Half-Life Alyx Review

Let's get the obvious out of the way: Half-Life Alyx is a supremely polished, well thought-out game that's a 'must-play' for anybody interested in gaming, or technology. Or both! It's worth it purely to experience what a 'high budget VR' title should feel like, as a glimpse of what gaming might be like in 2-3 years' time. But rather than spend this whole video gushing about it, I cover the design choices they've made, how it changes the experience, what I like / don't like, and where I hope they take Half-Life in the future. (Spoiler: probably involves VR)
0:00 - What I think of HLA, compared with earlier Half-Life games
2:03 - Length of game, difference between segments
3:53 - Scavenging simulator, not FPS
4:33 - Weapons
6:09 - Resin and how the upgrades affect combat
7:55 - Hacking minigames
8:36 - Movement and teleporting
9:46 - Health
10:13 - Other ways in which VR immerses
10:43 - Audio
11:01 - Loading screens
11:34 - Graphics and Source 2.0
12:29 - Enemies in HLA
14:17 - Character animation - most convincing NPCs ever?
15:20 - HLA's dialogue and how it changes things
16:40 - HLA's best bit (Minimal spoilers / clips shown)
18:02 - Conclusion. What is this game? What comes next?

[@jamstonjulian6947]

"Maybe I'll get what I want in a later Half-Life game" We just waited 13 years for this one...

[@annoyingguyoninternet1631]

@@regularperson9801 next century mate

[@italianjack]

13 years of waiting for a completely new era of videogames and half life? Well, if valve keeps this up, it was worth it!

[@Ghanemq8]

yeah, 13 years to make VR, it won't take even nearly as long to make a new game on the same engine. I mean, all the assets are there so..

[@draken5379]

@@Ghanemq8 Very true, much like the episodes. But this time, Source 2 im sure will last a lot longer than Source 1, and thus allow Valve to keep pumping out content if they want, instead of needing new tools to do what they in-vision.

[@Ghanemq8]

Draken Yep, I feel like, as philip said, half life alyx is like half life 1. I feel like something much much bigger is coming in the next few years. This game is trying out a new concept and the next is going to prefect that concept.

[@punisheddante5879]

"Half life alyx is a disappointing because you're left wanting more" That sounds like compliment

[@mapacortes2117]

Depends on how that "i was left wanting more" is done .It could mean that the game didnt explore the mechanics or was long enough to say i am good with this or maybe it could be that the game did so well that you cant wait to play more of it . In case of Philip as he said it felt for him like Half Life 1 but having Half Life 2 already meaning the game didnt fully explore or develop well enough its mechanic to satisfy him.

[@pottlekat1513]

'Left wanting more' and 'valve' is a taunt, actually.

[@terminaldeity]

Right? His argument of "it's disappointing because it doesn't meet future expectations" makes no sense. It's like criticizing a PS4 game because it could be better on the PS5.

[@Alex-wb2yw]

The only disappointment I felt was after the game was over, because I just wanted to keep going. It was a very fun experience for me as a long time HL fan.

[@fearian]

@@terminaldeity Having finished the game, and having played other VR games, it makes perfect sense. Alyx leaves a lot of cool things other games are doing out, in order to focus on the best possible experience for those new to VR. This leads to a really slow paced first half of the game, before it feels confident ramping up to it's full capacity. Danny o'Dwyer's review covers this feeling as well. By the end of the game, I felt that 1. I wanted more! To keep playing! But also, 2. I wanted more, more out of a flagship VR title than Alyx had ever given me. The ending chapter of the game really suggests there will be more, in time.

[@jonathanskinner7647]

"I felt disappointment" Just cause you couldn't get a headcrab in a bucket mate

[@jonathanskinner7647]

@@randomrsci6709 j-o-k-e

[@nazarenomilohanich4883]

Funny thing is; you actually can do it. You just need to find one that's big enough

[@BrownOpsLeak]

Valve left so much on the table when it came to gameplay, just look at boneworks

[@RDR911]

@@BrownOpsLeak Yeah, I totally missed getting my arms stuck all the time, and janky physics motion sickness. Yup.

[@dylanv.4970]

@@BrownOpsLeakI think it's better to do a few things extremely well than ton of things with quality that's all over the place. I love Boneworks but it's janky as hell in a lot of areas. With Alyx there's only really one or two features where I was thinking "yea you know this could use some polishing"

[@DeSinc]

the mods are what I'm really looking forward to, specifically what people make with the new tools. like that new HL2 source 2 port that got announced a few days ago, or the obvious VR garry's mod equivalent mod that is sure to eventually come out with phys-gloves and prop-welding and thrusters and wide open maps for building. oh, and *multiplayer*

[@Oqwert]

And Team Fortress 2 2

[@wildwierdos]

Can we expect a video soon ;)

[@zolika1351]

the glitches so you can back hop through the map at 900mph and proceed to puke all over your floor

[@dixie_rekd9601]

we need "varries mod" immediately.

