The WhatsNext verdict
Half-Life: Alyx is essential for players with a capable VR setup who want to experience the medium at its most immersive and polished. It is less suited to anyone seeking open-ended physics chaos, melee freedom, or a traditional flat-screen shooter.
What it does best
VR finally feels like a full-scale game medium
An extraordinary level of tactile polish
VR turns City 17 into a place you dread entering
Careful VR gunplay with superb physical feedback
What might put you off
Teleportation and constrained movement
VR hardware requirement
The setup
What you are walking into
Half-Life: Alyx is Valve’s VR return to the Half-Life series. It’s the story of an impossible fight against a vicious alien race known as the Combine, set between the events of Half-Life and Half-Life 2. Alyx Vance and her father Eli mount an early resistance to the Combine's brutal occupation of Earth.
Where it lives
Genre
Vibe
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