Half-Life: Alyx

I absolutely love this game. The graphics, the immersion, the story, all incredible. Sublime work.

8/10
A negative purely because of how much a pain trying to fix the performance for the game was when using a Quest 2. I have a Ryzen 5 3600, 3070ti, 32gb ram, ssd, everything is updated (drivers, steam, Meta app, headset), and I used a usb cable that met the requirements to link my Quest 2. Hmm, was the recommended specs for this game always blank? Oh and only 23% of players have finished the game. I've looked around and it seems even 3090 players have had issues with the performance and stuttering of the game when it should all work right off the bat.

One of the games you should play when you get VR. The gameplay is a linear story shooter with weapon upgrades as the character progression throughout the game. There's 3 weapons; pistol, shotgun, and smg each with their own resin upgrades. I played on normal and may have missed some resin, but I was able to get all but one upgrade before the last resin machine. The game is about 9-11hrs long, I had a previous save file from years ago.

On normal your character is quite squishy, but the only real danger are the Combine special enemies, as they can chunk your health in a blink.

I got the game years ago along with my Quest 2 and was new to VR. My first time experience was horrid, as I was nauseous, headache from the pressure on my face, and my body was overheating from the heat coming off the Quest 2. I played with the joystick movement as the other options feel restrictive in combat. Recently I really wanted to give the game a try again, and make use of the Quest 2 collecting dust. I'd been playing the game once a day for 30mins-1hr a session, as that was all I could stomach. About 3/4 through the playthrough I started getting less nauseous from the joystick movement, but the heat and weight would put me out. Got one of those KIWI headstraps and it was very helpful the last couple hours of the playthrough, as it make it comfortable enough to play for 1.5hrs-2hrs at a time.

The biggest hurdle I found with the game was how difficult it was to fix the performance issues with the game, as steamvr, HLA, the headset, and the Meta Quest Link app may not work together as well as they did when the game first came out. I don't know where the problems comes from, whether it be buggy software between the Meta app, Steamvr, Nvidia drivers, and HLA, but it needs to be looked into, as this one of the best VR games available and you should be able to run it and play without having to google for fixes. I'd almost rather have a headset that is only PCVR, such that it is not a standalone like the Quest/Pico, as I believe this opens the door to more compatibility issues.

Here's a list of some of the fixes I tried with my Quest 2 (google them to find forum/reddit threads on it); turning off motion smoothing in steamvr settings, putting this as a launch option "-novid -console -vconsole +vr_fidelity_level_auto 0 +vr_fidelity_level 3 +vr_render_scale 1.0" this I think will stop the game from increasing the resolution depending on how much overhead you have, turning down visual fidelity in the settings, in the SteamVr window bring up the settings and turn off VR home, lower the resolution for SteamVR home and room. But even with this it seemed the game would just become a stuttering mess in some areas. When it comes to resolution and refresh rate, you can tune this in Meta's app. I prefer choosing the 72Hz and higher resolution (do custom resolution and leave the slider on the tick it recommends), because if I choose the 90Hz the resolution it recommends is hella blurry, which makes it very hard to see enemies and do long-range shots.

Quick summary of the story. You begin in Alyx's hideout, head out to find her father Eli at his location, Eli and Alyx get captured, Alyx is broken out from a metrocop transporter, goes to free her dad, frees her dad and they then go to find out what has the Combine so nervous, they decide they need to get to the vault high in the sky to find what has them scared, they believe it's Gordan Freeman, Alyx pulls power levers at random and grounds the vault, destroys a strider and gets beamed up into the vault, use cool lightning powers to one-shot everything, and free Gordan Freeman the G-Man, G-Man gives a choice to save her father or not to (I chose to save Eli), with my decision Alyx is essentially hired to replace Gordan as G-Man's new agent because Gordan supposedly won't do his job or is incapable of doing so, Gordan and Eli decide they need to save her from G-Man, roll credits then mix in some scavenging, firefights, puzzles, hidden resin and you have a good time.

It's pretty great. Some parts were sluggish but overall amazing game.

