Half-Life
BANGER · Shooter · 1998
Steam Deck VerifiedThe verdict
WAIT.
A BANGER today. The Winter Sale opens Dec 17, and it was discounted in 8 of its last 8 seasonal sales; 80% in the Winter Sale 2025.
Today
$9.99BANGER
Typical seasonal cut
$1.9980% offBANGER
- Cost per hourS
- $0.83/hr
- ReviewsS
- 96% of 165,372
- Critics
- 96
- Genre rank
- Top 1% Shooter
Watch this gameOne alert at $1.99 or less.
Time and effort
- Main story
- 12h
- To 100%
- 15.4h 1.3x the story
Price and sales
- Sales
- 57 on record
- Typical cut
- 80% off
- Steam low
- $0.99 June 2017
- Sale every
- 84d last October 2026
Players and genre
- Online
- 445 now
- Recent reviews
- 94% 30 days
- Cheaper than
- 46% of its genre
- Better reviewed
- 98% of its genre
Price and player charts
The value story
The value story
57 discounts in the 14 years on record, a median of 80 percent off across all of them, roughly 12 weeks apart. Today it is at full price, and its last discount ended about 4 weeks ago.
Against its own genre its score lands in the top 1 percent. It is better reviewed than 98 percent of its genre. Among the games that feel like it, Half-Life 2 ($9.99, scores 98) beats it on value, while it beats Half-Life: Source ($9.99, scores 25).
The math says it holds its tier up to $17.03, and you are being asked for $9.99.
More about Half-Life
Of the 800 Steam-purchase reviews this site sampled, 7 come from buyers who refunded the game, sampled from reviews written September 2025 to August 2026. Inside the two-hour refund window, 94 percent of the 13,225 reviews written there were positive, against 96 percent overall, and those are 11 percent of everything written about it.
The rating rests on 165,372 reviews, so it is not going to move much from here.
Valve rates it Steam Deck Verified, and at 12 hours it is short enough to finish on one.
Buy now or wait
Buy now or wait
Next discount: likely in the Winter Sale, Dec 17 to Jan 4, at about $1.99 (80% off). Predictions like this were right 87% of the time when tested on 70 past weeks.
Last discount ended 31 days ago.
Sources: IsThereAnyDeal, Valve.
What drives the score
Grades: S best, D weakest
S is the best grade and D the weakest, judged as a buyer. ▲ raises the score, ▼ lowers it, ? is an input we do not have, • is a fact this genre's score does not use. How the grades work
What players say
I am disappointed to say the least. It's not a bad game or anything, but with the amount of critical acclaim this game has garnered, I really expected more from it, which makes we wonder if I would have liked it more if I hadn't heard a thing about this game. Starting off with the positives, this game has a distinct art style and premise that'll make it memorable even for someone like me who didn't enjoy the game...
2 more reviews, 2 not recommended
As someone playing Half-Life for the first time in 2026, I came away disappointed. The first quarter of the game genuinely impressed me. The atmosphere, environmental storytelling, and seamless presentation made me understand why this game was so beloved. For a while, I honestly thought I was playing a future 9 or even 10 out of 10 for me. Unfortunately, that's where my enjoyment peaked. As the chapters became...
That this game was revolutionary is one of the biggest low IQ psyops in gaming history. It fluked it's way to popularity. Nothing remarkable even for it's time.
Steam reviews, mixed to its ratio and rotated daily. Opinions are theirs.
About the game
Named Game of the Year by over 50 publications, Valve's debut title blends action and adventure with award-winning technology to create a frighteningly realistic world where players must think to survive. Also includes an exciting multiplayer mode that allows you to play against friends and enemies around the world.
Minimum specs
Runs on Windows, macOS, Linux.
No data upstream: achievement curve (Steam global achievements).
Cite this score
Half-Life scores 95/100 on the BANG Score (a BANGER) as of Nov 8, 2026. The BANG Score rates what a game is worth for the money. Via Steam BANGERS. https://steambangers.com/game/70/half-lifeReviews set the ceiling, and price against real length moves the BANG Score inside it. How it works, and where it is weak → Steam reviews as of Oct 31, price as of Nov 7. A number here look wrong? Tell me and I will check the inputs.