[@wanderingbufoon]

This comment translates to: bunny hop to oblivion in sanic speed

[@henryambrose8607]

I really like this review. Praising it in the same way that everyone else has is too boring for this channel, and you seem to be very in touch with the metagame that Valve is playing as well as the actual games that they're making.

[@jackharris8661]

@@2kliksphilip gggyuucvsvf f ffbecw

[@b3afy505]

@@jackharris8661 Thank you, Jack!

[@rongomez5918]

@@jackharris8661 nigga what

[@demomanification]

This is a mistake free review

[@PekaCheeki]

@@2kliksphilip *cracks knuckles, spits on corpse* "It's what he wanted, he asked for it"

[@saunshilu]

The modding scene will be spectacular

[@derel8453]

Most importantly Crack-Life:Alexa

[@tarnishedpose]

@@derel8453 *walking into a boss fight* : why do I hear despacito music?

[@saunshilu]

@@derel8453 all the HL2 objects have been remade for alyx, someone will painstakingly remake hl2 with them

[@burntpotatoes999]

The first person to make a crowbar mod is gonna get a ton of downloads

[@i_fish6657]

Now we have source 2 we must get either Gmod 2 or Gmod VR

[@UseZapCannon]

Apparently, the issue with dialogue sections (based on playtesting) is that VR players get restless really fast, and will start ignoring dialogue and tossing things around the room in basically seconds-- all the face-to-face interactions in the game are super short because loads of testers got bored if they were any longer

[@-Zakhiel-]

How is that a problem ? That's already what we did in HL², jumping around, moving objects when Kleiner was babling nonsense....

[@davidsymonds7090]

@@-Zakhiel- Players being bored = bad.

[@-Zakhiel-]

@@davidsymonds7090 Developers should not compromise. Either you try something and you take the risk to bore players or you just don't do it.

[@davidsymonds7090]

And they chose the latter.

[@-Zakhiel-]

@@davidsymonds7090 In HL : Alyx ? People are complaining that there is not enough interactions with npcs.

[@NotMrWhy]

12:40 You can trap headcrabs in a barrel, your bucket just wasn't big enough

[@mtw7025]

I saw a clip of someone doing it, i can't find it now.

[@gordonnumbertwo1922]

You are correct mate

[@threesixtydegreeorbits2047]

Are you the messiah?

[@BankruptGreek]

seems like you need to make them jump into it for it to work. edit: actually this makes sense, on the ground they are a normal npc that is "stuck" to the ground whilst on the air they are flying ragdolls and so they go into the bucket.

[@ArcturusOTE]

@@threesixtydegreeorbits2047 Nah, I think he's just a very naughty boi

[@Chadderbox]

>I won't spoil plot details Thanks, that was what I was looking for in a review, all the others have comments saying they did.

[@ExplodingWaffle101]

this is what i love about our boy philip: i knew this was the case before clicking on it.

[@amunak_]

To be fair he still showed all the generic enemies in the game, which some consider spoilers, but yeah, otherwise amazing review. It's completely spot on.

[@TDPEquinox]

Same. Really appreciate this review. I've spent the last week avoiding any videos on alyx for fear of spoilers before I finish it; and that's left me unable to share my experience with anyone else who cares.

[@Isaacfess]

Oh hey Amunak! Thanks for uploading the UT2004 OST!

[@JamesHerrera]

G-man is at the vault

[@branpurn]

There's been vids of successfully trapping headcrabs in buckets. You just can't use a tiny metal bucket.

[@sumtingwong8230]

one of the things that annoys me with reviews is the lack of mention to the game's performance, I know most reviewers wouldn't notice it since they would use top end PCs but as a person who plays on a mid(bordering low end) pc the performance is simply mindblowing; I can't get my head around how well this game runs for how good it looks, especially compared to similar vr games, I know they don't have valve budget but I just love that they made a game that more than the top end can enjoy, I feel valve have always worked on getting a game out to as many people as possible in regards to performance

[@marctoro96]

He talked specifically about that...

