Half-Life: Alyx is a 2020 virtual reality (VR) first-person
shooter developed and published by Valve. Set between the events of Half-Life
(1998) and Half-Life 2 (2004), players control Alyx Vance on a mission to seize
a superweapon belonging to the alien Combine. Players use VR to interact with
the environment and fight enemies, using "gravity gloves" to
manipulate objects, similarly to the gravity gun from Half-Life 2. Traditional
Half-Life elements return, such as physics puzzles, combat, exploration and
survival horror elements.
The previous Half-Life game, Episode Two, was released in
2007. After several failed attempts to develop further Half-Life projects,
Valve began experimenting with VR in the mid-2010s, and released a collection
of VR minigames, The Lab, in 2016. Recognizing the demand for a large-scale VR
game, they experimented with prototypes using their various intellectual
properties, such as Portal, and found that Half-Life best suited VR. Alyx
entered full production using Valve's new Source 2 engine in 2016, with the
largest team in Valve's history. Valve initially planned to launch Alyx
alongside its Index VR headset in 2019, but delayed it to rewrite the story
from scratch following internal feedback.
Alyx was released for Windows in March 2020 and Linux in May
2020, with support for most PC-compatible VR headsets. It received acclaim for
its graphics, voice acting, narrative, and atmosphere, and has been cited as
VR's first killer app.
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows 10
- Processor: Core i5-7500 / Ryzen 5 1600
- Memory: 12 GB RAM
- Graphics: GTX 1060 / RX 580 - 6GB VRAM
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
Gameplay:
Half-Life: Alyx is a virtual reality (VR) game that supports
all SteamVR-compatible VR headsets, which include the Valve Index, HTC Vive,
Oculus Rift, Oculus Quest and all Windows Mixed Reality headsets. As the
gameplay was designed around VR, Valve stated there were no plans for a non-VR
version.Half-Life: Alyx also supports user mods via the Steam Workshop.
Players control Freeman's ally Alyx Vance as she and her
father Eli Vance fight the Combine, an alien empire that has conquered Earth.
Designer David Speyrer said Alyx was not an episodic game or side story, but
"the next part of the Half-Life story", around the same length as
Half-Life 2. Players use VR to get supplies, use interfaces, throw objects, and
engage in combat. Like the gravity gun from Half-Life 2, the gravity gloves
allow players to manipulate gravity. Traditional Half-Life elements such as
exploration, puzzles, combat, and story are there. Every weapon can be used
one-handed, as Valve wanted players to have a hand free to interact with the
world at all times. While the game is primarily a first-person shooter, it adds
elements of the survival horror genre, as health and ammo are more scarce, and
it includes surprise frightening encounters.
Players can physically move around in room scale to move
Alyx in-game. Alternatively, players can use analog sticks on the VR
controllers to move Alyx traditionally, teleport to nearby points, or an
intermediate mode that has Alyx "glide" to selected points. In the
case of the teleportation option, the game still simulates the movement even
though the action appears instantaneous, and Alyx may die if attacked or moved
from too great a height
