According to Valve, the game takes place between Half-Lives 1 & 2, and stars, as the name suggests, future Freeman ally Alyx Vance. The official description of the story reads: Alyx will be fighting off Combine soldiers with a variety of weapons and tools, including some baller gravity gloves, which you can see in the featured image up top. The gameplay sounds like your typical VR-based gameplay on steriods: “Rummage through shelves to find a healing syringe and some shotgun shells. Manipulate tools to hack alien interfaces. Tear a headcrab off your face and throw it out the window.” It’s far more than just a tech demo. Rumor has it the game will be just as long as Half-Life 2. It’ll work with any Steam VR-compatible headsets, including Valve’s Index, Oculus, HTC Vive, and Windows Mixed Reality. According to the Alyx website, the game will be compatible with a variety of inputs and playing environments, including from a seated position. The gameplay, from what was shown in the trailer, will show combat, exploration, and even stealth using VR. This looks pretty awesome, and pretty Half-Life, unsilent protagonist notwithstanding. The G-Man even appears at the very end of the trailer — doesn’t have to say a word. If you’re like me and haven’t played Half-Life in a dog’s age, you might want to get refreshed, as Valve programmer David Speyrer told The Verge: “…we actually recommend that you play through Half-Life 2: Episode 2 before you play Half-Life: Alyx, for reasons that will become clear as you progress.” Valve head Gabe Newell said in a press release, “Everyone at Valve is excited to be returning to the world of Half-Life,” which feels only slightly insensitive to say given how long fans have been waiting and how this still isn’t the thing they’ve been asking for. But I won’t lie, it is good to see one of the best and most influential game series revived by its makers. It’s just plain great to see Valve back in action. You can pre-order Half-Life Alyx now on Steam. You’ll also get the game free if you own a Valve Index headset, so if you want one of those, you can find them here.