[@makak_zeleny]

@Zwenk Wiel I'm running it on RX480 OC

[@sumtingwong8230]

@@marctoro96 I should have specified, essentially every review besides 2kliks, I failed to recognize his video as a review in a way

[@DaireRush]

Honestly, one of the best I've seen is this LTT comparison between a 1060 and a 2080ti. Same conclusion that the game looks great even on low(er) end hardware. kzbin.info/www/bejne/i4XamHykgNJ4fqs

[@jj_b5400]

I played it on a 1060 3GB GPU with the Oculus Quest using an AmazonBasics usb cable and it still played absolutely fine. It's extremely well optimised.

[@baseballviolation]

You can actually pick up live headcrabs, it just takes a bit of luck and effort. Also I feel the whole "don't like being forced to play and role play as Alyx" is a bit unwarranted, it is a spinoff game that is trying to tell Alyx's story and you can't do that without fleshing out HER character.

[@nnikitov57]

It's a prequel, not spin-off.

[@baseballviolation]

REEEЕEEE I meant spin off in more of a gameplay sense then story.

[@jeanbutinfrench]

@@nnikitov57 its actually a spin off, the prequel to half life 2 is half life one, hla is a separate story in the same universe

[@baseballviolation]

@@jeanbutinfrench No, HLA is a prequel to HL2, it takes place in between HL1 and HL2.

[@jeanbutinfrench]

@@baseballviolation its a spin off, since it is not the story or the protagonist of the original franchise, are half life blue shift and decay sequels to half life o spin offs to you

[@GamerMoment_]

Does this mean we can finally get a ricochet sequel in vr, since this game did so well

[@justsomeguy2662]

сука блят I’ve checked that game like 4 times and literally no people

[@APesquera]

If that existed, playing it would make you vomit your whole entire body inside out.

[@alecs69420]

BRUH

[@alecs69420]

@@APesqueraaccurate

[@sancer1781]

Imagine falling into the void in VR after missing a jump

[@derain95]

You can increase your movement speed in continuous with these launch options. +hlvr_continuous_normal_speed 125 +hlvr_continuous_combat_speed 125 HL2 walk speed is 150 I wouldn't go much over 125 because you can clip thru stairs if you do. You might have to be more careful with the joystick because the acceleration curve doesn't scale well. Credit to Kingo64 for making a guide with this info.

[@awesome9174]

Is it possible to make it so that pushing the stick all the way enables the faster walk speed? That way it's more incremental.

[@underflip2]

I actually walked slower most of the time because it feels more immersive. I fond the full speed to feel like a jog in VR.

[@derain95]

@@awesome9174 With 125 on the Index joystick i can move my thumb carefully to sneak and max it out to sprint. But I move it slowly to "simulate inertia". If you just want faster movement in combat (try shotgun rushing it's hilarious) you can just change the +hlvr_continuous_combat_speed value ie if you hear combat music you can run faster.

[@awesome9174]

@@derain95 cool thanks!

[@awesome9174]

@@underflip2 I'm a long time VR user and I've gotten used to fast movement in games like Onward, Serious Sam 3 VR, etc

[@alpkyu5201]

14:53 philip: "Alyx shows that Valve has made major strides since then." me: "... Major strides..." ALSO PHILIP: "... Major strides..." gave me a good chuckle.

[@jeffthepilot2894]

Literally the same experience here! Philip knows his audience, it seems

[@AlienTreeGuy]

What cat?

[@maxemore]

@@AlienTreeGuy It's your pet the freaking headhumper!

[@Carcosahead]

I don’t get it, explain this

[@AlienTreeGuy]

@@Carcosahead It's a quote from Half Life 2, where Kleiner is talking about how much they've developed the teleporter since "last time." Dude, you really should play through Half Life 2 ;P

[@ElliFong]

what make me miss Half-Life 2 even more is the number of diverse NPCs, you meet vortiguants and rebels all over the places, and then you also meet father Grigori who give you some help in Ravenholm. In Alyx, there are too few of them.

[@thekycklingwizard78]

🖐Anime profile picture 🤚

[@holy0damn]

It may be sacrifice of focus on VR mechanics and more details and just new technology. Longer game would need a stronger writing and I doubt Laidlaw had any impact on this release. In my opinion he had much to offer.

[@Sloppy_McFloppy]

@Mae ! yeah, totally agree, my man.

[@vvuuppee]

If your idea of male_01, male_02 and male_03 is diverse, I am glad you don't make videogames.

[@ElliFong]

@@vvuuppee I say diverse not because of their appearance, but their role in their location make the world feel much more alive than Alyx. Like the rebel base after ravenholm, Lazlo and his friend in antlion area and vortiguant all over the places helping them out etc.

