Some people say that 13 is an unlucky number. That this prime number will bring nothing but bad luck and misfortune. For software and hardware giant Valve though? It may just be the magic digits that have led to the creation of a reminder of one of the most powerful brands in video games today. It has indeed been 13 years since Valve picked up a crowbar and pried some headcrabs off of an unlucky scientist’s skull in a Half-Life game, and Half-Life: Alyx is proving that even though the company may be more focused on other pursuits currently, nobody builds a first-person experience like they do.
Half-Life: Alyx was designed to be Valve’s flagship title for their Index VR system, but it looks like the game has gone above and beyond that goal to deliver VR’s killer app. Critics are raving, possibly frothing, and claiming that Valve just raised the benchmark for VR to ludicrous new heights. Here’s what they have to say.
IGN – 10/10
Half-Life: Alyx has set a new bar for VR in interactivity, detail, and level design, showing what can happen when a world-class developer goes all-in on the new frontier of technology.
VG247 – 5/5
It turns out Valve just needed new tech. It just needed VR. And it’s what I needed, too.
PC Gamer 92/100
With old friends, new enemies, and an exciting story, revisiting City 17 in VR is a thrill in Half-Life: Alyx.
Game Informer – 9/10
The dense campaign never lets up with surprising reveals, new enemies, and witty dialogue to carry you through the exciting journey.
Games Radar – 4.5/5
Not just a Half-Life game, but an invitation to live in its world.
GameSpot – 9/10
Half-Life: Alyx is a tremendous VR experience that captures and elevates what makes the series special.
Kotaku
Half-Life: Alyx reaches some astoundingly high heights while also managing to be both too ambitious and too conservative for its own good.
Destructoid – 9/10
Half-Life: Alyx is an accomplishment no matter which way you spin it.
Rock Paper Shotgun
I hope I don’t have to wait for brain-computer interfaces to exist before the series returns again, because despite a handful of complaints, I still think Valve make the best first-person shooters around.
Last Updated: March 24, 2020
Original Heretic
March 24, 2020 at 09:24
Wow. They changed FPS gaming with HL1. Now they’ve shown everyone what VR can really do.
This is what VR gaming needed. Someone to do this.
The D
March 24, 2020 at 09:30
Half-Life 3. Now available on the Steam Holodeck.
Original Heretic
March 24, 2020 at 09:30
Yeah, next Half-Life is gonna be a Jumanji like experience.
And once all three lives are done, you can only ever play as a head crab.
Guz
March 24, 2020 at 09:30
Now if I could only afford a VR set….
That being said this make an argument for saving up for one
SagatatiaRZA
March 24, 2020 at 11:10
It’s been a while but Half-Life 2 touched me in ways my deranged uncle can only dream of. I have a Vive. I have time. Tomorrow is going to be a beautiful day.
CodeDisQus
March 24, 2020 at 11:10
I wonder how this experience will work on the variety of VR devices, still would rather have L4D3
Pugnascious
March 24, 2020 at 11:35
This will never be on psvr
SagatatiaRZA
March 24, 2020 at 11:10
It’s been a while but Half-Life 2 touched me in ways my deranged uncle can only dream of. I have a Vive. I have time. Tomorrow is going to be a beautiful day.
SagatatiaRZA
March 27, 2020 at 16:17
I know this post is a few days old but I’ve been playing a LOT of Alyx and it is my favorite shooter of the past 10 years.