Half-Life 2
Hooks you right away
What the data shows
- 94% of first-hour reviews are positive — about the same as players with 10+ hours (98%).
- The opening is criticised less than in 96% of games we track.
- 38% of players who start reach the ending.
- The biggest drop-off is between “Trusty Hardware” (Get the crowbar) and “Anchor's Aweigh!” (Get the airboat): from 96% to 75% of starters.
- 71% of owners got the first achievement.
When it gets good
Share of positive reviews by how many hours the reviewer had played when writing the review.
before it gets good opening up fully opened up
Based on all 282,509 Steam reviews in every language. Median playtime in a sample of 234 reviews: 16.6h for positive, 22.2h for negative. Almost every game is rated lower in the first 2–3 hours: that window includes refunds and quick first impressions. What matters is how deep the dip is and how fast the game recovers.
Where players quit
Share of players who started the game and reached each story milestone. 100% is the most common achievement (70.6% of owners), so people who bought the game and never launched it don't count.
- Started playing 100%
- Trusty Hardware Get the crowbar. 96% −4
- Anchor's Aweigh! Get the airboat. Most players quit here 75% −21
- Zero-Point Energy Get the Gravity Gun in Black Mesa East. 61% −13
- Hallowed Ground Escort Gregori safely through the church cemetery. 55% −6
- Where Cubbage Fears to Tread Defend Little Odessa from the gunship attack. 53% −2
- Warden Freeman Survive the second turret standoff in Nova Prospekt. 44% −9
- Follow Freeman Gain command of a squad of rebels in the uprising. 44%
- Giant Killer Survive the rooftop strider battle in the ruins of City 17. 38% −5
- Singularity Collapse Destroy the Citadel's reactor core. 38% −1
story milestone ending biggest drop-off
Story milestones were labeled by AI from achievement names and descriptions; mistakes are possible.
All achievements (69)
story milestone ending side
- Malcontent Escape the apartment block raid. 100%
- Trusty Hardware Get the crowbar. 96%
- Anchor's Aweigh! Get the airboat. 75%
- Heavy Weapons Get the airboat's mounted gun. 66%
- Submissive Put the can in the trash. 64%
- Revenge! Destroy the hunter-chopper in Half-Life 2. 62%
- Zero-Point Energy Get the Gravity Gun in Black Mesa East. 61%
- Hallowed Ground Escort Gregori safely through the church cemetery. 55%
- Where Cubbage Fears to Tread Defend Little Odessa from the gunship attack. 53%
- Barnacle Bowling Kill five barnacles with one barrel. 53%
- Defiant Hit the trashcan cop with the can. 47%
- Bug Hunt Use the antlions to kill 50 enemies. 45%
- Warden Freeman Survive the second turret standoff in Nova Prospekt. 44%
- Follow Freeman Gain command of a squad of rebels in the uprising. 44%
- Radiation Levels Detected Get through the toxic tunnel under City 17 in Half-Life 2. 43%
- Plaza Defender Survive the generator plaza standoff in chapter Anticitizen One. 42%
- Fight the Power Shut down the supression device by disabling its generators. 40%
- One Man Army Destroy six gunships in Half-Life 2. 40%
- Giant Killer Survive the rooftop strider battle in the ruins of City 17. 38%
- Singularity Collapse Destroy the Citadel's reactor core. 38%
- OSHA Violation Kill 3 enemies using the crane. 31%
- Blast from the Past Find the HEV Suit Charger faceplate in Eli's scrapyard. 28%
- Targetted Advertising Pin a soldier to the billboard in chapter Highway 17. 24%
- Atomizer Disintegrate 15 soldiers by throwing them into a Combine ball field. 18%
- What cat? Break the mini-teleporter in Kleiner's lab. 18%
- Counter-Sniper Kill all of the snipers in City 17. 16%
- Two Points Use DOG's ball to make a basket in Eli's scrapyard. 16%
- Gnome Alone Launch Half-Life 2 after Gabe Newell launched a garden gnome into space. 15%
- Vorticough Discover the hidden singing vortigaunt cave in chapter Water Hazard. 14%
- Watch Your Head! Make it to the bottom of the Citadel's main elevator shaft in one piece. 11%
- Containment Contain the Citadel core. 11%
- Acid Reflex Kill an acid antlion worker. 10%
- Flushed Kill an enemy with a toilet. 10%
- Hack Attack! Kill five enemies with a Manhack. 10%
- Elevator Action Survive long enough to get on the parking garage elevator. 10%
- Zombie Chopper Play through Ravenholm using only the Gravity Gun. 10%
- Into the Breach Help Griggs and Sheckley hold off the antlion invasion inside the mine shaft. 9.5%
- Attica! Destroy the gunship in the hospital attic. 9.3%
- Escape From City 17 Escape City 17 with Alyx. 9.1%
- Twofer Defeat both antlion guards outside the White Forest. 8.9%
- Meet the Hunters Survive the Hunter ambush with Alyx. 8.8%
- Gunishment! Destroy the Combine Autogun in the junkyard. 8.5%
- Deadly Harvest Kill an enemy by planting a hopper mine. 8.5%
- Secondary Silo Secured Secure the launch doors on missile silo 2. 8.4%
- Quiet Mountain Getaway Survive the ambush at White Forest Inn. 8.4%
- Keep Off the Sand! Cross the antlion beach in chapter Sandtraps without touching the sand. 8.4%
- Defense of the Armament Save the missile silo from the Combine offensive. 7.6%
- Gordon Propelled Rocket Unlock the rocket launcher lambda cache in chapter Under The Radar. 7.1%
- Citizen Escort Don't let any citizens die when escorting them to the escape train. 6.4%
- Lambda Locator Find all lambda caches in Half-Life 2. 5.9%
- Pedal to the Metal Beat DOG in a race to the White Forest base. 5.4%
- Cache Checker Find every radar cache in chapter Under The Radar. 5.4%
- Grave Robber Steal a Zombine's grenade. 5.2%
- Think Fast! Kill an Elite Soldier with his own energy ball. 5.0%
- Live Bait Help Alyx snipe 30 enemies in Episode One. 4.8%
- Hit and Run Run over 20 enemies with the car in Episode Two. 4.5%
- Bone Breaker Kill 30 enemies with thrown physics objects. 3.8%
- Car Crusher Use the cars to squash 15 antlions in Episode One. 3.5%
- Payback Kill a Hunter with its own flechettes. 3.3%
- Pacifist Contain the Citadel core without killing any stalkers. 2.8%
- Piñata Party Find and break every web cache in Episode Two. 2.7%
- Conservationist Kill five enemies with the same energy ball. 2.5%
- Puttin' On a Clinic Defeat the chopper in Episode Two without any misses. 2.4%
- Hot Potat0wned Kill a Combine soldier with his own grenade. 2.4%
- The One Free Bullet Finish the game firing exactly one bullet. Grenade, crowbar, rocket, and Gravity Gun kills are okay! 2.3%
- Little Rocket Man Send the garden gnome into space. 2.3%
- Zombie-que Use flares to light 15 zombies on fire. 2.3%
- Neighborhood Watch Save all buildings outside the missile silo from destruction. 2.0%
- Get Some Grub Squish every antlion grub in Episode Two. 1.8%