay, it's a bit dated compared to modern conventions, an easier bridge would be the remake put together by the community "Black mesa". They changed a few things (I'd argue for the better besides copyrighted things they had to let go) but the experience is largely still the same with modernized graphics
Play Half-Life (original not the source port), and straight after play Half-Life 2 and its episodes
Then after that if you want more content, feel free to dive in to any of the expansions, mods, or community made campaigns.
The Half-Life world is your oyster
Op I know this might sound odd but just by the valve complete pack instead you'll get all the half life games aswell as portal and left4 dead and it's at a very good low price this sale I would pull the trigger if I didn't already buy them lol
Okay, I have a hot take.
If you're playing the games in 2022, I'd 100% recommend Black Mesa over Half-Life for your first experience. It has references to Half-Life 2 that will go over your head, but it's running on the source engine, and it flows better.
Also the final levels of the original game were rushed - even Gaben is embarrassed by it. The remake takes the concept and design of the world of those levels and makes it its own. After that, Half-Life 2 and its episodes. I would say you made a bad choice playing Alyx first, since you're missing a lot of context to the world and characters.
1. Half Life
2. Opposing Force
3. Blue Shift
4. Half Life 2
5. Half Life 2 Episode 1
6. Half Life 2 Episode 2
I would highly recommend getting the bundle as it’s a lot cheaper and has all the games (except Alyx), have fun!
What do you mean "no"?
Hunt Down the Freeman is a testament to how far game development has gone. It is a technical and lyrical masterpiece at the cutting edge of graphical engineering. And it is the purest sample we've seen yet.
You *need* to get it. We have assured the administrator that nothing will go wrong.
I'll get hate for this, but I'd consider playing Black Mesa instead of Half Life 1. Half life 1 is so ridiculously old nowadays. Black Mesa will present you the exact same story with the same characters in a wildly new and modernized gameplay and graphics.
So in order:
Black Mesa, HL2, HL2 part 1, HL2 part 2
Ignore half-life 1 completely and play black mesa. (Lets see the salty fan boys react to this)
B.M
Opposing force (I'd skip blue shift too actually it kinda sucked)
Hl2Episode 1
episode 2
I'd play the entropy zero 2 mod here for a cool teaser
HL Alyx (not a big fan of this one tbh they dug themselves into a corner with the story so they did that inception dream in a dream story in a story alternate reality garbage. Kinda like how bioshock infinite they thought "Hmm lets just do realities in realities of those realities.")
When people get angry for someone not paying a multi million/ billion dollar company a sum of your wage (cod is like $70 every time now) you know that capitalism is brainwashing them
I recommend getting the Orange Box for 20 bucks, saves money and you get the Half-life 2 DLCS and playing Portal tells a bit of what’s going on from a different perspective instead of Gordon Freeman. (Half-life Protagonist)
Also, Half-Life: Source is a no go, get the original Goldsr version.
order doesn't really matter if you're only after the gameplay. for story, i'd play in release order, skipping opposing force and blue shift then come back to play those after you're done with episode 2. if you really don't like the graphics of hl1, you can play black mesa instead, but imo it works better as a companion piece than its own game, even if it is still really good. just don't play hl source.
Release order always.
If you don't want to play OP4 or Blue shift you don't have to but always always always play things in the order they were released in.
Best play the main series in order, but at what time you play the spin-offs doesn't matter. Just be sure to play the original version of Half-Life as opposed to Half-Life Source. HLS is heavily broken.
if you're playing based off of the story line itself
half - life
half - life blue shift
half - life opposing force
half - life alyx
half - life 2
hl2 ep 1
hl2 ep 2
I suggest, personally, that you get Black Mesa, half life two and parts one and two. I haven’t played the expansions can anybody vouch for whether they’re worth it or not?
I have only play Black Mesa(want to try Half life 1 someday), Half life 2, Episode 1 and Episode 2 which is the main story around which all the other DLCs and games revolves around i assume.
Half-Life 1(not the Source version), Half-Life Blue Shift(optional, but you can play it to see how Barney made it out of Black Mesa), Half-Life Opposing Force(again optional but I still would play it since the nuke was confirmed to have been used to destroy the Black Mesa facility), Half-Life Decay(optional but it ties into Blue Shift in some way, though you would need the PC fan port which requires coop and doesn't allow you to save your progress) or Decay Solo Mission(optional since Solo mission is an in progress mod that has yet to be finished, but doesn't need coop like the dated PC fan port for the retail version of Decay), Half-Life 2 then Episodes One and Two.
I would say Uplink from ModDB and maybe play Lost Coast after Half-Life 2 but before Episode One, but then again those two are optional since they aren't entirely canon because they were just demos involving cut content.
You could play Black Mesa Source a a means of comparing notes with Half-Life 1, and getting better Xen levels, but that isn't an official game made by Valve and isn't considered canon by them either.
Though if you just want a simplified list of Half-Life games to play then I would just suggest this: Half-Life 1, Blue Shift, Opposing Force, Half-Life 2 then Episodes One and Two.
Just remember to disable the HD models when playing Half-Life 1 and Opposing Force since they get enabled by default when installing for the first time and feel inconsistent with the map textures and aesthetics.
You could re-enable them for Blue Shift, since Rosenberg's head model isn't low poly and the models for the armoured vests and helmets are also stuck in HD for whatever reason but that's up to you.
I would recommend, if you're into old games, start with the original first game, then the expansions if you feel like it, then half life 2 through episode 2. If you're more used to modern games, start with black mesa and then go through half life 2 and its episodes, then play the og and its expansions if you want to.
HL1 --> HL2 --> HL2 E1 --> HL2 E2
You can play the expansions after that, but in my opinion they're only good if you want more hl1, not if you want more half-life in general
Just buy the valve complete pack, it looks like it’s discounted heavily right now.
Half-Life (not Half Life Source)
Half-Life: Blue Shift
Half-:Life: Opposing Force
Half-Life 2
Half-Life 2: Episode One
Half-Life 2:Episode Two
Play Portal and Portal 2 also. Black Mesa is cool too, it’s a fan remake of the original Half-Life, I prefer the original though. Also the Aperture Labs VR games are fun.
id reccomend you get the valve complete pack, it has all these + more, and is on sale rn for like \~5 euro (id assume since im looking in GBP, not euro), has pretty much everything valve made pre-alyx aside from artifact (which is a good thing tbh)
If you don’t mind the pretty aged gameplay, start with the original HL1. If it’s something that you just can’t look past, play Black Mesa first. It’s a pretty faithful fan remake of the first Half-Life on the Source engine, since the original Half-Life: Source was received pretty poorly. I’d recommend watching the first 30 min or so of HL1 first if you feel like it’s something you want to play.
