Play Order (Release = Chronological)Recommended
0 / 6 playedThe order the games came out, and the recommended play order. One list covers it; the prequel goes last for story reasons explained below.
Black Mesa
- 1 Half-Life Start here. Valve's 2023 anniversary update is the easiest modern version.
- 2 Half-Life Expansions: Opposing Force / Blue Shift / Decay Three side stories retelling the same incident: Opposing Force (1999), Blue Shift and Decay (both 2001).
City 17
- 3 Half-Life 2 Lost Coast (2005) is an optional free tech demo from this era.
- 4 Half-Life 2: Episode One
- 5 Half-Life 2: Episode Two Ends on a cliffhanger Valve never resolved.
VR prequel
- 6 Half-Life: Alyx Set between Half-Life 1 and 2, but play it last: it needs VR and its ending follows Episode Two.
About Half-Life
Half-Life is Valve's landmark shooter series about physicist Gordon Freeman and the alien invasions that follow the Black Mesa incident. Half-Life 2 and its episodes continue the fight on Earth under the Combine, while Alyx returns to the gap between the two games. Newcomers should start with Half-Life (1998); Valve's 25th anniversary update (2023) is the easiest modern version, with the fan remake Black Mesa (2020) as an alternative.
Release order is the recommended play order, and this single list covers it. Alyx is a VR prequel set between the first two games, but its ending pays off Episode Two, so play it last. The three Half-Life 1 expansions are grouped as one entry since they retell the same incident from new angles.
Good to know
Lost Coast (2005) is a short free tech demo with commentary, not a story chapter. Decay (2001) was a PS2 co-op expansion, long hard to play legally outside fan ports. Half-Life 3 has never been announced despite years of rumors and 2025 datamine chatter; treat every leak as unconfirmed.
