VR For The Masses

Let’s face it, VR up to this point, has been a bit of niche play. Between all the different options for headsets and setups on consoles, portables, and PC, to say it’s been a bit muddy is quite the understatement. All of that changes with HALF-LIFE: ALYX.— Stop what you’re doing right now, save up your pennies, figure out a way to get your overly sanitized hands on it somehow as Alyx is an absolute tour-de-force, must play experience. That’s right, it’s more than a game, it’s a must play experience that will change your perception of gaming more than any title in recent memory.

The Valve logo appears. The music plays. The nostalgia flows. The excitement is palpable. Valve is back. To be completely honest, I didn’t think I’d ever be typing those words. Thinking back to 16 (!) long years ago with the Half-Life 2 launch on the then newly minted Steam platform, I was present for a moment in gaming history and with the long stretch and excruciating wait after Half-Life 2: Episode Two, I thought all hope was lost for another title in said universe. With Alyx, not only is Valve adding a stellar entry into the Half-Life saga, they have made VR an absolute, must have component in gaming that everyone needs to to see for themselves. Similar to my recent ride on Rise of the Resistance in Disneyland before chaos struck, that was an experience, not just a ride. In the same form, Alyx is not merely a video game, it’s truly a revolutionary experience that everyone should witness and what VR has been promising for a very long time.

From the moment you see the surroundings, your hands, and the stunning detail present, you know you are in for something special. While there are some great looking games available on VR currently, nothing can prepare you for how amazingly gorgeous Half-Life: Alyx truly is. Even on our mobile VR station, a laptop with a GTX 1060 GPU and an original HTC Vive Headset, the level of immersion is unmatched. Even on the lowest performance settings, the game is truly a work of technical and artistic genius. Birds fly and land on rooftops. Radio chatter and traffic in the sky and on the ground surround you. Hundreds of objects are placed for not only your experimentation but also integrate perfectly into the gameplay and puzzles. Guns and weapons are a blast to load, shoot, and reload. Everything present in the game so far has brought a smile to our faces and more than a few jaws dropped, especially when you see your first Strider..

While the beginning of the game is bright, sunny, and just outright beautiful, a stellar sense of dread quickly creeps in and never lets up. The best thing so far about Half-Life: Alyx isn’t it’s intuitive controls, it’s game-changing VR graphics and effects, nor it’s stunning audio and voice acting quality. It’s the unmatched immersion and interaction with the world around you that leaves a lasting impression. I’ve been playing VR games since inception and never have I felt that I was actually in a living, breathing world until now.

While we prepare our full review, know that enough good cannot be said about Half-Life: Alyx. It truly explodes onto VR and changes everything you thought or knew about interaction, immersion, and overall, fun.

Half-Life: Alyx is available now on Steam for $59.99. It’s worth every penny and then some.