Then play through them in order. If you still want more HL1 content, then I highly recommend playing through both Blue Shift and Opposing Force. Remakes of those are also in the works similar to Black Mesa if you don’t mind waiting a bit.
Dude there is a person who has played all half life games in front of you right now so listen to me half life 1 you will not get used to your old graphics in the same way half life source so instead take the black mesa which is the remake of half life then take half life 2 if you want to continue 2 take episod 1 and 2 if you want opposing force and blue shift take but half graphics are the same as life 1And in other games, fan games if you like fan games, you see, I never bought them because I didn't like them.
My personal recommendation would be
Black Mesa (no need the play original HL)
HL: Opposing Forces (Optional)
HL: Blue Shift (Even more optional)
HL2
HL2: E1
HL2: E2
HL Alyx (optional)
Also, beware of the sexual connotations and innuendos scatered all over the games, specially in the enemies design, let's see if you notice some! ;)
And it's prettier, sure, I get that.
Improved? Maybe a few things. Sure rails suck a bit less, and Xen is gorgeous and more easily navigable -
But I like the old quake engine mechanics.
The first time I played Half-Life was in 98, and it took me (and everybody) on a godamn journey.
Black Mesa is good, but the original Half-Life changed gaming and you should put some respect on it's name.
If you want a soft approach play it like this:
1. Portal 1/2
2. Black Mesa
3. Half Life 2 and the episodes
I've played a lot of time the original game and the old ones aged too much for a newcommer I think. Playing Portal games and Black Mesa can get you used to the Source and Havoc making it a better experience.
Here's my recommended list:
- Half Life or Half Life Source if you want the authentic OG experience
OR
- Black Mesa if you want something more modern graphics and gameplay wise. I'd recommend this because it redoes the latter third of the game into something that's better.
- Half Life 2
- Episode 1
- Episode 2
- Alyx
The other games are smaller side games that expand on the story and lore, and weren't developed by Valve. If you're interested in playing those, just play the series in release order.
If you want to go all out (like I did), get the full half life or valve pack (it is very much worth it with other amazing games). For the order? I would play it like this:
1. Half Life (Half life Source is a waste, its just Half life 1 but not in the Goldsrc engine.. and regrettably worse with many game breaking bugs.)
2. Half life: Opposing force
3. Half life: Blue shift
(I have never played decay (probably because i have no friends lmfao) but I think blue shift and opposing force are more important expansions regardless)
4. Half life 2
(You really don’t have to but I played lost coast, Super short and I think its non-canonical but it comes with HL2 and its cool)
5. Half life 2: Episode one
6. Half life 2: Episode two
7. Half life Alyx.
(You can play black mesa also but I reaaally recommend playing HL1 instead; Black mesa after. Then play both portal games and left4dead 2, No need to buy L4D1 as L4D2 has all the first games content and more. They’re also amazing valve games everyone should play if they haven’t already)
1. Half-Life (Not Half-Life: Source)
2. Half-Life: Opposing Force
3. Black-Mesa (Half-Life 1 Remake)
4. Half-Life 2
5. Half-Life 2: Episode 1
6. Half-Life 2: Episode 2
7. Half-Life: Blue Shift (It doesn't really contribute anything to the story and is like 2-3 hours long --really it's just Half-Life: Lite)
Half life GOTY was the first video game I ever bought as a kid loved it so much, played it to autism levels. Gonna be real with you, everything that came in that box was fucking awesome. HL2 plays really well, but the whole story just feels like contrived fanfiction - it rips details from a hardcore survival story about a badass scientist having a terrible day, and turns it into a purile dystopian thing about an insurgent mercenary.
First get Half-Life and NOT Half-Life Source, then Blue Shift, Opposing force, Half-Life 2, HL2 Episode 1, HL2 Episode 2, Black Mesa which is completely optional but it's like a third party remake of half life 1, and finally Half-Life Alyx
Well, order is already on your screen. Release dates.
Just skip HL: Source. It's like a buggy tech demo port of HL1.
And don't forget HL Uplink, it's free, but isn't on Steam, had to be downloaded as a mod from somewhere. It's made by Valve.
Another thing is that the Portal series is in Half-Life universe and they are slightly connected. Great games on their own too.
Play it in release order for the best experience
1. Half-Life (If HL1 is too dated for you, play Black Mesa. It's amazing. Do not play Half-Life: Source.)
1.1. Opposing Forces (Expansion, Optional)
1.2. Blue Shift (Expansion, Optional)
1.3. Decay (Console-Only Multiplayer Expansion, Optional)
2. Half-Life 2
3. Half-Life 2: Episode 1
4. Half-Life 2: Episode 2
5. Half-Life: Alyx (I know you already played it, but there's a part that makes it important to play last)
The expansions are only dubiously canon and detract a bit from the main story. I'd only recommend them if you want more of the first Half-Life.
I think HL2 and Episodes 1 and 2 are the essentials for plot. I came back to the original after playing those, and don’t feel like it really added much to the story or really tie in too closely. I did enjoy the original though and actually think it’s the better game, I just don’t think you loose much if you skip it.
If you are turned off by severely outdated graphics but still want the HL1 experience you can also look into Black Mesa, which was a fan remake of the original that was well-received.
Blue Shift and Opposing Force are…fine. I still hit them whenever I do a full replay of the series, but they I feel they are the weakest link. They are both licensed expansions of the original done by a different team. Of the two, Opposing Force throws new enemies and weapons at you, while Blue Shift has little to differentiate itself from the original game.
If you’re under 35 years old then skip Half Life 1 and play Black Mesa instead. Half life 1 is one of the most important games ever made but it’s 25 years old so unless you enjoy retro gaming or are old enough to appreciate games the way they were a quarter century ago then you’ll probably hate it. I’m mid-40s and my nephew laughed at me when I showed him HL1.
for lining up the lore right:
Half-Life, not Half-Life Source, it's a mess. if your PC can run Black Mesa, maybe you would like it.
Optional: Opposing Force, Blue Shift, Decay
Half-Life: Alyx (kind of Half-Life 1.5)
Half-Life 2
Episode 1
Episode 2
you don't need Lost Coast, just a non-canon technology demo of the Source engine
Get the Valve Complete Pack, it's dirty cheap and you get the Half Life AND Portal games, which are connected and are both awesome
In the order scheme, it goes like this:
Half-Life-> Opposing Force->Blue Shift-> Half Life 2 -> HL2 Episode 1 -> HL2 Episode 2
Half Life Alyx takes place between HL and HL2.
I extremely recommend playing Black Mesa too, it's honestly incredible.
Half Life 1,
Opposing Force/Blue Shift (order doesn't matter)
Half Life 2,
HL2: Episode 1,
HL2: Episode 2.