Great game with a very creative approach to gameplay, level design, UX. The game itself is not too long, not too short
Was a bit disappointed by inability to choose any alternate ending, the game asks you to choose, but in fact you have no choice. Other than that no complaints

Probably the best VR game at the moment, crazy visuals, fun fighting, always on your toes.

It's such a solid game, it's depressing.

I don't think immersion is a byproduct of a medium, but the willingness to infer. Since finally shooting that silly lock off that chain-link fence, the game has rewarded (or punished) almost every inference I was willing to make.

The fidelity of the world, the indirect storytelling, and the gentle push to make the puzzle-solving feel creative,all create little moments. It creates stories of how I reacted to a moment, whether or not they are important to the narrative.

I am a certified Big Baby™ and cannot handle horror or spooky things all that well--but when sandwiched between this much intrigue and context, it feels funny. I feel like a unlucky main character in a horror schlop, and it's wonderful.

There are moments that feel both recognizably "gamey" and yet believable in the context of the world. (That laundromat fight...)

The style of puzzle where you stop and manipulate a spatial puzzle with your hands a la sci-fi hologram, do feel a little VR gimmicky. However, they usually only happen during a lull as a break...so when they betray that expectation...you'll feel it.

There were moments where it felt like you could "break" or "cheese" the game but due to the pacing, if one moment doesn't work for you, just wait, the next probably will.

It's a powerhouse of artistic direction. It's like photogrammetry was used as the bones of a space, and the flesh was purposefully carved in or gestated on, to a mostly invisible effect. Ugh, and that lighting is both gorgeous, with lots of soft gradients affecting mood-- and useful, guiding the eye.

It does something I wish a lot of VR titles did. It takes advantage of people's ability to look around. It forces people to look up, and out, and in. Usually, looking around will solve some immediate problem. It's honing that language. I think this feels strongest in VR.

No game is perfect, and I'm increasingly convinced that HL:Alyx isn't "the only good VR game."

But--it feels bittersweet that a VR game can be this good within the bounds of what VR can realistically and currently do.
(I'm playing this on a laptop, on a Quest 2, on public 2.5Gh wifi for god's sake.)

It makes me feel a little drained every time I hear about "the future of VR" when the present, or even the recent past is honestly this nice.

Like, "what have we missed," y'know?

Anywho, the headcrab chilling on a wall like a big spider made me want to pee myself

wanna buy it for other friends/10
____________________
edited for grammar, and comma splices my greatest love in this cruel world

Four years on, this VR experience continues to stand out as the finest available. The level of immersion, intuitive controls, and engaging gameplay is simply unparalleled.

In a time when nobody would give VR a chance, Valve brilliantly forced us into its grasp by releasing the next Half-Life game for it and it alone. Rather than being a sci-fi themed tech demo, however, Alyx serves as a worthy member of its series, reminding us what made each previous Half-Life special. Alongside each Half-Life was a jaw-dropping technological discovery. In 1998, it was the mere concept of a game focused on immersion, on its world, and the people within it. In 2004, it was the majesty and the hilarity of an accurate physics engine. And, cementing its place among the stars, in 2020 it was the dream of science fiction writers for decades on end: the ability to put a man in a video game. Run. Think. Shoot. Live, now inside of your eyes. Good luck.

got my self Meta Quest 3 last month. new to VR. I got this game 2-3 days ago and finished the game just today. and I loved it. It's my first story driven VR game. So far, this is the best VR game I have played.

This game is awesome! It's optimisation is great and runs great on my low to mid range pc!(rx5700xt ,ryzen 5600). The puzzles are fun and the guns look and feel great. I would recommend this game to anyone with a VR headset, as it has smooth locomotion and teleportation, so nausea is almost 0.
10/10

This honestly one of the coolest games I've played in a while. I'm only 3.5 hours in and using a PSVR2 headset with the PSVR2 PC Adapter. The sync isn't perfect as the headset or Steam VR seems to crash a bit more than I like, but overall it works well enough to still enjoy the game. This game set the bar really high for VR. Hoping more games VR games aim for this kind of VR experience.