[@AleksWorkshop]

Carrying Russel’s vodka was a mistake

[@AlienTreeGuy]

Hey, at least you got an achievement for it :P (I totally did the same...)

[@ShaneFagan]

I got the achievement accidentally. I didn't realise I could store things in my left wrist for some reason. I got past Jeff and noticed I had something there. Turns out I had vodka and the dialogue triggered. I eventually threw out the vodka but you get the achievement at the dialogue trigger

[@de-ment]

I didnt realize I had to have it until the start of the next chapter,I carried that thing until the end of the game in my left wrist inventory and oh man did I miss out on a lot of syringes

[@Snhunter]

For some reason I carried two bottles for the entire rest of the game... I thought I might get a bonus achievement for that.

[@ValentineC137]

tip, you can suddenly put the bottle into your wrist pocket at that part in the game, even tho you couldn't before :P carrying a gnome however, is a big mistake

[@dagda1180]

From an article I've read, they have lost about a year in trying to code in melee combat with a crowbar, but found the issue that the iron kept getting stuck on the scenery. Edit: Obligatory thank-you for the likes.

[@dud5606]

Well, multiple games have done it properly so there surely was a way.

[@corvidconfidential8826]

I somewhat doubt this. They took a *lot* from Boneworks which had a lot of crowbar melee combat and yiss, it was glitchy at times, but it was easily doable and valve has no raisin to not include it.

[@transfemengimain]

kubewix That doesn’t make sense

[@SuperCityscan]

They were able to calculate damage from physics object in HL2, I don't get why would this be *that* much harder. Use the same method but calculated on the hands and on the proo it's holding and boom, you can use anything as a melee weapon. It would be great, even if it would be useful only against headcrabs.

[@tranminhnguyen6217]

@@SuperCityscan Valve couldn't be that dumb to not add any melee weapons

[@Jaidendude123]

On the point about there being an AI director, I absolutely agree. I was extremely conservative with all my ammo, and I noticed that I actually stopped finding pistol ammo once I got to around 100-120 mags (I was using the SMG) And because I was using the SMG more, there was so much ammo for it everywhere.

[@NubeBuster]

Im so pissed now. I was waiting and waiting for shotgun ammo. Ive literally only found 20 bullets

[@toasterroboto2901]

Jaiden same thing happens in hl2 to a degree with the supply crates as certain ones are set to dynamically give you supplies

[@flembrane5265]

Fortunately, I realized that early on, so I ended up using all weapons about the same and found an equal amount of ammo between each.

[@TOASTEngineer]

I'm surprised people are surprised at this. Am I the only one who still remembers the gameplay commentary stuff? HL2 had the exact same system.

[@randomcatdude]

I'm pretty sure HL2's crates would give you things you were lacking on, and not what you were using the most.

[@FailMSComp]

12:38 yes you can, i saw someone doing a playthrough and at the orange card section they waited for the armored headcrab to ragdoll and just picked it up by the leg. it was very much squirming and resisting.

[@marcusborderlands6177]

I think that was JFJ

[@rackneh]

For all the D O O R P H Y S I C S memes, doors are actually satisfying to open and I never really thought how something so mundane can make such a difference when you're in the world.

[@Carcosahead]

This comment. This comment right here.

[@lordjaraxxus5418]

or annoying when you hit yourself with it trying to open it... they should bring back the push bar doors for some paces. but otherwise it is good.

[@Nytra_]

@@lordjaraxxus5418 all of the doors in the game open in both directions i'm pretty sure. so as long as you never open a door towards you, you'll never get stuck. edit: actually maybe not all doors. some of the fency ones might not.

[@jackbashed3494]

Boneworks doors were better, you were able to whip one open with a crowbar or gun. In half life alyx you can only use your hand

[@urfork1]

I’m gonna have to agree with jack here. Boneworks doors were near perfect. They seemed like they weighed nothing, though.

[@Supernoxus]

5:30 After hearing this, I played through the game a second time, assuming that the game will throw more shotgun ammo my way if I just use the shotgun more. I ended up with 400 extra pistol ammo and was out in everything else.