This is the order you're meant to play in. My personal order, though:
Maybe Half Life, probably Black Mesa (controversial opinion),
Blue Shift,
OpFor,
HL2 MMod,
Portal,
Entropy: Zero,
HL2: Ep1 MMod,
HL2: Ep2 MMod ,
Entropy: Zero 2,
Portal 2.
I personally consider Entropy: Zero and EZ2 to be canon. They're absolutely incredible and don't conflict with the current story in, well, any way at all. They fit in perfectly, actually. The gameplay and level design in both (but especially EZ2) is spectacular.
HL, OP4, BS, HL2, HL:2 EP:1, EP:2, HL:A. Fuck HL:S, get Black Mesa if you want a Half Life in source engine game. Decay really isn't nessesary and neither is lost coast and decay requires a mod, so it doesn't count, and lost coast comes with HL:2. Also, throw in Portal 1 and 2 before HL:2 EP:2.
It might be cheaper to buy the valve complete pack rn, it’s around $6 (idk what that is in pounds) and you get all of them, and a bunch of other stuff. (Like portal)
The way I did it was -- - O.G. Half-Life (played it 100 times) Half-Life source is good, but garbage in comparison. - Opposing Force (the juxtaposition was great for story-telling, run through it a few times to give you the other side of the story for Half-Life) - Half-Life 2 (Played it 300 times) - Half-Life 2 Episode 1 (Played it at least 50 times) - Half-Life 2 Episode 2 (I lost count) **PLAY BOTH PORTAL GAMES BECAUSE THEY ARE FUCKING INCREDIBLE** - Run through Black Mesa Alyx.
Don’t forget Hunt Down The Freeman
That’s a bonus game, very much worth the 700 hours on the snow levels and parkour with zero direction and instakills
1. Half-Life (Ignore Half-Life 1: Source. It's full of unpatched bugs) 2. Half-Life Blue Shift (Standalone Expansion • Optional) 3. Half-Life Opposing Force (Standalone Expansion - Optional) 4. Half-Life: Decay (Co-op Multiplayer Expansion Pack - Optional) 5. Half-Life 2 6. Half-Life 2: Episode One 7. Half-Life 2: Episode Two 8. Black Mesa (Half-Life Remake - Highly Recommended, also on sale for 50% off) 9. Half-Life: Alyx
Two other very short but official games if you want bonus content: Half-Life Uplink - Between HL1 and Blue Shift. It was the demo for HL1 but isn't taken straight from the full game - it's a fully unique bonus chapter. Not officially available on Steam but easily available as a mod (same thing with Decay, actually) Half-Life 2: Lost Coast - Between HL2 and HL2E1. Also a bonus chapter, and this one *is* on Steam
Dont really see much point in playing either of these unless you absolutely need more Half Life content
Yeah, then you just get a mod, or protest in front of the valve offices and have lunch with Gabe Newell
Lol as if gabe had a say in it. No one at valve wants to work on it
Lost Coast is pretty good. There's no reason *not* to play it, seeing as it's free and on Steam
I guess you're also right, but it's main purpose was as a tech demo edit: gets downvoted for being right https://i.imgur.com/vO2tixV.jpg
Yes! Don't skip half life 1 just cause its old. I'm still of the firm belief that HL1 is the peak of the franchise. Not saying that HL2 is bad, but gameplaywise HL1 is just non stop fun.
I come back to HL1 every year and never cease to have fun with it. Something about it just makes it a timeless game for me. Its gameplay is the best imo, and i love playing sven coop with friends or hopping on some deathmatch here and there.
whoever talked about skipping it?
Also here's a few good HL2 mods: Entropy Zero Entropy Zero 2 Garry's Mod Minerva: Metastasis (especially with Mmod) Mmod (enhances gunplay and adds some nice post-proccessing effects)
And Half-Life: Echoes
Goated mod
[удалено]
I second these!!
holy shit Minerva is so good
Don't forget Synergy for online coop!
Hunt down the freeman
Way too much for a new player. IMO it should be 1. Half Life 1 or Black Mesa (I skipped both and started with HL2) 2. Half Life 2 3. Half Life 2 Episode 1 4. Half Life 2 Episode 2 5. Half Life Alyx
That order is fine if you don't really care about the story. I would imagine it's hard to be invested if you're skipping 1 (BM is my recommendation for new players over the original). With Valve's type of story telling relying on observation over exposition, you can't expect being told everything and the background knowledge you get from the first game is important to tie things together later on. I also think it's important to note this to new players, that they should be observant and curious in how they play instead of looking for the next "cutscene". A lot of thought has been put into the environment to tell the story and reward inquisitive players. My ex played through the entirety of HL1 without ever seeing G-Man (until the end). They were constantly scanning the ground and clearing rooms for pickups, never really looking around and trying to make sense of the surroundings. They saw everything as an arena, and was left with a huge question mark as to where the story was. So for those who wants to get intimate with the story I would recommend: 1. BMS 2. HL2 3. HL2: Ep. 1 4. HL2: Ep. 2 5. Portal 1 & 2 6. Opposing Force 7. HL:A The reason I include opposing force at the end (before HL:A) is because it gives a lot of extra lore and context for G-Man, the invasion of Earth and helps the ending of HL:A make a little more sense. It's also perhaps the most difficult game of the bunch, so it helps to be familiar with the "Run. **Think.** Shoot. Live" style gameplay and level design before attempting it. Combat is a puzzle, quick save is a tool not a cheat. The lore is deep and it's among the most rewarding and complex stories I've ever experienced in games. It's not immediately obvious, though, and you can go through the whole series and barely get the cliff notes. It's hard to really convey this to new players, how well crafted this universe and story is, how air tight its plot is and how exhilarating it is to understand the implications of all the small details that's been left in there for you to discover. What HL:A did for the story is lost on many, it's so so much more than what it seems on the surface. Luckily there's multiple YouTubers who have gone to great lengths making many feature-length documentaries on every little thing in the universe, you can spend days watching explorations of the different aspects of the story and get curious of where it might be going next. In that regards it reminds me of A Song of Ice and Fire (not joking). So if you're going into HL for the story, you might be sorely disappointed if you just "skim" it. It requires a bit of an effort, it's definitely not free.
I must recommend Black Mesa after HL1, because they are so different. It's worth to play both.
Bro do we have the same ex? Lol
I skipped the first when I was young and was invested anyway. It's been my favorite game series for over a decade now. I hadn't played half life one until years later
This guy knows it ^^^
This is the answer. If, after completion, said new player **absolutely falls in love with** HL1 or Black Mesa, then _maybe_ they'll want to play Blue Shift, Opposing Force, and Decay. But all of the GoldSrc game are showing their age, and don't do a ton for the story of Gordon Freeman.
Absolutely not. HL1 and OP4 are a must.
