There are free Half-Life games now available on Steam, both of which are mods that have been transformed into full games. Consquently, neither comes from Valve itself, and as a result, neither has been released with full Steam Deck compatibility. Rather, Steam Deck support for both is listed as “unknown,” which is something Steam Deck users should keep in mind before downloading either Half-Life game.
The first of these two free Half-Life games is Half-Life Legacy, which is simply the entirety of the first game remade with a collection of improvements and fixes. To this end, it is pitched as the ultimate version of the original Half-Life game. The other new free Half-Life game is Half-Life Arena. Where Half-Life Legacy is a restored version of the entirety of the first Half-Life game, Half-Life Arena is a part of the first game. More specifically, it is a revamp of the Deathmatch mode of the first game, expanded into a standalone experience.
Remake of the first Half-Life
Half-Life Legacy was released this month by developer The Phoenix Project Software SVG, and according to user reviews, it’s quite good. To this end, after 359 user reviews, it has a 90% approval rating, which gives it a “Very Positive” rating. This is the second-highest rating a PC game can earn on Steam.
Half-Life Legacy is described and pitched as the “ultimate restoration” of the original 1998 Half-Life game with “faithful restorations” and full compatibility with the HL25 engine. To this end, it is the original game with “many minor fixes” and more polish. Some highlights include the addition of new Steam Achievements, the bunnyhop speed-cap removed, dynamic weapon lighting, HD-compatible HUD scaling, an autojump option, and much more.
Half-Life Multiplayer
For those with more nostalgia for the multiplayer elements of the original Half-Life rather than the single-player, in steps Half-Life Arena, also released this month, but by Dark Vector.
Half-Life Arena is pitched as a revamp of Deathmatch specifically into a small-scale, high-intensity experience with new maps, new weapons, bot support, and quality-of-life features that are inspired by the head-to-head mode of the PS2 version of the game.
According to user reviews, it has also received quite positive reviews. To this end, it has a 93% approval rating, which results in it also having a “Very Positive” rating on Steam.
All of that said, and as always, feel free to leave a comment or two letting us know what you think, or join the conversation over on the ComicBook Forum.