[@2fast4me9]

When I played capter 7 (jeff) I was blown away. Ive never experienced this amount of tension and fear in a game ever. As someone who played every half life game out there multiple times I felt empty inside when I finished half life alyx. Also the two biggest negatives of the game were the inability to melee and the ineffectiveness of headshots on combine. Still would give 10/10

[@flamingfossa]

(Spoilers) I disagree when it comes to the sameyness of the environments. Yes, there's a lot of underground stuff, but starting out in a populated city, going to a train station, a hotel, a zoo, an antlion hive, a mindbending area, a alien station. Not to mention they do a lot with the underground sections. Although I personally think the issue comes from the lack of variability in what you're doing. In HL2 it keeps switching what you're doing and, as you said, turns mechanics on their head. AVOID THE SWARM TO WIN, ACTIVATE THUMPERS becomes DEACTIVATE THE THUMPERS TO HELP THE SWARM. This comment was poorly written and too long, sorry xP

[@henryambrose8607]

Your comment was well-written, if not quite long enough to get across exactly what you perhaps wanted to. That said, it serves its purpose well enough with the one example you provided.

[@Nytra_]

your idea is conveyed well though, and i agree that there is not as much variety in the types of gameplay mechanics in Alyx compared to previous Half-Life titles

[@MayhemX0X]

Everything is overgrown, dark, and with the same color palette.

[@ajfrost3382]

"Half life: Alyx is VR's HL1" - I think you've hit the nail on the head. Just like HL1, people will probably look back on this game after 20 years worth of VR releases and wonder what all the fuss was about.

[@tea.edits.ae.]

could not agree more

[@LAxemann]

That kinda misses the point - It's not about wondering what the fuzz was about, but realizing it was the title that set the foundation and standards for many, many titles to come.

[@mynameisconnorimtheandroid6080]

No one wonders what the fuss was about when it comes to HL1. They look at it as the foundation of games to come. The difference is that graphics and mechanics progressed so much that unlike HL1 this will be playable even in 20 years

[@WMan37]

Like Half Life 1, I loved my first playthrough (and I'm loving my second hard difficulty Gnome run thus far), but I'm actually the most interested to see what community made content comes from this game once we get that map editor and workshop support that valve said we were getting. What kept half life in my consciousness was more the engines they ran on than the games themselves, as things like Sven Coop for HL1 and Garry's Mod + Underhell for HL2 were what really cemented Valve's games as classics by virtue of technology being utilized.

[@thenobody7904]

I played hl1 20 years after its release and have enjoyed it much more than hl2 and i know many people who feel the same. Yes, hl2 has the gravity gun, but where are the interesting enemies??? Most of hl2 is hit scan enemies and you just use the boring submachine gun... Hl1 in my opinion has much more interesting enemies and more satisfying weapons (exept for the xen lol)

[@GamingRevenant]

I'm sure Valve is working on a next-gen voice- and language recognition software, that will let us talk with NPC's and characters like Alyx in VR, and they would be able to talk back, keeping Gorden the silent protagonist we've always known him for, and allow us to speak in his place instead 😃

[@MisbehavingChild]

Sounds awesome

[@marcusborderlands6177]

Sounds awesome but very gimmicky. I mean, the mic on my rift s has never worked in the first place, so that might have something to do with it.

[@cockus123]

What theeeee fuck

[@BackwardsPancake]

Sounds like a cool idea, but it would probably be too complicated to do straight-up. Voice recognition is finicky and really hard to get consistent considering the very different ways in which people speak, and providing convincing responses to a player who can say _anything_ is a nightmare. But hey, it's Valve. They might come up with some sort of genius middle-of-the-road abstraction on the idea.

[@makak_zeleny]

Not everyone speaks English, I'm almost certain they won't do that...

[@ProtoPropski]

I just got done playing Half-Life Alyx for the first time, as well as VR in general, and I have to say.. My mind is absolutely blown. I have never experienced something so realistic as this game, I feel like I'm really there when I can pick up, and interact with everything, not to mention the character interactions are so life like, it FEELS like I'm there with them, the detail is beyond anything I have ever experienced, and this is a perfect example of why VR is the future of gaming. I never felt so Immersed in a game that when I stopped playing it, real life didn't feel all together real, I look at my hands now, and I can't help, but feel odd looking at them, like there's something missing, likely because I'm so use to looking at the in-game hands. I can't recommend VR, and this game enough, this is life changing I'm so happy I decided to get in VR now.

[@RolfHarrisOfficial]

Any plans to do a story review (with spoilers, of course)? Would love to hear your opinion of the ending.

[@lollo863]

Yogurt Dude is be interested in this too, as someone without VR who likely won’t be playing this game anytime soon, I would love to hear what he thinks about things, especially to see this awesome bit he talks about

[@grubzer1369]

14:47 That combine face, lol

[@juandisimo9486]

lol it's that he spliced the left eye and right eye footage but it doesnt always look good lol. I dont think there's a way to capture vr footage to reflect exactly how it looks inside the headset.