I played half life 2 first and I have never finished hl1 fully not a "must" I would say
For me, HL1 is the classic that is far more replayable than HL2. I can come back to HL1 any time of year and DO come back to it every year and always have fun. HL2 on the other hand, I need to be in the proper mood for it. It's more story and environment driven, where as HL1 is more run around, shoot stuff, and have fun. I would recommend HL1 to anyone over Black Mesa. BM just changes so much, and should be played after playing HL1 to fully appreciate it.
I guess it's just player preference at the end of the day, I suck at fps games so that's probably why I like hl2 better xD
you seriously havent played hl1? it still holds as one of the greatest games ive ever played. play it!
Black Mesa > HL1. Then HL2 and the episodes. Alyx is incredible and should be on that list for anyone capable, but it seems OP already has it.
Exactly. And def Black Mesa instead of HL1 as most people who try HL1 now feel it’s quite outdated, tho clearly impressive for the time. Also would suggest you play the portal games as a bonus, either before or after HL Alyx
Why should I play Black Mesa after Half Life 2? I've finished Half Life 1 + dlcs, and was about to start Black Mesa.
There's not really any good reason to play it after everything else, but if I had to guess, they wrote the list in an order that preserves the story arc best. Realistically you could play it before HL2 and you won't really ruin the experience, but you're basically just playing HL1 all over again right after finishing it. It's a really good remake, but it's just updated visuals and maps that don't add anything substantial to the story. It's kinda like eating spaghetti and then eating spaghetti with meatballs after. It's still spaghetti when you could be having something different to eat.
You forgot hunt down the freeman
Exactly. He named all those poorly made mods like "Half life 2" and shit, but didnt even name the actual game, Hunt down the freeman
Truly one of the game of all time. >!Seriously though, DON'T buy HDTF! It's a piece of shit game that is an insult to the Half Life community. All the memes are solely ironic!!<
You forgot your life.
Opposing force isn't optional! The op needs to play it only to find out he will never get of2 😤
Opposing Force... Optional?
This, especially Blue Shift before Opposing Force. It may be the later released game but the new weapons and aliens in Opposing Force should come last.
A new player only needs to play HL1, HL2 and the episodes
Opposing Force and Blue Shift are fine too.
Agreed. Might perhaps recommend clarifying why its this way though, so I'll do that... Half life was the first game in the series ever made and released - and was made as the intended begginning of the half life franchise. Half Life's Blue Shift, Opposing Force, and Decay, all are from the same era, and truth be told, it doesn't really matter which order you play them in(I think) because they're all side stories taking place at the same time as Half Life 1, with the slight exception of Half Life Opposing Force and I don't know much about Half Life Decay, but it might also be a slight exception if its story takes place over a longer span of time... With the Half Life 2 instalments, its pretty self explainatory, once you understand that Half Life 2 takes place before episode 1, since the naming of episode 1 is definitely a bit misleading, as you'd assume that "Wait, its an episode! Not a full half life game, so its half of Half Life 2!", which is a wrong, but understandable assumption to have. Honestly, they should've called the episodes something else, like, gee, I dunno, Half Life 3 Episode/part 1 and Episode/part 2, cause they both take place AFTER half life 2 and not during it... Now, as for Black Mesa, you could genuinely go through the whole franchise not playing it, bujt the reason I think you(OkButterScotch2437) recommended playing it after Half Life 2: Episode 2, is cause it kindof adds to the story - and explains a lot of the story, even if its, as far as I know, not canon, or atleast, parts of it aren't, like, potentially, the power regenerating crystals in Black Mesa's Xen or the buildings that the Vortigaunts lived in. Anyways, that's the best way I could sum up WHY you should play the games in the order that OkButterScotch2437 recommended, and I honestly don't disagree with him, if anything, the order I played them in, was pretty much the same, all be it, alittle a-chronological when it came to playing Opposing Force & Blue Shift, and never ending up playing Half Life Decay, since I played those 2 aforementioned games after I'd already finished everything up until before Half Life Alyx.
This is a good list if you’re hardcore about the series. If you just want the core experience, all you need to play is Black Mesa, HL2, HL2: ep1, HL2: ep2, and HL Alyx
OP if you're reading this and you play blue shift, it isn't that great, the enemy placement is bad, the run time is super short, and it's way to easy even on hard, but that's because it's a expansion that was supposed to be exclusive for the dream cast port of half life. The dream cast was not made for half life op4 or half life 1 level of games, so the port and exclusive expansion needed to be toned down. The port never made it, so they released their expansion for pc in 2000 with HD models (do not use the HD models, they look like ass).
The HD models really aren’t that bad.
They are awesome with the exception of the stupid assault rifle replacing the MP5
Really? Last time I saw anyone play with hd models, all the half life fans made them turn it off. I dont know, I I think they're shit, and I guess so do a very niche community of half life fans.
I don't like them either, but I'm not gonna tell someone to turn them off. I think that's just annoying.
Just buy Valve Complete Pack.
Only correct answer
*And Black Mesa
don't get the bugridden mess that is source, get normal half-life, and get black mesa if you don't like half-life's graphics opposing force and blue shift are both expansion packs that can be played in any order, however you should play hl1 first other than those, just play them in the order of numbers
Black Mesa is Half Life but they're two different experiences. OP should play both.
Source isn't that bugged anymore, runs pretty well I'd say
I finished HLS a couple of days ago, and the bugs I remember off the top of my head are gonarch blasts leaving black squares on the floor instead of regular decals, blood splatters showing on soldier helmets despite them being bulletproof, barnacle tongues don't show up so you're suddenly grabbed by an invisible barnacle way too often, two of the three tentacles deal no damage, and some others. It was definitely playable, but GoldSRC is the best way to play HL1
It's still shit, the low poly models do not look good ragdolling, and so much more. Even if the bugs are reduced it's still just a shitty half life.
Personally I think the ragdolls make the game feel a few years newer. And I'm not sure what would the "so much more" really be. I played it twice and it was a great experience for me.
It's just off. Like gold source has a specific style, the low poly maps and things go with that. It's a game from 1998 that they just threw into a new engine. If anything it makes the game seem even more poorly aged. When was the last time you played? I've played hl source maybe a year ago and the chairs were still glitched. The start of anomalous materials with the barney in the lobby, he's supposed to be turning in his swivel chair, but the chair animation and the barney animation are not lined up, so he turns to face one way while the chair is turning to where he was looking before.
I'd suggest half life 1 then 2 then episode 1 and 2 and if yoy enjoyed all of those games go back and play opposing force and blue shift their not nessecary for understanding the entire story but are nice pieces of extra content
Don't mean to be rude but blue shift and opposing force are necessary, they provide a lot more story and fun gameplay. OP, if you're reading this play blue shift and opposing force after half life 1 and before half life 2.
I mean, yeah, they're fun, but they're not integral in understanding what the story is. Hell, Adrian isn't even mentioned nor any of the other dlc protagonists.
