All previous Half-Life games are now free on Steam in the run-up to Alyx's release

It's been well over a decade since the release of Half-Life 2: Episode 2, and with Half-Life: Alyx - the enormously long-awaited next instalment in Valve's seminal FPS series - mere months away, there are likely more than a few people in need of a story refresher. Luckily, Valve's on the case, and is making all previously series entries free on Steam for a limited time.

Although Half-Life: Alyx unfolds prior to the events of Half-Life 2, many characters and story elements, as Valve explains in a new Steam post, are shared. As such, "The Half-Life: Alyx team believes that the best way to enjoy the new game is to play through the old ones, especially Half-Life 2 and the episodes, so we want to make that as easy as possible."

To that end, all Steam users will be able to download and play Half-Life, Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode 1, and Half-Life 2: Episode 2 for free until Half-Life Alyx launches some time in March. That's not quite everything, however; Valve is also including original Half-Life expansion packs Opposing Force and Blue Shift (both created by Borderlands studio Gearbox back in the day), plus Team Fortress Classic for those hankering for a bit of multiplayer nostalgia.

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