[@ketrub]

@@D2Davis using the SteamVR mirror allows you for a much higher FOV than the in-game spectator view, which is so low watching footage of it is downright nauseating

[@Bane_Diesel]

Hey I have no one else to say this to... Half-life was the most important game for me as a kid (halflife), a teen (hl2), and now alyx an adult and my best friends were the same way. Upon the release of alyx my friends were furious and refused to play because they were pissed it was in VR. I just want to say if you are fortunate enough to own vr and alyx share the experience with them. I went so far as to offer my vr headset and computer to them, they declined. I don't know other people close enough to share the experience. Everything Philip says is as if it is coming from my own brain and even though he lives overseas I feel like our experiences were almost identical. Thank you so much for all the great content hopefully someday at a csgo event we can meet.

[@urfork1]

Orangebike666 I agree. I’m gamesharing with 2 people and when I start to feel a little bit bored of the game I’m going to bring my computer out of my room and have the whole family try it. Be needs to be shared because Alyx is proof that be is the future.

[@iangulline]

Only one of my friends has the space or money for VR. So whenever he opened it up, he live streamed it across Discord. And it was some of the most fun I've had in years. We would all be sitting watching him and occasionally asking stuff like "Can you play the piano", or "Can you bottle flip the cones", and I'm kinda disappointed that we finished the game yesterday

[@pharlain]

Man I know what you mean, I have little people to share it to as well. I had so much fun with this game and hope you did too.

[@tirthpatel1562]

I'm so glad that i started playing CS... it led me to your channels... the way you are so passionate about all the aspects of gaming, reignited that, need for me to be creative constantly in my my graphic designs... also watching you describe all of these games and the small details has made me want to go into game designing! thank you so much for all the positive influence you've given to my life, CS and gaming community in general !

[@McOuroborosBurger]

Can’t wait for a dedicated gmod vr. This game was good, but I’d like it to be more physics based combat wise next game. I’d love to be able to pick shit up and just use it as a melee weapon for slaughtering the enemy.

[@RegahP]

If from hl2 we got garrys mod, now we just have to wait for garrys mod 2, with vr support and now with all the optimization and new features source 2 allows.

[@McOuroborosBurger]

Gmod is so old though. I wonder if they’d do a reboot of it in VR. Or just another one in source 2.

[@notpumkin]

@@McOuroborosBurger They were working on a game called s&box (sandbox) which runs on unreal engine 4 a while back. It'd be the successor to gmod but I haven't heard anything about it in a long time. Source 2 was a pipe dream for the longest time and there were better engines around so they picked unreal.

[@McOuroborosBurger]

ilomilo- ooo

[@krzem]

@@notpumkin they got source 2 and they aim for a release in 2021 now, lets go

[@aleckirazian7048]

You hit the nail on the head. The game in and of itself is fantastic and the only criticism I can level at it is that I want MORE. More interesting, unique levels like Jeff, more different unique environments, etc. what’s interesting to see though is how non-gamers and non-VR users have reacted to this- it’s blown them away. I think as hardcore gamers who play just about everything and are so used to gameplay mechanics it can make you forget just how mind-blowing and intense something like this can be for someone who isn’t a self-professed gamer.

[@VB-92]

Once you've seen everything, being able to fiddle with the gun ends up being the most impressive part ... that and the mirrored room with reverse gravity, that was pretty cool.

[@grichard1585]

"what’s interesting to see though is how non-gamers and non-VR users have reacted to this" That's what Valve did when they released HL2...people like me, who weren't really "gamers" were blown away by City 17 and the physics and suddenly wanted more. They changed everything. The guy who created Bioshock said that every game since HL2 has just been a variation of HL2.

[@VB-92]

@@grichard1585 This would in turn mean that every game after half life alyx shall from then on be VR exclusive. Rip years of learning to use a keyboard and mouse ... and third person games. Because how would you ever implement those in VR?

[@grichard1585]

@@VB-92 According to Gabe Newell, soon VR will be obsolete...the next step will be neural-control interface...Matrix-style.

[@VB-92]

@@grichard1585 I've been saying this, VR's physical exertion/limitations and the money you'd have to put in so you can overcome them, make it a bit undesirable as a platform, and that the logical step forward is to have a way to control everything with your mind while you relax in your chair, so like it's been done for the most part all these years, already, but with a helmet controlling everything, at least I would hope it's a helmet, rather than metal tubes in one's spine, not sure about the soon part, unless we're talking valve time soon, in which case, yea 50 to 100 years from now, sounds reasonable.

