Half-Life Series Free To Play Ahead Of Half-Life: Alyx Release

It's been a while since we had a Half-Life game. The last entry, Half-Life 2: Episode 2 released in 2007 (13 years ago), so you could be forgiven for having forgotten some of the particulars of the series. With Half-Life: Alyx releasing in March, Valve is giving you the chance to catch up on your Half-Life lore by playing every single entry in the series, free of charge, until April 1.

The games included in the free-play promotion include Half-Life, Half-Life: Opposing Force, Half-Life: Blue Shift, Half-Life: Source, Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode One, and Half-Life 2: Episode Two.

The Half-Life series is regarded as one of the all-time greats. It puts you in the role of scientist Gordon Freeman, moments before a horrible catastrophe takes place at the Black Mesa Research Facility. Strange monsters start roaming the hallways, claiming the bodies of Gordon's co-workers and being general nuisances. It's your job to escape and get to the bottom of what's going on.

As for the upcoming Half-Life: Alyx, it's a virtual-reality exclusive. Thankfully, pretty much anyone with a VR headset that can connect to a PC will be able to play it. The game will be compatible with the Valve Index, Oculus Rift, Oculus Quest (with Link), HTC Vive headsets, and Windows Mixed Reality headsets. You can pre-order it on Steam for $54 USD. If you're considering picking up a VR headset to play Half-Life: Alyx, check out the best VR headset deals right now.

The Half-Life series

• Half-Life
• Half-Life: Opposing Force
• Half-Life: Blue Shift
• Half-Life: Source
• Half-Life 2
• Half-Life 2: Episode One
• Half-Life 2: Episode Two