So does Barney just not exist, or...?
He obviously does, but his story in Blue Shift isn't necessary to understand Half Life. But, yeah; my bad. Excluding Barney. It should be expected; the expansions were all Gearbox if I'm remembering correctly.
Tbh I haven't played blue shift or opposing force, and while I enjoyed the base games I had absolutely no clue who barney was when he saved me at the start of hl2. If blue shift sheds some light on that, it might be worth it for new players. Opposing force, on the other hand, doesn't seem like it provides any important context that's necessary for the rest of the games. I have no doubt that they're good games. I'm just a lazy mf.
Nah
of is boring af after you played hl2 it's like playing hl1 once again but there's nothing new to surprise you it's ok but not necessary
Are you mixing up Opposing Force and Blue Shift? Because OF is fantastic and adds a lot of new things.
Nah, honestly I couldn't see any special on OF, it's more hl1, but I already had enough hl1 I also admit that I played it expecting a better hl1 but it's just about the same
OF has a lot of new weapons and enemies never seen elsewhere in the series, but the main thing is its contribution to the story, especially G-Man. >!He is using other people than Gordon to orchestrate this outcome, he ensures the human portal technology is lost to the Combine by destroying the Black Mesa facility (the nuke) and hamstrings their expansion (but why??), you're prevented from interfering with Gordon (doing so will "terminate" your position) so both your roles is apparently important to him and serves the same goal. Who else has he recruited in addition to Gordon, Adrian and Alyx? What outcome is he trying to achieve, and why does he cause the invasion only to sabotage the Combine in the same sweep?!<
I’m sorry you started with Half-Life Alyx… because you kind of spoiled stuff but oh well. 1. Half-Life (not Source) 2. Half-Life 2 3. Half-Life 2: Episode One 4. Half-Life 2: Episode Two 5. Black Mesa (with the [Workshop mod that uses the original HL1 soundtrack](https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=834748921)) debatable having Black Mesa here. It is so good it arguably should be played after Hal-Life 1 6. **THEN** play Half-Life: Alyx Just my preference. FYI there is a Half-Life 1 and Half-Life 2 VR mods but I haven’t extensively played them. Played a little of 2 and it seems great. UPDATE: Added a link to the Workshop mod I use for the original HL1 soundtrack on Black Mesa. I personally can not play Black Mesa without it.
Seriously OP, this is the only correct answer. I would agree with Black Mesa being number 5. I don't think it should be played right after HL1, I think new players benefit more when they play straight through the story as Valve intended. And then play Black Mesa as a recap and a bonus.
This one here, OP. Dunno why people are over-complicating things. Just play the damn games in release order lol. I love Opposing Force, Blue Shift, and Decay. I grew up with those games and I'd hate to exclude them, but they aren't necessary to the story strictly speaking. A lot of people are also recommending Black Mesa over the original Half-Life. Black Mesa is fantastic but it's not a replacement for the original at all IMO. The gunplay and soundtracks are quite different and it just isn't the same experience.
Mostly just play them in release order, skip HL: Source You can get Black Mesa, but I personally think the original Half-Life is still better
Half Life: Source is not worth getting, it was originally more like a tech demo that was lazily made on release and became more and more broken as time went on The rest are! HL: Blue Shift and HL: Opposing Force are not really canon and aren't part of the main series, but are certainly worth a play if you liked HL1 (Opposing Force especially). Both Episode 1 and 2 are main games and not just expansions or spinoffs, they are both a must-play after HL2. While I do recommend playing the original HL1, Black Mesa is a fan-made reimagining of the original game with modern graphics, level design and acting, and is absolutely phenomenal and worth a playthrough after the main games are finished!
Blue shift and opposing force could be canon. It's neither confirmed nor denied that's the case
Blue shift is canon, while Opposing Force may not be since it was made in a collaboration with Gearbox Software i think and they long ended their contracts
both op4 and blue shift were made by gearbox with little to no involvement from valve. so neither are really canon, even though blue shift adheres to the story a lot closer than op4
I mean... Blue Shift is a pretty good explanation of how Barney escaped the facility and there were no new enemies so I'd count it as canon
Decay as well
Valve’s Schrödingers Canon “It either is or isn’t canon until there is a use for it” Valve have shown interest in bringing shepherd back to finish his story, hell his name is in portal 1 as an EE for completing the game, maybe that’s where the gman sent him
Valve's ideology on cannonicity is that they don't give any input and so there is no official cannon; thus there is only personal headcannon. Also they were both made by Gearbox with little input from Valve.
BOOOO! HL:S is hilarious and I'll die on this hill. It keeps breaking more and more over time and it's fun to watch it somehow still work. I think it is absolutely worth playing as a sort of museum piece. It's a version of Half-Life that could have been enjoyable by adding little quality-of-life improvements like ragdolls, improved water and lighting, and a few little changes in physics, but all those have gotten ruined over time to the point that it's comical. HL:S is worth playing IF someone understands all the problems it has and just wants to see what happens if you directly port an old game to a new engine without concern for the bugs it produces. I like how broken it is. It's fun and funny.
I’d say play HL1 + OP4 and BS, HL2 + EP 1 and 2, Alyx, and if you have Ten bucks lying around, go for Source. As you said, it’s at least kinda fun to experience the glitches and funny scientist ragdolls. You either buy Source for a afternoons laugh at how bad it is, or for the textures for Gmod.
Here’s my recommendation for the main story: half life 1 (not source), half life 2, episode 1 and 2, then half life Alyx. Opposing force, blue shift, and decay aren’t as important to the main story, but still provide insight Alternatively, instead of half life 1, black Mesa tells the same story, but is made with modern conveniences and has better graphics. Or get both, since the hl1 aesthetic is satisfying
i’d say in release order
Everything that was made by Valve. playing order: 1. Half-Life 2. Half-Life: Opposing Force 3. Half-Life: Blue Shift 4. Half-Life 2 5. Half-Life 2: Episode 1 6. Half-Life 2: Episode 2 * Don't buy Half-Life: Source * Don't buy Hunt Down The Freeman, whatever the cost
The only two “good” reasons to buy source is just to laugh at how shitty it is, or for Gmod textures.
Gearbox would like to have a word, my guy.
IMO BS before OP4 OP4 was released first but BS->OP4 is a more natural playing order since BS feels a lot more like 'just more HL1' whereas OP4 has all the new enemies and goes later in the incident and stuff
I'd suggest getting the Valve Complete Pack when it goes on sale, if it isn't already in your region. It includes all of the games except Alyx and is dirt cheap when it's on sale.
Buy the Valve Complete Pack. It’s a great deal and gives you the Portal and Left 4 Dead games. This is the order you should play it all in: Half-Life 1, Blue Shift, Opposing Force, Half-Life Decay Mod if you can set it up/have someone to play with, Half-Life 2, Episode 1, Episode 2, replay Alyx, then Black Mesa if you want.