[@Omegafighter]

My problem with teleport is just how difficult it is to balance around. A lot of the dangers from combat and exploration are absent with teleport.

[@Nikotheleepic]

I also suspect that maybe Philip unconsciously wasn't able to get the full experience with his teleporting playthrough for those reasons and more

[@flembrane5265]

Yeah, teleporting felt like cheating in some sections, so I ended up going back to normal movement. Especially that one part of the campaign you had to hide from something shooting at you.

[@Kaiwala]

I like teleporting because you could still use it in continuous mode, by flicking the right joystick down. It meant that I was able to move around manually when in combat or rummaging through stuff, but if I was getting a little sick or wanted to travel through an area quickly I didn't need to open the menu. I do agree that teleporting in combat could make it lose its effect, but It never ruined it for me. You still have to shoot all the enemies to unlock the next area, and standing in the open is a silly idea. It only helps when you need to move from cover to cover, but I found myself sticking to one bit of cover or manually moving around anyways. It seemed that teleporting hardly mattered in combat. I personally used the teleport conservatively, so maybe some parts are skippable, I wouldn't really know. But I'd be willing to sacrifice the combat for the utility the feature offers, as it helped me cope with my motion sickness until I finally got used to moving around in VR.

[@Nikotheleepic]

@@Kaiwala Yeah but you can literally teleport right up to a combine and shotgun him in the head

[@Nytra_]

@@Kaiwala I think that developers will just have to trust players to not abuse the teleport to quickly clear tough action sections, just because it will result in a more enjoyable player experience. When I played through Alyx, I used continuous movement- but I also really enjoyed having the option of using the teleport when I wanted to move a bit faster- like if I was backtracking or double-checking a section for items. I definitely preferred doing most of my active-playing (exploring new sections, combat) with continuous movement as opposed to teleport. Although, looking back, I'm definitely guilty of using the teleport during some of the more intense combat sections towards the end of the game. Like if an enemy had me caught out in the open, I would just teleport behind the nearest bit of cover and avoid damage, which I guess could be seen as cheating by some.

[@krismoe31]

I find it a great thing that Alyx is getting more fleshed out. She is a character for herself in the HL2 games, and it would be a shame to not respect that by wanting Alyx to just be an avatar for you. It is a good thing that the devs are respecting the legacy of the HL2 team

[@Horrorz95]

I'll be saying this much. Alyx takes more cues from Resident Evil than Half Life. And yes - I completely agree with your sentiment that HLA might possibly be the best introduction to VR, assuming the person can handle horror well, bar none. However, Valve has gone to ludicrous degrees in making sure that the game is as accessible as possible to the casual player. This is both a strength and a weakness of the game as Philip already highlighted in the video though it has to be said he never pointed out the most glaring problem of the game. The AI - the Combine AI in particular - was never up to snuff. Even on Hard the Combine would rarely try to advance and choke out the player, the heavy gunner would almost never stray away from his spot, the regular Combine soldiers would barely run from grenades, and most importantly they all too often give a lot of leeway to the player. That's not to say they're disappointing though. Their moment to moment performances, like Philip said, are terrifically believable which is sad considering how much they get dumbed down when the combat starts. Again this is understandable considering the fact that this is supposed to be an entry-level experience but I can't help but be disappointed that they didn't provide us with a more Hardcore AI. And that's really the crux of Alyx. It's one of the most incredible curated single-player games out there right now but Valve made a lot of concessions along the way to what I personally feel was a detriment to the game at some points. Regardless, I'm still of the opinion that this is perhaps THE best VR game out there right now. So as a tl;dr plus a few added points: >we need a difficulty option for harder Combine AI >at the very least they should allow the player the option to lightly damage Headcrabs and Zombies with perhaps a cinderblock or a broken bottle - I'm completely fine with the Combine being undamageable by a 19 year old Alyx >I'm not sure about this but someone said you can kill headcrabs and manhacks by smashing them with your gun, can anyone confirm? >adding a fourth weapon would have smoothed out the variety more - the crossbow is literally the perfect weapon that I was baffled Valve never added it as well >this game opened my eyes to the fact that Roomscale + Teleporting + Smooth Locomotion might actually be the best way to traverse VR right now at least for more grounded games like Alyx Finally, the first half of the game might be a very clear slow tutorial to ease in the new player to VR but the second half, by the time you get your third weapon I would say, is an amazing experience unmatched by both VR and non-VR games alike. It's a tour de force that leaves you in utter awe at the highs VR could reach and then you realize that VR could go even higher than that. I think everyone agrees when I say that yeah... I'm thinking Valve's back. Edit: And I guess I'll add in an opinion on Boneworks considering people will compare HLA to that a lot. While I genuinely respect SL0's dedication for allowing freeform expression from the player, I don't think that's the current be-all end-all direction of VR. There are a lot of avenues - whether it be simulator games, quirky platformers like Astro Bot, multiplayer games like Pavlov or Onwards, etc. We still need to figure out a lot of things and pushing physics and allowing player maximum freedom in tackling the game is one avenue that will jive with a lot of people. But at the same time, stuff like Alyx or say Lone Echo which have intricately curated journeys that expressly aim to use VR's immersion capabilities to its fullest potential is most definitely nothing to scoff at as Alyx has so aptly proven.

