iRankGames
Half-Life 2

Half-Life 2— Guide, genres & similar games

Gordon Freeman became the most popular nameless and voiceless protagonist in gaming history. He is painted as the most famous scientist and a hero within the world of Half-Life, and for a good reason. In the first game he saved the planet from alien invasion, this time, when the invasion is already

Half-Life 2 is a shooter game developed by Valve Software, 2004. It delivers vibe dark gameplay with ranged combat combat set in a sci-fi world. Available in single-player and multiplayer mode. With an iRank Score of 92/100, it ranks as a exceptional title in our catalog.

iRank Score

92/100 ↗

Rating

👍 91%

4K votes

Type

Shooter, FPS, Adventure

Released

2004

Updated May 2026

Developer

Valve Software

Publisher: Valve

Avg. playtime

~7h

Platforms

PC, Xbox, Android, Apple Macintosh, Linux

Half-Life 2 official trailer

Half-Life 2 screenshots

Half-Life 2 screenshot 1
Half-Life 2 screenshot 2
Half-Life 2 screenshot 3
Half-Life 2 screenshot 4
Half-Life 2 screenshot 5

About Half-Life 2

Gordon Freeman became the most popular nameless and voiceless protagonist in gaming history. He is painted as the most famous scientist and a hero within the world of Half-Life, and for a good reason. In the first game he saved the planet from alien invasion, this time, when the invasion is already begun, the world needs his help one more time. And you, as a player, will help this world to survive. This time Gordon arrives in City 17, ravaged and occupied by Combines, where he meets his old Black Mesa friends. What is different, aside from the overall design quality, is the use of Valve’s Source engine that not only expands on the fluidity of character model animations and movement but allows players to interact with a myriad of objects with the advanced and realistic (to an extent) physics. Classic Headcrab Zombies are revamped and have new variants that provide players with different threats. For a story-driven FPS, Half-Life 2 is unique in its plot delivery, and making in-game mechanics feel natural, be it platforming or driving.

Looking for games similar to Half-Life 2?

We've ranked 53 similar games using 14 gameplay attributes.

Find similar →

Games like Half-Life 2

See all 53 similar games →

Top games similar to Half-Life 2

Genre rankings

See full ranking →