I had to wait until VR headsets dropped enough in price to be affordable. It was worth the wait, just for this game.

So. You like VR. And you like shooters. Give it a shot. Regardless of what other people say. You might like it, you might not. Its all subjective. I'd recommend it.

Now that THATS out of the way...

holy f*cking sh*t bro.
holy f*cking sh*t.
i cant put it into words. i mean everything i can even think of is just.... wow.

I feel like Owen Wilson saying "wow" this much, i just cant help it. throw in a few "woah"'s in there too.
My girlfriend watched me play the whole time and i was like "ohhhh sh*t" when i saw some things i recognized from the previous games. and she was like "what what what" and then i was like "oh your'e gonna HATE this"

SPOILERS

so. you play as this girl, Alyx Vance, daughter of Eli Vance. your dad gets kidnapped by the Combine, an alien empire that thinks hes up to something, and then you gotta find him with the help of Russel, who's basically like your dad's 'guy-in-the-chair,' who guides you through and keeps yo company throughout the whole game. However, he can be a bit mouthy when he feels like it. I mean the dude also made you these really sick gravity gloves. so yoink. literally. you can grab sh*t from like 30 feet away, its insane. alright thats all the spoiling.
best money i've spent in my life.
play this game now.
or Jeff's gonna get you

4 years later and this is still the best VR game you can play. Movement, interaction, and gameplay are top notch.

The visuals, the gameplay, everything. This game has everything to offer, and is a must-play experience sometime in your life.

Half-Life Alyx continues Valve's unbroken run of magnificent and game-changing Half-Life games. The perfect VR game, with Valve's trademark constant surprises and ever-changing gameplay scenarios. I hope they don't give up on VR, but nonetheless... Half-Life 3 is now needed, and I don't mind if it's a VR game.

Probably one of the best VR experiences you can buy, at least as of now. Everything just works so intuitively and feels so natural, and the sound design is genuinely so gorgeous and fun to listen to!

I've even caught myself doing the gravity glove "pull" gesture every once in a while outside of the game, it's just stuck in my muscle memory because it feels so natural

If you've got the money for the game, a VR headset (even a cheap one like a Quest 3S), and a VR-capable PC, give it a try!

Played through the entire game using Steam Link over WiFi on a Quest 2, it worked great most of the time, apart from some weird issues with my graphics drivers and the game crashing during level transitions (which was fixed by just keeping the game minimised on my desktop, surprisingly enough)

This is the best VR game out there. Every single area's attention to detail in this game is insane beyond measure, and the intensity of certain fight scenes is great. This game does a great job at immersing you into the Half-Life universe.

What a masterpiece, Valve really outdid themselves once again, even when they no longer actively make games anymore. This should be the standard for any VR game.

Tense but not scary, hard but not impossible, as a half life fan this game is awesome, i wish they would have put all half life weapons on it but the available weapons are realy satisfying to shoot, the weapon upgrades are nice.
overall a realy good VR title and im not at the end yet, realy enjoying the story

Hands down one of the best VR games I've ever played. Great story and game play. Puzzles are fun and get a little tough towards the end. Would definitely recommend this game for anyone who enjoys VR games.

I waited four and a half years to try HL Alyx (avoiding spoilers somehow) and I gotta say the game is definitely up to the hype. Nothing short of an amazing game experience.

In case anyone wants to know, instead I found the experience with VR technology not so amazing... This is my first owned headset, a Quest 3. I had tried VR before, over the years, and the improvement in visual quality are incredible since last time I tried it a few years ago. But I find the headset still way too heavy, the batteries that last barely one session, the hardware requirements that are still too high, I also got weird experiences and headaches after using it for a few hours (I know it's subjective). All of this on top of the steep entry price, and softwares that you have to open in a certain order otherwise nothing works, and the fact that you need a 5ghz wifi router in the same room with you otherwise you are forced to play using a cable link. With all these issues it is amazing that we have a game like Alyx, I guess only Valve could make it. So I find myself dubious about the future of this tech... What do you think?

