Half-Life 2: Episode One cover art

Game entry

Half-Life 2: Episode One

2006 · FPS, Horror · PC, Mac, Linux, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 · EA Games

Half-Life 2: Episode One is ranked no. 285 among the best video games of all time by GameForever voters, with an ELO score of 1,767 and 65% of duels won.

World rank

no. 285

ELO score

1,767

Wins

65%

Duels played

371

Join the debate · 25

About Half-Life 2: Episode One

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.

The community says

It still holds up as one of the tightest short campaigns I've played, the pacing never lets go once it starts, no filler at all in there. Anyone else replay it…

ELO progression

Score moved from 1,500 to 1,767 ELO points over the last 123 days.

Head-to-head

Direct record on the most played match-ups.

In the same genre

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Around this spot

The games Half-Life 2: Episode One sits between in the world ranking.

  1. 282 World of Warcraft 1,768
  2. 283 Final Fantasy VII Remake 1,768
  3. 284 Far Cry 3 1,767
  4. 285 Half-Life 2: Episode One 1,767
  5. 286 Grand Theft Auto: Vice City 1,766
  6. 287 Persona 4 Golden 1,766
  7. 288 Doom 3 1,766

More games from EA Games

Released in 2006

The community

The debate

25 comments

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  1. ArcadeAce4

    It still holds up as one of the tightest short campaigns I've played, the pacing never lets go once it starts, no filler at all in there. Anyone else replay it back to back with the base game?

    Kihn76

    Replayed it back to back once, ended up voting for it right after just from the mood it left.

    IronRider

    Con lo cansado que estoy de este debate, sigo votando por él cada vez que aparece en un duelo.

  2. Berge70

    The GTA comparisons keep coming up, but scale was never the point here, never.

    CoopAce

    The lighting held up for me too, though loading between sections still breaks the flow more than I remembered.

  3. AllieRider

    The lighting engine work here held up better than most full games from that era, the corridors especially, though the pacing in the middle stretch drags compared to the sequel that followed it.

    NeonRider

    La duración corta no debería contar tanto en su contra, digo yo, pero bueno, cada quien vota como quiere.

    Samuel_75

    Vale, la iluminación aguanta, pero decís que el tramo medio decae, no será que lo comparás demasiado con la secuela y no con el original?

    Ibáñez5

    La duración pesa en el ranking, sí, pero no debería ser el único criterio que se mira

  4. IronKnight2004

    Played it split screen commentary style with a friend reading lines out loud. Worked better than it should have.

    Alfonso_1993

    okay but splitscreen commentary sounds amazing, wish more people voted based on stuff like that instead of just length

    QuestRunner25

    Replying to Alfonso_1993

    Commentary mode with a friend reading lines, that's the move I'm trying next time.

  5. QuestRex5

    Why does everyone forget how good the elevator scene tension was (small thing but it stuck with me)?

    NovaRex2

    Un pont qui tient debout, vraiment ? Moi j'ai plutôt ressenti un DLC gonflé qui s'arrête pile quand ça commence.

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