Half-Life: Alyx is truely now not Half-Life 3. It is a complete-fledged sport that expands the Half-Life universe. And City 17’s exploding barrel enterprise is still going sturdy.
These are answers to some massive questions Valve Software raised last yr whilst it introduced the first new Half-Life game due to the fact that 2007 — however solely for digital reality. Many series have VR diversifications or tie-ins, but Valve promised to supply “the next part of the Half-Life story” in a bundle that might assist take VR mainstream.
That’s putting a very excessive bar, and, for now, I’m no longer positive Alyx clears it. The game is preventing VR’s inherent hardware limits, a virus-associated headset scarcity, and the issue of constructing a recreation for a brand new platform. While it’s about so long as the landmark Half-Life 2, with my sport clocking in at 15 hours, it doesn’t experience as big or as narratively and robotically sparkling. It advances the series’s essential plot, however it doesn’t come close to resolving it.
But if you preserve those admittedly big reservations in thoughts, Alyx is a worthy addition to the Half-Life universe. It’s now not simply a very good VR sport; it’s a very good video game, duration.