This is undoubtedly a masterpiece. I felt genuine childlike joy while playing this game, comparable to the feeling I had when I first played GTA or The Sims, thinking, "Wow, you can even do this here!" This game is absolutely worth buying a VR setup for.

The game design is on a god-tier level—Valve did an amazing job. The progression is incredibly well-crafted: you're guided through the game in a way that's engaging, easy to follow, and genuinely interesting, with new mechanics and interactions introduced seamlessly. The game is packed with interactions that fully leverage the advantages of VR. Sometimes, simply interacting with the environment is so engrossing that you forget about the storyline entirely.

There's a unique satisfaction in being able to literally "feed your enemies lead" straight from your own hand. It’s a completely different experience from simply aiming with a mouse.

10/10 game, though it was unclear where and what to do at certain points. I can't wait to replay this game.

Un-ironically the best VR game made to this day. The only AAA VR game. Great story for the time Between HL1 and HL2. Go play.

Incredible game. Sure they could have interacted with the vr format more but the story and shooting mechanics and dialogue are all so half life sorta perfect.

One of the greatest gaming franchises ever conceived, praying HLX turns out to be Half Life 3 and we can concluded the epic saga between humanity and the Combine.

Hands down best VR game I've ever played. This game hits all the boxes and is beautiful. Valve hit it out of the park with this game.

Even after so many years after its inception this is one of the most beautiful VR games ever produced. Graphics is still top notch. Game mechanics is fun and masterfully introduced one small bit at a time. The story is fun and engaging. Horror elements are tasteful (no meaningless jump scares etc). Puzzles are fun to play. There was just one where you are supposed to move blue dots on a sphere that became slightly frustrating towards the end, but water under the bridge. Music and FX are amazing. Strong recommend.

i recommend this game cause gud and also comments are welcome thanks

p.s i put the fridge in your pizza and me and mum are getting a divorce #relatable
love dad 👍

p.sp.s i ate the fridge from the pizza #dominoesisgud

love mom and dad (not for long) 👍👍

p.sp.sp.s comments are welcome 👍👍

Thought it was going to be wayy too easy and linear at first - but it turned out to be more complex than any VR game I've played before! Great campaign - worth 20,-€, especially with Workshop mods!

i bought this game like 4 or 5 years ago and still have not finished it. Some parts of it can really just be a slog. As i'm writing i plan to finish it. But honestly waiting so long kind of made it worse as despite the game being the top of VR games when it was released a lot of the mechanics are kinda dated. Games like Blade and Sorcery and BoneLabs blow it out of the water in terms of physics, gunplay. and overall VR game mechanics. Despite all that if you love half life its great even if you dont its still a solid game all in all.

Easily one of the best VR games in recent time and also shows how amazing existing franchises can be when experienced in VR.

As a VR game its a solid experience, but if you don't care for Half Life then you will probably get bored. Half life is a franchise I have never really liked but I gave this a chance based on it being VR. It's good for a VR experience but not for the whole game if you are not interested in the HL universe. So I can recommend it on the basis that I know it will be good for HL fans, just not for me

i absolutally love this game although it does crash once in a while. 100% i would say play this game

Played it with Valve Index and this is my first VR game.

This game is a polished VR fps and I guess so much ambition and potential in it for future releases. Alone, the game would be worth a 9/10 but with Valve behind it, sacrificing so much for innovation I think it deserves a perfect score. Because they make the future.

10/10

Probably the best VR game ever produced (at least so far). Cannot be played flatscreen as some like to argue; the game is wholly and passionately designed for this medium. Rubikon physics engine adds a whole level of immersion (always thought bottles broke a little too easily however.)

This game is a marvel of level and environment design. I'm surprised how low the minimum requirements for this game are given its spectacular lighting and amazingly consistent high fidelity texturing. Cheers to those developers who work on the little details and nooks and crannies that most will never look at - there are too many of those to count in this game. Thank you valve for being brave enough to take a leap and create a truly innovative experience using a platform that many did not (and still don't) have access to.