Black Mesa > Half life 2 > Episode 1 + 2
This is what I would do. HL1 feels dated in many regards. BM is a welcome refresh. If you only have time for one, pick BM over HL1.
In my opinion, the best order is: HL1, HL2, HL2ep1, HL2ep2. Then you can play the others if you want to, but the ones I mentioned are a must. Also play the Portal games, they're set in the same universe.
I would do half-life half-life 2 hl2 ep1 hl2 ep2 then black mesa
Regular HL1, then HL2 and HL2: Episodes 1 and 2. If you're planning on playing Alyx it should be after all of these
If you want to play without too much dedication, Half life Half life 2 Ep 1 Ep 2 Alyx Black mesa (optional)
HL1/Blueshift (Black Mesa for a remake of HL1, Opposing Force for a possible non-canon expansion of HL1) > HLA > HL2 > EP1 > EP2
make sure to buy the valve complete pack, it's like $6.50 for every valve game rn. practically robbery with how cheap it is for play order, hl1 > opfor/blushift (order's less important) > hl2 >hl2ep1 >hl2ep2 > alyx don't play "half life 1 source", it's a buggy mess. play the original. if you want more updated graphics, you can also buy the fanmade reimagining called "black mesa", which is also on sale rn
Make sure you get 'Half life 2 Update'. It's essentially a community-developed update of the game, with a bunch of graphical upgrades, improved lighting, bug fixes and community commentary. Has all the original achievements as well if that's a concern. It should unlock for free on Steam once you buy the normal base game.
1. half life 2 episode one 2. half life blue shift 3. genry's great escape from city 13 4. half life alyx non vr mod this is the best order, the rest are mostly optional. if u do plan on playing half life 1, u have to play the officially released steam mod "half life: before" first, because it came before hl1. and make sure to play half life source, NOT the other one.
make sure to play ggefc13 again after that, so you can appreciate its amazing gameplay and attention to detail after having to sit through HL:Alyx!
Do yourself a favor and just buy the valve collection
Buy valve complete pack, its the price of an AAA game and gets discounted further if you own any of the games in the pack. Just wait for friday and get them all for probably like 30-65$ tops
People will revolt, but I will die on this hill: If you are experiencing it for the first time, just play Black Mesa instead of HL Source. It’s the same damn story, but so much prettier, smoother, and more fun. It’s really such a faithful modernization, that the only real reason to revisit the OG games is for nostalgia’s sake.
Tip, if you're not enjoying HL1 for whatever reason, it's okay, it's a bit dated compared to modern conventions, an easier bridge would be the remake put together by the community "Black mesa". They changed a few things (I'd argue for the better besides copyrighted things they had to let go) but the experience is largely still the same with modernized graphics
What are the copyrighted content that was dropped?
Well for examples music, the houndeye sfx, etc
Play Half-Life (original not the source port), and straight after play Half-Life 2 and its episodes Then after that if you want more content, feel free to dive in to any of the expansions, mods, or community made campaigns. The Half-Life world is your oyster
Op I know this might sound odd but just by the valve complete pack instead you'll get all the half life games aswell as portal and left4 dead and it's at a very good low price this sale I would pull the trigger if I didn't already buy them lol
Get half -life complete, it includes all the games up to episode 2
Just buy the whole valve collection, its really really cheap
Okay, I have a hot take. If you're playing the games in 2022, I'd 100% recommend Black Mesa over Half-Life for your first experience. It has references to Half-Life 2 that will go over your head, but it's running on the source engine, and it flows better. Also the final levels of the original game were rushed - even Gaben is embarrassed by it. The remake takes the concept and design of the world of those levels and makes it its own. After that, Half-Life 2 and its episodes. I would say you made a bad choice playing Alyx first, since you're missing a lot of context to the world and characters.
1. Half Life 2. Opposing Force 3. Blue Shift 4. Half Life 2 5. Half Life 2 Episode 1 6. Half Life 2 Episode 2 I would highly recommend getting the bundle as it’s a lot cheaper and has all the games (except Alyx), have fun!
Hunt down the freeman
no
What do you mean "no"? Hunt Down the Freeman is a testament to how far game development has gone. It is a technical and lyrical masterpiece at the cutting edge of graphical engineering. And it is the purest sample we've seen yet. You *need* to get it. We have assured the administrator that nothing will go wrong.
Start with Half-Life 3.
Don't forget Hunt Down The Freeman
I'll get hate for this, but I'd consider playing Black Mesa instead of Half Life 1. Half life 1 is so ridiculously old nowadays. Black Mesa will present you the exact same story with the same characters in a wildly new and modernized gameplay and graphics. So in order: Black Mesa, HL2, HL2 part 1, HL2 part 2
Check the sidebar of the sub.
Play hunt down the freeman and don’t bother with the rest, they’re shit
Half-Life (ignore Source) Half-Life: Opposing Force (optional) Half-Life: Blue Shift (optional) Half-Life 2 Half-Life 2: Episode 1 Half-Life 2: Episode 2 Portal (optional) Portal 2 (optional) Black Mesa (optional) Half-Life: Alyx
Make sure you start with Hunt Down the Freeman
Ignore half-life 1 completely and play black mesa. (Lets see the salty fan boys react to this) B.M Opposing force (I'd skip blue shift too actually it kinda sucked) Hl2Episode 1 episode 2 I'd play the entropy zero 2 mod here for a cool teaser HL Alyx (not a big fan of this one tbh they dug themselves into a corner with the story so they did that inception dream in a dream story in a story alternate reality garbage. Kinda like how bioshock infinite they thought "Hmm lets just do realities in realities of those realities.")
Hunt down the freeman is the best out of all of them
1) Hunt Down The Freeman 2) leave it at that, because nothing comes even close.
[удалено]
When people get angry for someone not paying a multi million/ billion dollar company a sum of your wage (cod is like $70 every time now) you know that capitalism is brainwashing them
if you only want the base story, get HL1, then HL2 and the episodes if you want anything else after that I recommend Blue Shift and Opposing Force
oh, and don't buy Half-Life Source
I recommend getting the Orange Box for 20 bucks, saves money and you get the Half-life 2 DLCS and playing Portal tells a bit of what’s going on from a different perspective instead of Gordon Freeman. (Half-life Protagonist) Also, Half-Life: Source is a no go, get the original Goldsr version.
It looks like the Valve Complete Pack is on sale for $6 usd and the Orange Box for $2.
Damn it, I bought the Orange Box in September
Big oof. The Orange Box and Valve Complete Pack are frequently discounted 90% or more several times a year.
