Half-Life is the 1998 Valve game that introduced players to the scientist Gordon Freeman.
The first-person shooter begins at the Black Mesa Research Facility, where a failed experiment opens a portal to the alien dimension Xen. Freeman, a theoretical physicist, must survive the resulting catastrophe while uncovering the actions of government forces and other factions.
Valve emphasized continuous scripted storytelling instead of separating the campaign into conventional cutscenes. The game also used environmental events, sound and character encounters to maintain the player’s viewpoint, helping it feel more like an interactive narrative.
Half-Life won widespread critical acclaim and influenced later first-person shooters. Its 2004 sequel, Half-Life 2, introduced a different setting and the Source engine, but Gordon Freeman remained the central protagonist.