Just a warning, though, although I love to play with continuous movement, this game is clearly not designed for it and there will be a lot of moments trying to pick up things and suddenly and frustratingly moving yourself up a debris-slope lol

constant crashes, tried multiple fixes and nothing still.
intel i7 14700k 3.4ghz
nvidia gtx 4070 ti

(EDIT) using the meta quest 3. tried with airlink and link cable so far only game that this has happened

Hands down the best VR game out there! Everything about the game was just amazing, the combat, the soundtrack, the visuals, the interactions! The cutscenes were honestly so fascinating!

Bravo valve, always making the best games out there!
Half life is my most favorite franchise and playing this was just an honor. The story was great aswell.

If you have a VR i'd heavily recommend to play this game, IT'S A MUST! Especially if you're a half life fan!
Hope Valve continues making those kinds of games because they are always so well done.

PROS

It's not often that scenes in a game give me goosebumps and butterflies in my stomach. Some of the set pieces in Half-Life Alyx stunned me. In the first opening scene, I just stood there for about 15 minutes looking over a balcony at City 17 and the Citadel with my jaw dropped. As I play the game, I feel compelled to take my time, to observe the richness and detail of the world. Something as mundane as picking up a piece of litter like a beer bottle or floppy disk and being able to read the text on it makes the world feel so much more rich and tangible.

To date, this is the most high production-value and polished VR game I've ever played. The visual fidelity and richness is absolutely stunning. The sound design. The atmosphere. The voice acting. The level designs. The character designs. The smoothness of gameplay. Everything is top-tier. I truly feel like I'm immersed in a cinematic experience.

CONS

I will say, it's a pretty linear and simple shooter in the classic Half-Life formula plus a pinch of very simple resource hunting and crafting. You progress through the levels in a linear fashion, solving some world/physics puzzles. That's not really a con in my view. Just don't expect "revolutionary" gameplay. It's nothing new shooter-wise or Half-Life-wise except that it's wrapped in a super immersive and rich VR experience.

Even though this is the best-looking, polished and complete VR experience to date, it is showing its age. Some of the VR-specific mechanics do feel a bit dated in their design compared to more modern VR experiences.

Switching weapons/tools is a matter of navigating a sub-menu interface on your hand, rather than actually holstering/unholstering them off your body, which more modern VR games have figured out.

Pistol magazines cannot be filled between firefights, so if you want to conserve ammo, you're stuck having to go into firefights with partially filled mags or having to discard those mags entirely if you want a fully loaded gun before the next firefight.

You can move around freely and have the option for continuous turning (snap turning is the default). BUT, there is no jumping unfortunately. So to mount platforms, you're stuck with using a "teleport" movement mechanic (which breaks immersion in my opinion), or a clunky vaulting mechanic.

A weird performance quirk: I found that the frame rate takes a big hit if the game window is focused. This is particularly apparent when I'm trying to play the game at 120 fps. If the game window is focused, the fps will drop and fluctuate between 60 and 90 fps. Just make sure to click outside of the game window to fix the issue.

SETUP

I play on a Quest 3, tethered to my PC (5800X3D, 4070 Ti), at 2064x2208 per eye, 120 Hz & fps. Ultra settings. I really recommend settling for nothing less than that. This game NEEDS to be experienced at its full potential. I tried playing wirelessly, but it just doesn't look as crisp and fluid. A word of warning, trying to get this game to run on a Quest 3 at 2064x2208 @ 120 Hz is a bit finicky and unstable. I got it to work reliably enough, but you could always settle for 90 Hz instead for peace of mind.

Half-Life Alyx is the Best VR Game I've Played!

Half-Life Alyx set a new benchmark for VR gaming, taking full advantage of the medium's immersive potential. One standout moment is when you have to literally cover your mouth to avoid alerting Jeff, a terrifying enemy in the campaign. This kind of interaction showcases the depth of immersion VR can provide, making you feel like you're truly part of the world.

