In 2024, just over 20 years ago, Valve created Half-Life 2, a first-person shooter that continues the story of silent protagonist Gordon Freeman. Once a humble scientist, Freeman now finds himself in the middle of a global war against a multidimensional species known as the Combine, with humanity’s fate resting in the balance. In short, it was thrilling, fun to play, and so inventive, that it changed the landscape of the entire genre moving forward. Much like how DOOM set the pace for first-person shooter games during the 1990s, Half-Life 2 set the bar for a whole new generation, and showed us just how immersive an FPS could really be.
The Right Man in the Wrong Place
Despite the somewhat simple alien invasion setup, the narrative of Half-Life 2 is pretty complex, as Freeman travels far and wide to help the human resistance, dabbles in advanced tech, and encounters the grueling nature of his changing world. That said, this is where Half-Life 2 first sets itself apart, as the story is easy to digest and always experienced from Freeman’s point of view. Instead of cutscenes that take you out of the experience, all of the important plot content plays out during gameplay, with smartly scripted events that put you in the center of the unfolding drama. Thanks to high-quality animations, companion characters Alyx Vance are emotive and believable, while attention to detail in the environmental design makes the world feel lived in. Observant players can often catch intriguing details lurking in the background, like the ever-present G-Man, who watches Gordon with an equally curious eye.
The compelling story, detailed visuals, and heightened immersion all combine into a rich atmosphere that is only elevated further by the gameplay and action. Unlike the maze-like, corridor-heavy style of FPS games past, levels in Half-Life 2 are often sprawling and connected, full of weird nooks and crannies, and feel varied in tone. Though the gunplay isn’t incredibly noteworthy by modern standards, it still feels fun to shoot stuff, and Half-Life 2 mixes things up constantly to keep the mostly linear experience fresh. The physics were mind-blowing by 2004 standards and are still impressive to this day, with no better example than the Gravity Gun, which lets you manipulate everything from grenades to vehicles. With some unforgettable spots of gameplay, like driving an airboat through city canals or escaping the undead city of Ravenholm, the action is further propelled by big set-piece moments.
A Post Half-Life 2 World
The effects of Half-Life 2‘s influence were felt immediately, as other big-budget games soon took after Valve’s blockbuster title to equal success. New FPS hits like Bioshock, Crysis, and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare all benefited from this newfound focus on narrative and environmental immersion, rather than being hallways full of monsters to shoot. Throughout the 2000s, Valve continued to influence the future of FPS games with their Source engine, cementing new sub-genres like the “hero shooter” with 2007’s Team Fortress 2. Decades later, hero shooters are arguably more popular than traditional FPS games,with massively popular games like Overwatch and Marvel Rivals dominating play charts.
Moving into the 2010s and today, there’s no doubt that Half-Life 2 completely altered the expectations for first-person shooters, as most single-player FPS games still follow its formula. Unfortunately, those seem to be a dying breed, with most shooters turning to online multiplayer and live service design mechanics to keep players onboard for years and years. Either way, Half-Life 2 was an important evolution for the genre on the whole, and without it (and the creation of the Source engine), FPS games would look a lot different today. For now, we can only hold out hope that Valve will finally announce Half-Life 3 and finish Gordon Freeman’s story once and for all, but that might be a bit of a pipe dream.