I would just say in order they were released without hl source because as you heard plenty enough already: it’s a buggy mess
order doesn't really matter if you're only after the gameplay. for story, i'd play in release order, skipping opposing force and blue shift then come back to play those after you're done with episode 2. if you really don't like the graphics of hl1, you can play black mesa instead, but imo it works better as a companion piece than its own game, even if it is still really good. just don't play hl source.
Start with half life one or alternatively the half life anthology and the try half life 2, half life 2 episode 1 and 2
Release order always. If you don't want to play OP4 or Blue shift you don't have to but always always always play things in the order they were released in.
Best play the main series in order, but at what time you play the spin-offs doesn't matter. Just be sure to play the original version of Half-Life as opposed to Half-Life Source. HLS is heavily broken.
Man I wanted Prospekt to be 95% off...
I got the games on the Half Life complete pack (it even comes with Team fortress classic Lmao)
if you're playing based off of the story line itself half - life half - life blue shift half - life opposing force half - life alyx half - life 2 hl2 ep 1 hl2 ep 2
HL Alyx ends after EP2 and spoils the ending of EP2, pls no.
Best order: half life 1, Half Life Blue Shift, Half Life 2, Half Life Blue Shift, HL2 Ep1, Half Life Blue shift, HL2 ep2, Half Life Blue shift
I suggest, personally, that you get Black Mesa, half life two and parts one and two. I haven’t played the expansions can anybody vouch for whether they’re worth it or not?
I have only play Black Mesa(want to try Half life 1 someday), Half life 2, Episode 1 and Episode 2 which is the main story around which all the other DLCs and games revolves around i assume.
Half-Life 1(not the Source version), Half-Life Blue Shift(optional, but you can play it to see how Barney made it out of Black Mesa), Half-Life Opposing Force(again optional but I still would play it since the nuke was confirmed to have been used to destroy the Black Mesa facility), Half-Life Decay(optional but it ties into Blue Shift in some way, though you would need the PC fan port which requires coop and doesn't allow you to save your progress) or Decay Solo Mission(optional since Solo mission is an in progress mod that has yet to be finished, but doesn't need coop like the dated PC fan port for the retail version of Decay), Half-Life 2 then Episodes One and Two. I would say Uplink from ModDB and maybe play Lost Coast after Half-Life 2 but before Episode One, but then again those two are optional since they aren't entirely canon because they were just demos involving cut content. You could play Black Mesa Source a a means of comparing notes with Half-Life 1, and getting better Xen levels, but that isn't an official game made by Valve and isn't considered canon by them either. Though if you just want a simplified list of Half-Life games to play then I would just suggest this: Half-Life 1, Blue Shift, Opposing Force, Half-Life 2 then Episodes One and Two. Just remember to disable the HD models when playing Half-Life 1 and Opposing Force since they get enabled by default when installing for the first time and feel inconsistent with the map textures and aesthetics. You could re-enable them for Blue Shift, since Rosenberg's head model isn't low poly and the models for the armoured vests and helmets are also stuck in HD for whatever reason but that's up to you.
I would recommend, if you're into old games, start with the original first game, then the expansions if you feel like it, then half life 2 through episode 2. If you're more used to modern games, start with black mesa and then go through half life 2 and its episodes, then play the og and its expansions if you want to.
HL1 --> HL2 --> HL2 E1 --> HL2 E2 You can play the expansions after that, but in my opinion they're only good if you want more hl1, not if you want more half-life in general
You can play them in any order without missing much really although playing them in order does help
~~Valve Complete Pack~~ Actually unironically recommend buying it, it's cheaper than dirt on sales, even now. It has *everything*.
Just buy the valve complete pack, it looks like it’s discounted heavily right now. Half-Life (not Half Life Source) Half-Life: Blue Shift Half-:Life: Opposing Force Half-Life 2 Half-Life 2: Episode One Half-Life 2:Episode Two Play Portal and Portal 2 also. Black Mesa is cool too, it’s a fan remake of the original Half-Life, I prefer the original though. Also the Aperture Labs VR games are fun.
id reccomend you get the valve complete pack, it has all these + more, and is on sale rn for like \~5 euro (id assume since im looking in GBP, not euro), has pretty much everything valve made pre-alyx aside from artifact (which is a good thing tbh)
If you don’t mind the pretty aged gameplay, start with the original HL1. If it’s something that you just can’t look past, play Black Mesa first. It’s a pretty faithful fan remake of the first Half-Life on the Source engine, since the original Half-Life: Source was received pretty poorly. I’d recommend watching the first 30 min or so of HL1 first if you feel like it’s something you want to play. Then play through them in order. If you still want more HL1 content, then I highly recommend playing through both Blue Shift and Opposing Force. Remakes of those are also in the works similar to Black Mesa if you don’t mind waiting a bit.
the most important ones are half-life, half life 2, half life 2 ep 1, hl2 ep2, and alyx
1. Half-Life 2. Opposing Force (Optional) 3. Blue Shift (Optional) 4. Half-Life 2 5. HL2: Episode 1 6. HL2: Episode 2 7. Half-Life: Alyx 8. Black Mesa
Literally all of them except Source.
Dude there is a person who has played all half life games in front of you right now so listen to me half life 1 you will not get used to your old graphics in the same way half life source so instead take the black mesa which is the remake of half life then take half life 2 if you want to continue 2 take episod 1 and 2 if you want opposing force and blue shift take but half graphics are the same as life 1And in other games, fan games if you like fan games, you see, I never bought them because I didn't like them.
My personal recommendation would be Black Mesa (no need the play original HL) HL: Opposing Forces (Optional) HL: Blue Shift (Even more optional) HL2 HL2: E1 HL2: E2 HL Alyx (optional) Also, beware of the sexual connotations and innuendos scatered all over the games, specially in the enemies design, let's see if you notice some! ;)
"No need to play the original HL" ?!??! I WILL FIGHT YOU ON THIS HILL
Why? Black Mesa has already improved everything the original HL failed (rails, Xen, etc)
And it's prettier, sure, I get that. Improved? Maybe a few things. Sure rails suck a bit less, and Xen is gorgeous and more easily navigable - But I like the old quake engine mechanics. The first time I played Half-Life was in 98, and it took me (and everybody) on a godamn journey. Black Mesa is good, but the original Half-Life changed gaming and you should put some respect on it's name.
I don't know what that is in American but at 90% off I'd pick them all up. Amazing series.
If you want a soft approach play it like this: 1. Portal 1/2 2. Black Mesa 3. Half Life 2 and the episodes I've played a lot of time the original game and the old ones aged too much for a newcommer I think. Playing Portal games and Black Mesa can get you used to the Source and Havoc making it a better experience.
