Half-Life 2 is getting a lot of players on Steam

Half-Life 2 received a huge surge in Steam players 20 years after its initial release. Players return to Half-Life 2 after two decades, revisiting everything that made Valve's shooter special.

Half-Life 2 is one of the most iconic video games ever created. An iteration on the formula established in the original Half-Lifethis 2004 sequel took an innovative step in game design. Using Havok's physics engine for the puzzles was a stroke of genius, and the lack of cutscenes, instead of keeping the player in the shoes of silent protagonist Gordon Freeman at all times, made the world feel more alive than anything else at the time. Nowadays, it suffers from what pretty much every best video game ever made feels like – other titles innovate on top ideas and can make some elements seem ordinary by comparison. Upon release, Half-Life 2 was anything but ordinary, and it remains a blast to play to this day.

Relatives

20 years ago, Half-Life 2 paved the way for advancing FPS design in one area

A generation later, Half-Life 2's approach to first-person shooter development proves that it was way ahead of the curve in regards to the main aspect.

According to SteamDB, Half-Life 2 surpassed 50,000 concurrent players for the first time. At the time of writing, the exact peak was at 52,027 and still rising. This is the highest peak it has ever reached since records began in 2008, and SteamDB admitted on Twitter that the number of people who played one of the best FPS games at launch is unknown. Still, it's quite a feat: the previous known peak was 16,101 in August 2021.

Half-Life 2's player base is growing on its 20th anniversary

It's fitting that the players are back Half-Life 2 on its 20th anniversary. The valve did Half-Life 2 is free to save for a limited time, alongside the release of a massive update that merges the base game with Episodes 1 and 2. It arrives with Steam Workshop support and added in-game commentary from the game's developers. That's not to mention a two-hour documentary looking back at the game and its impact. It was a wonderful period of celebration Half-Life 2a game that more than deserves its flowers two decades later.

To this day, there is speculation about the potential Half-Life 3 becomes a reality. Valve has been notoriously tight-lipped about all things number three, but the hope remains that they will once again return to their most iconic franchise. A 2020 VR exclusive Half-Life: Alyx showed two things: Valve still cared about the franchise and had the talent to do it justice. Earlier this year, some leaks hinted at a project that could be in development Half-Life 3. While nothing is guaranteed until Valve says anything official, it's good to have dreams.

1998. HALF-LIFE shocks the gaming industry with its combination of intense action and a continuous, captivating narrative. Valve's debut game won more than 50 Game of the Year awards on its way to being named PC Gamer's “Best PC Game of All Time” and launched a franchise with more than eight million retail units sold worldwide.

NOW. Taking the tension, challenge and inner charge of the original, and adding a stunning new realism and empathy, Half-Life 2 opens the door to a world where the player's presence affects everything around them, from their physical environment to their behavior and even their emotions. both friends and enemies.

The player once again takes up the mantle of research scientist Gordon Freeman, who finds himself on an alien-infested Earth stripped to the bones, its resources depleted and its population dwindling. Freeman is tasked with the unenviable role of saving the world from the evil he unleashed in Black Mesa. And many people he cares about rely on him.

Franchise

Half-Life

Released

November 16, 2004

Engine

source, hav

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and gore, intense violence

How long to beat

13 hours

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