Exploration in the game is incredibly satisfying. Interacting with objects feels natural and engaging. Thanks to the excellent physics system, every object behaves as you’d expect, reinforcing the physicality of the world and making even small details a joy to engage with.

The graphics are another highlight, designed specifically with VR in mind. Everything is meticulously detailed, with high-polygon models and ultra-high-resolution textures that hold up beautifully when viewed up close. It’s a visual treat that enhances the sense of presence in the game.

Combat is both fun and challenging, but what truly stands out is the intimate interaction with your weapons. Managing your arsenal feels tactile and rewarding, turning even simple actions like reloading into a satisfying challenge in its own right.

While the story is mostly okay, it’s Russell who steals the show. His humor and charm keep the game from feeling monotonous, making him an indispensable part of the experience. The ending, however, is where the game surprised me, delivering a revolutionary twist for the Half-Life franchise. It leaves me hopeful for a future game that builds on its groundbreaking conclusion. I hope that someday we can see the Half-Life franchise blossom once again! 😊

In every sense, Half-Life Alyx is a masterpiece of VR gaming.

*THE* VR game, I don't think I've yet played another VR game like this, even something like boneworks doesn't compare. The environments are gorgeously detailed with lots of interactivity, and fun combat. People have said that the combat is kind of slow which I agree with, but it's understandable as this is most likely many's first introduction to VR, I believe a sequel with more challenging combat would do wonders. Otherwise though, the game is incredible, if you have the means to play it you should, this is honestly a really strong reason to get VR.

What an incredible experience I've had with this game. My very first experience to VR in general and I understand now what the hype has been about. And I totally get why people want another VR game made by Valve. 100% must play whenever you're able to get a VR Headset.

Justifies buying VR. Especially comfy with the index controllers or anything with finger tracking, but do what you can. If you can. VR is NOT cheap.
Also, some people get motion sickness. But you gotta do your best to work through it in order to use the actual walking option instead of teleporting. It's the proper way to play the game, in my opinion.

Honestly i'm shocked with how good this game is. Played HL1 back in the day, liked it. Completed HL2 (quite recently), liked it even more. Here, i'm not sure if i'm half-way through the game, but i love it so far! Transported into VR world, great graphics, cool mechanics, amazing...

I wonder if HL3 will have VR support, or if its going to be played on desktop... idk, future will tell.
now that said, GO GET THAT DAMN GAME (if you have VR)

Genuinely a great game. Really shows what is possible with the immense immersion of VR.

Great game serve as entrance for any VR newcomer as Valve does the best job imo at introduce nearly anything you can do with the headset.

"A linear sequence of scares." The most Half-Life quote to ever describe Half-Life.

But this game isn't half life, this is a whole different philosophy with a Half-Life skin. In a game where the line between linear story game and on-rail arcade shooter is blurred, a game where you can't even choose when to turn off your flash light, or get this, my favorite, the first Half-Life game where they use an invisible wall to stop you from entering an otherwise accessible hallway. "Can't go through here, it's too dark."

This ignores everything else. This ignores the main gameplay loop being looking behind trash cans and rummaging drawers for magic rocks between everything else. This ignores the constant fight between the player and the controls, this ignores the benign "puzzles" or the baffling aspect of why the Combine would secure their devices with classics such as "match the shapes"... Or immersion questions like why does Alyx not need a hazmat suit in a quarantine zone with walls made of flesh and rot.

I have much more to say but in the end I'm just tired. Not looking forward to finishing the game as of now, feels a lot more like chores and a lot of frustration instead of fun.

VALVE, please make more VR games. I’ve already sacrificed my dignity, sleep schedule, and most of my living room furniture. What’s a few more hours of hitting walls, awkward flailing, and taking my neighbor’s sanity along with mine in the name of immersive gaming?

Likely the peak of VR gaming. One of the most memorable and unique experiences I have ever had with a game. My time with it reminds me of playing Super Mario 64 as a kid. It is a game changing experience and I wish more people could play this game.