Every Half Life 2 Chapter Ranked

“Half Life 2” came out in 2004. According to Steam, I first gave it a go in 2016 but stopped playing after an hour. I decided to give it another go in 2025, almost a decade after my first attempt and over two decades after the initial release … and, dare I say, Valve cooked with this one.

It’s incredible in hindsight how far ahead of its time it must’ve been in terms of gameplay and physics. I’m going to rank each chapter of the main game (not any of the chapters from the two “Episodes” that came out later) to try to explain why it still holds up today.

Before we begin, you can check out some of my related blog posts below:

Meh

14 – Black Mesa East (Chapter 5)

The general consensus seems to be that “Black Mesa East” is the worst chapter in Half Life 2. I couldn’t see why … until I remembered that all the action I was thinking of happens before and after this chapter.

It’s a walk-and-talk chapter. Playing catch with Dog is quite cute, I guess, but it unfortunately falls between chapters with good (and actual) gameplay.

13 – Dark Energy (Chapter 13)

I’d heard that Half Life 2 didn’t have the best ending. I wasn’t expecting it to be so mediocre.

Climbing the tower and bringing down those two ships has to be one of the worst final bosses I’ve experienced in any game. What stopped “Dark Energy” from finishing dead last was the explosive, and a little mind-boggling, ending.

OK

12 – A Red Letter Day (Chapter 2)

Like “Black Mesa East”, “A Red Letter Day” is another walk-and-talk chapter.

It’s more charming and there’s important world building going on, but it suffers from coming immediately after another walk-and-talk chapter.

11 – Entanglement (Chapter 9a)

I’m mad at “Entanglement” for three reasons – the tower defense / survival segments get a little stale, Eli gets teleported away so all the fighting was for nothing, and it’s labelled as chapter “9a” just to mess with the numbering convention!

Like with many of these lower-ranked chapters, this suffers from being sandwiched between high-octane ones.

Good

10 – Sandtraps (Chapter 8)

On paper, “Sandtraps” should’ve been an annoying chapter. Those Antlions can be a real pain in the backside, and staying off the sand is easier said than done.

The chapter won me over in the end by letting me control the Antlions as we charged towards the Nova Prospekt base. That’s the kind of power fantasy I can get behind.

9 – “Follow Freeman!” (Chapter 11)

“Follow Freeman!” is quite a weak chapter in the sense that it’s just more of “Anticitizen One” – something I penalized “Entanglement” for.

The squad-leading aspect was a nice change of pace, however, and the building where you have to deactivate the three power sources was a lot of fun … even if the automatic turrets got on my nerves.

Great

8 – Point Insertion (Chapter 1)

The non-gameplay chapters ranked really badly on this list, but I have to give credit to the very first chapter – Valve absolutely nailed the cinematic introduction with “Point Insertion”.

It’s atmospheric and all-encompassing, and I was ready to stick it to the Combine the moment I had a gun in my hands.

7 – Anticitizen One (Chapter 10)

If there was an award for coolest chapter title, I’d give it to “Anticitizen One” in a heartbeat.

It’s the chapter where Freeman and company can finally take on the Combine with a full-on rebellious force.

6 – Our Benefactors (Chapter 12)

I praised “Sandtraps” for being a power trip, but that chapter has nothing on “Our Benefactors”.

It’s the true final chapter of the game – the gravity gun is given maximum power and you’re unleashed upon waves of Combine. I would completely understand if this was most people’s favourite chapter, or at least top three.

5 – Route Kanal (Chapter 3)

“Route Kanal” has the honour of being the first chapter with proper gameplay, and Valve did a great job of easing the player into the physics-based shooter style.

You gradually build up your arsenal against a fair group of enemies, and the level design forces you to use your brain.

4 – Nova Prospekt (Chapter 9)

For some, “Nova Prospekt” is the peak of the game. The claustrophobic level design and repetitive gunplay mean it misses my personal top three, but I can still see the appeal.

You’re forced to stay on your toes at all times, and the deeper into the facility you venture the more horrors you find.

3 – Water Hazard (Chapter 4)

I’ve seen many, many people rag on “Water Hazard” and complain that it’s the worst chapter in the game. I can’t see why for the life of me.

I found the speedboat segments to be lots of fun, and barreling down the canal while an attack helicopter chases you was one of the coolest set-pieces in the game.

Amazing

2 – Highway 17 (Chapter 7)

Surfing the waters in “Water Hazard” had its moments, but no mechanic was as consistently fun as the car in “Highway 17”.

It’s a far more open chapter than most, and it has some of the best set-pieces like the lighthouse fight, the bridge and the crane.

All-Time Great

1 – “We Don’t Go to Ravenholm…” (Chapter 6)

There’s a reason Ravenholm is still raved about over two decades later.

It’s Valve firing on all cylinders, with clever level design and a tense atmosphere that makes your skin crawl. I found it terrifying to play through in 2025 – I can only imagine how scary it was twenty-one years ago!

Aaaand that’s my list! You can check out some of my latest blog posts below: