Half-Life: Alyx is out - No spoilers!

Posted 3 years ago2020-03-24 00:06:43 UTC
Penguinboy PenguinboyHaha, I died again!
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It's been a long time, but we finally have a new Half-Life game! This should go without saying, but just in case you need a reminder:
Don't post spoilers for Half-Life: Alyx

HL:A is a game with restrictive hardware requirements - many of us won't be able to play it for many months or years (if ever), and a lot of people would like to stay spoiler-free, if they can. So, if you're lucky enough to have access to a VR setup (or you've just watched it on youtube) - great! But don't talk about any spoilers - for story or gameplay elements.
If you absolutely must mention something that could be a spoiler, be sure to use the spoiler tags. You MUST mark the spoiler as being for HL:A, or your post will be edited or deleted by a moderator. To mark something as a spoiler, use the spoiler tag like this:
[spoiler=Half-Life: Alyx]I don't own VR hardware[/spoiler]
It will show up like this: I don't own VR hardware
Thank you, and have a very safe and productive day.

7 Comments

Commented 3 years ago2020-03-29 02:26:01 UTC Comment #102606
I haven't played it I just wanted to try out the spoiler tag.
Commented 3 years ago2020-04-01 12:06:04 UTC Comment #102612
Did not like it. I will talk from a fps player experience since 1997. I have seen two kalkthrougs, the player movement using the footstep tool (i can only call the two foot with the line that way) is choppy like when you play the old Resident Evil 1(scene, cut,scene,cut), the jumping from or towards cliffs is... Like the one seen in AvsP 2010, that is: weird and console-ish. Even if you are in an open world full of possibilities( that require you to sell a kidney in the black market to buy a new pc) the game is as limited as if you play old HL2:locked doors that you cannot open, unpassable areas, etc. Btw: that grass... Omg, i have seen better grass in 90's games. It is cool how hands work togheter, even the reload of weapons look cool, but HL Alyx cannot avoid the fact that it is the first of its kind, and all need more work and tech to be a full VR experience, because hands are properly (almost) well covered in what their function is about, but the MOVEMENT will require another de vice that does not exist nowadays.
But i give the game a 7 of 10 justo because it's the ONLY true actual true VR experience, even if it is quite boring.
Commented 3 years ago2020-04-01 17:59:50 UTC Comment #102615
Abaddon, you talk about the game both as if you've played it and as if you've only seen videos. Which is it?
Commented 3 years ago2020-04-01 19:34:30 UTC Comment #102616
I neither own it nor VR hardware ):
Commented 3 years ago2020-04-01 22:02:12 UTC Comment #102618
Well, I have watched two full walkthrougs, and the sensations I received are those I have wrote. I have no VR device yet, neither I think I'll buy one, but I have started my post saying that I talk from my experience as FPS player from the last 23 years. Of course my oppinion lacks of the experience of a VR device owner. Aniway, I am sure that a true VR device that covers real movement and hand operation will be done soon for us to enjoy games like HLA, and of course I'll regret what I did say if I see something better that I've seen.
Commented 3 years ago2020-04-08 10:54:12 UTC Comment #102656
I finished it last Friday.
Probably the best VR game available right now (though overall not my favorite VR game, that would be A Fisherman's Tale).

Non-spoiler review but I still reveal important things about the game. Avoid if you must.
+Some amazingly designed environments, with a technical+artistic quality only rivaled by a handful of games like Dishonored 2.
+It was awesome to see City 17 again and recognize high-poly version of the old props. So cool.
+The last level was amazing. It's difficult to find words to describe it. Wish the whole game had been as inventive or poignant. But I understand the reasons.
+Gunplay was solid and the firefights were a highlight. At times I actually believed I was exchanging real fire. Never had such a real VR moment before.

-The cast is very limited. Like literally a handful of characters only. You meet more people in the first 10 minutes of HL2 than in this whole game. Felt like a huge step back.
-Solitary experience. It's mostly you, the environment, the monsters and a voice in a headset. A voice in a headset is fine, but it's not better for being in VR. The face-to-face meetings with NPCs were either great or amazing. Just too few!
-A game played only "on foot". Don't expect a cool train ride. In fact don't expect any "feeling of travel" like the airboat or car sections of HL2. There's nothing here. You are always moving at the same speed throughtout all the environments, minus an eleveator or forklift here and there. Step back in the franchise.
-Some small technical issues, such as metrocops not reacting to objects being thrown, pigeons flying right through one of them in a particular sequence (always happens) and a slight lack of polish compared to original HL2, even if the assets look amazing.
-Lack of melee combat. Having a broomstick and not being able to defend yourself with it is always disappointing.


It's an amazing game. Has some of the best moments in the HL franchise, in VR and gaming in general, but overall it feels like it plays it too safe and doesn't do enough of what the medium offers in terms of events. Interactions are fine and player agency is great. I just wished you could witness more things going on around you, as Half-life has always done via scripted sequences and choreographed scenes. It could've used two or three times the amount of those.
Commented 3 years ago2020-04-10 21:00:08 UTC Comment #102661
Spoiler > Aerith dies.

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