Half-Life 2: Episode One cover
FranchiseHalf-LifeSeriesHalf-Life

Half-Life 2: Episode One

Half-Life 2 →

Critic score2 critics
First release
Jun 01, 2006
Publisher
EA Games, Valve
Engine
Source
Genres
Shooter · Action, Science fiction, Horror

Half-Life 2: Episode One is the first of a planned trilogy of expansion packs/episodes for the 2004 first-person shooter game, Half-Life 2. The episode takes place immediately after the end of Half-Life 2, in the war-torn setting of City 17. The player is forced to deal with the effects of their actions during the main game. The episode is a stand-alone game; while a continuation of Half-Life 2, it does not require the original game to be installed or registered to a user's Steam account to play. It takes advantage of several major upgrades to the Source engine since the release of Half-Life 2, primarily its high dynamic range rendering capabilities and the upgraded facial animation system. Episode One was released together with Half-Life Deathmatch: Source, a port of the original Half-Life's multiplayer, which doubles as Episode One's multiplayer component. The retail copies of Episode One also come with Half-Life 2 Deathmatch for those who have not previously purchased the later title.

Also known as Half-Life 2: Episode 1, HL2:E1, HL2:EP1, Half-Life 2: Aftermath

Attributes

No Attributes added.

Details

Storyline, release dates, time to beat, age ratings, modes, links, keywords

Storyline
Taking place in City 17, just after the events of the last game, Half-Life 2: Episode one again follows scientist Gordon Freeman and his friend Alyx Vance as they stabilize a damaged Citadel core to buy time before it explodes, which will destroy the city and the surrounding area. They then rush to make it out of a war-torn City 17 as quickly as possible and also help evacuate any remaining citizens left.Read more

Taking place in City 17, just after the events of the last game, Half-Life 2: Episode one again follows scientist Gordon Freeman and his friend Alyx Vance as they stabilize a damaged Citadel core to buy time before it explodes, which will destroy the city and the surrounding area. They then rush to make it out of a war-torn City 17 as quickly as possible and also help evacuate any remaining citizens left.

Release dates
PC (Microsoft Windows)
Jun 01, 2006
Xbox 360
Oct 09, 2007
Xbox 360
Oct 10, 2007
All 11 release dates
Xbox 360
Oct 19, 2007
Xbox 360
Oct 25, 2007
PlayStation 3
Dec 11, 2007
PlayStation 3
Dec 14, 2007
PlayStation 3
Dec 20, 2007
Xbox 360
May 22, 2008
Mac
May 26, 2010
Linux
Jun 26, 2013
Time to beatIGDB · recorded
Main Story
3h
Main + Extras
5h
Completionist
9h
Age ratings
ESRB MPEGI 16
Game modes
Single player
Perspective
First person
Keywords
aliens, bloody, gravity, dystopian, death
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At a Glance

Critic Score
87
Main Story (IGDB)
3h
Main + Extras (IGDB)
5h
Completionist (IGDB)
9h

Overview

Steam review summary

Steam users rate this Overwhelmingly Positive, 25,734 reviews in all languages, recorded 16 October 2026

Valve's summary of Steam user reviews. Valve counts only reviews from purchases on Steam, not key activations, and leaves out review periods it has marked as off-topic. It isn't part of the CritScore score.

Review summary: SteamSteam data provided via the Steam Web API (opens in a new tab)Not affiliated with Valve →

About storefront and compatibility information

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