Valve’s rabid fans have been waiting for news on a Half-Life sequel for years, and they finally got one — and it’s built for VR. Half-Life: Alyx is a narrative prequel to Half-Life 2, and it looks to be designed with active and intense VR gameplay at its core.
G-Man becomes VR-Man
Much like the first two games and their expansions, Half-Life: Alyx is a first-person shooter. Unlike those games, it will only be playable in virtual reality. You star are Alyx Vance, first seen in Half-Life 2, battling in City 17 to defeat the Combine. The full-length game is as large as Half-Life 2, and every action was designed with VR in mind. Valve said you will be able to “tear a headcrab off your face and throw it out the window.” You’ll also be able to toss objects to distract enemies.
The first-person shooting action seen in the announcement trailer looks to be extremely quick and intense. Alyx will be able to fire her weapons with one hand while she’s working on completing a puzzle with the other. She’ll also have to rummage through objects on shelves and aim directly above her to deal with jumping threats. If past Half-Life games are any indication, she should also gain access to primitive melee weapons like crowbars for striking closer targets.
The length of Half-Life: Alyx is what could help make it a particularly good choice for VR fitness. If the game is indeed as long as Half-Life 2, it will take 13 or so hours to complete. You likely won’t want to rush through its story, either, which could extend it further. All that time spend exploring is also time you can be building up a sweat.
Half-Life: Alyx is scheduled to release in March 2020 for SteamVR devices. That includes Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Valve Index, Windows Mixed Reality, and Oculus Quest via the Oculus Link and a PC.