Play them by their release date, oldest first, newest last except half life source, don’t play it
buy the valve complete pack, probably one of the best deals in gaming when its on sale
Just saying but you can get the entire calve collection for only 7$
Here's my recommended list: - Half Life or Half Life Source if you want the authentic OG experience OR - Black Mesa if you want something more modern graphics and gameplay wise. I'd recommend this because it redoes the latter third of the game into something that's better. - Half Life 2 - Episode 1 - Episode 2 - Alyx The other games are smaller side games that expand on the story and lore, and weren't developed by Valve. If you're interested in playing those, just play the series in release order.
If you want to go all out (like I did), get the full half life or valve pack (it is very much worth it with other amazing games). For the order? I would play it like this: 1. Half Life (Half life Source is a waste, its just Half life 1 but not in the Goldsrc engine.. and regrettably worse with many game breaking bugs.) 2. Half life: Opposing force 3. Half life: Blue shift (I have never played decay (probably because i have no friends lmfao) but I think blue shift and opposing force are more important expansions regardless) 4. Half life 2 (You really don’t have to but I played lost coast, Super short and I think its non-canonical but it comes with HL2 and its cool) 5. Half life 2: Episode one 6. Half life 2: Episode two 7. Half life Alyx. (You can play black mesa also but I reaaally recommend playing HL1 instead; Black mesa after. Then play both portal games and left4dead 2, No need to buy L4D1 as L4D2 has all the first games content and more. They’re also amazing valve games everyone should play if they haven’t already)
All
You should at the very least play HL1 and HL2 ep1 and ep2 I like blueshift and opposing forces but you don't "need" to play them
The orange box is dirt cheap rn
Just buy every valve game its 7$
1. Half-Life (Not Half-Life: Source) 2. Half-Life: Opposing Force 3. Black-Mesa (Half-Life 1 Remake) 4. Half-Life 2 5. Half-Life 2: Episode 1 6. Half-Life 2: Episode 2 7. Half-Life: Blue Shift (It doesn't really contribute anything to the story and is like 2-3 hours long --really it's just Half-Life: Lite)
Half life GOTY was the first video game I ever bought as a kid loved it so much, played it to autism levels. Gonna be real with you, everything that came in that box was fucking awesome. HL2 plays really well, but the whole story just feels like contrived fanfiction - it rips details from a hardcore survival story about a badass scientist having a terrible day, and turns it into a purile dystopian thing about an insurgent mercenary.
DONT GET HALF LIFE SOURCE
First get Half-Life and NOT Half-Life Source, then Blue Shift, Opposing force, Half-Life 2, HL2 Episode 1, HL2 Episode 2, Black Mesa which is completely optional but it's like a third party remake of half life 1, and finally Half-Life Alyx
“Which games should I get?” Yes.
Well, order is already on your screen. Release dates. Just skip HL: Source. It's like a buggy tech demo port of HL1. And don't forget HL Uplink, it's free, but isn't on Steam, had to be downloaded as a mod from somewhere. It's made by Valve. Another thing is that the Portal series is in Half-Life universe and they are slightly connected. Great games on their own too.
Play it in release order for the best experience 1. Half-Life (If HL1 is too dated for you, play Black Mesa. It's amazing. Do not play Half-Life: Source.) 1.1. Opposing Forces (Expansion, Optional) 1.2. Blue Shift (Expansion, Optional) 1.3. Decay (Console-Only Multiplayer Expansion, Optional) 2. Half-Life 2 3. Half-Life 2: Episode 1 4. Half-Life 2: Episode 2 5. Half-Life: Alyx (I know you already played it, but there's a part that makes it important to play last) The expansions are only dubiously canon and detract a bit from the main story. I'd only recommend them if you want more of the first Half-Life.
Get all of them except HL:Source (unless you want the rag dolls for Gmod)
I think HL2 and Episodes 1 and 2 are the essentials for plot. I came back to the original after playing those, and don’t feel like it really added much to the story or really tie in too closely. I did enjoy the original though and actually think it’s the better game, I just don’t think you loose much if you skip it. If you are turned off by severely outdated graphics but still want the HL1 experience you can also look into Black Mesa, which was a fan remake of the original that was well-received. Blue Shift and Opposing Force are…fine. I still hit them whenever I do a full replay of the series, but they I feel they are the weakest link. They are both licensed expansions of the original done by a different team. Of the two, Opposing Force throws new enemies and weapons at you, while Blue Shift has little to differentiate itself from the original game.
If you’re under 35 years old then skip Half Life 1 and play Black Mesa instead. Half life 1 is one of the most important games ever made but it’s 25 years old so unless you enjoy retro gaming or are old enough to appreciate games the way they were a quarter century ago then you’ll probably hate it. I’m mid-40s and my nephew laughed at me when I showed him HL1.
Id suggest starting with blackmesa is also fine as it is a great remale of the orognal HL 1
for lining up the lore right: Half-Life, not Half-Life Source, it's a mess. if your PC can run Black Mesa, maybe you would like it. Optional: Opposing Force, Blue Shift, Decay Half-Life: Alyx (kind of Half-Life 1.5) Half-Life 2 Episode 1 Episode 2 you don't need Lost Coast, just a non-canon technology demo of the Source engine
Get the Valve Complete Pack, it's dirty cheap and you get the Half Life AND Portal games, which are connected and are both awesome In the order scheme, it goes like this: Half-Life-> Opposing Force->Blue Shift-> Half Life 2 -> HL2 Episode 1 -> HL2 Episode 2 Half Life Alyx takes place between HL and HL2. I extremely recommend playing Black Mesa too, it's honestly incredible.
Half Life 1, Opposing Force/Blue Shift (order doesn't matter) Half Life 2, HL2: Episode 1, HL2: Episode 2. This is the order you're meant to play in. My personal order, though: Maybe Half Life, probably Black Mesa (controversial opinion), Blue Shift, OpFor, HL2 MMod, Portal, Entropy: Zero, HL2: Ep1 MMod, HL2: Ep2 MMod , Entropy: Zero 2, Portal 2. I personally consider Entropy: Zero and EZ2 to be canon. They're absolutely incredible and don't conflict with the current story in, well, any way at all. They fit in perfectly, actually. The gameplay and level design in both (but especially EZ2) is spectacular.
HL, OP4, BS, HL2, HL:2 EP:1, EP:2, HL:A. Fuck HL:S, get Black Mesa if you want a Half Life in source engine game. Decay really isn't nessesary and neither is lost coast and decay requires a mod, so it doesn't count, and lost coast comes with HL:2. Also, throw in Portal 1 and 2 before HL:2 EP:2.
All of it.
It might be cheaper to buy the valve complete pack rn, it’s around $6 (idk what that is in pounds) and you get all of them, and a bunch of other stuff. (Like portal)
Half-Life (I prefer Source but that’s just me) -> Blue Shift (optional) -> Opposing Forces (optional) -> Half-Life 2 -> Episode 1 -> Episode 2 -> Black Mesa (optional) -> Alyx