[@inuush]

Yeah now that you mention it, the crossbow would have been perfect.

[@de-ment]

I felt that way according to what I've seen in resident evil videos but since I've never played that game I couldn't confirm it

[@TheAudioCGMan]

long but I did read. From the videos I saw, it looks like RE7 so often. A bit dark, slow, close to the environment, and this looting. I played RE7 in VR and was very happy about it

[@h1tsc4n40]

You can hit manhacks and headcrabs with your hands but i don't believe it actually does damage. IT does deflect them, albeit manhacks still deal damage if they hit your hands. But it should be tested. I've only done this a couple of times so not sure if you can bash them to death with your gun.

[@tommymiles966]

Wow good timing, I just finished the game 10 minutes ago... Holy shit that was good

[@DebilDevil87]

The section inside the vault was absolutly amazing!

[@tr909love]

@@DebilDevil87 Shut the fuck up idiot !

[@haileyabley6731]

@@tr909love Why?

[@igorbabchenko2091]

@@haileyabley6731 Spoilers

[@haileyabley6731]

@@igorbabchenko2091 Don't look in the comments if you don't want spoilers. And btw Alyx meets gman and stops her dad from dying at the end. Get fucked kid

[@fredmctictac2272]

14:31 the combine tower over me and intimidate me *sticks finger in gun barrel* LOL

[@SwordsandMushrooms]

I agree with many points here. This game feels like Valve's first foray into VR, finding out what works and what doesn't. And I'm confident they will use all the feedback they get and refine the mechanics for the coming Half-Life 3. Which will be VR and WILL feature melee combat.

[@henryjohnson-ville3834]

I really hope so!! 🤩🤩

[@MrBump2]

That was well said, Philip. Thanks for sharing. It is nice to hear when positive reviews still have construction. If every game was "10/10 'nuff said", they'd be boring to discuss.

[@epicgamer9766]

You put into words my exact feelings about this game!

[@mmc204]

what the fuck are you talking about he uploaded this 5 minutes ago

[@RageQuitRQ]

@@mmc204 ??? What's that gotta do with anything

[@albertpirelius]

@@mmc204 ...?

[@RageQuitRQ]

For sure though. I wasn't sure how to describe the feelings I had for it too This certainly helps narrow it

[@epicgamer9766]

Irmantas I watched the video smooth brain.

[@arathertallglassofwater1864]

one thing I still dont understand is why Russel couldn't have just been Kleiner. I love Russel, but now theres a character that just disappears in the next games.

[@zuryan]

about the thing with the "invisible director" - I felt like that, too. in some cases it seemed to me, that weapon damage/enemy health was somehow affected by the ammo you have left. the most memorable part was when I was fighting a larger group of enemies with hardly any ammo left. I died a couple times and when I finally did it, I killed the last heavy with the last bullet I had. edit: it was the battle at 7:30

[@RuslanLagashkin]

Your playthroughs were super fun to watch. Really hope to see more of your casual and inventive gameplay in the future. In case it would not happen, please know that it has been a great time and I am thankful for those videos.

[@Tixsi11]

Aaawww man is wish I knew that about the ammo.... Ah well one more reason for another playthrough 🤓😎

[@knyt0]

i would do another playthrough, but my 1060 3gb says no

[@joelr7575]

I'm doing a second playthrough and I don't think the thing he said about the ammo is true. They are basically in the same places I remember and are the same ammo type that I remember as well.

[@knyt0]

@@joelr7575 im doing one now, and im using all my shotgun ammo. im definitely getting more

[@brickct123]

You're right that the game has a director for dropping ammo. I found relevant console commands that I strongly suspect are for tweaking it. Search 'drop' and 'ammo' in the console. I didn't play with it enough to know exactly what they do other than by name. I've also seen ammo spawn in a barnacle when I shoot it, then decide to despawn if you clip into it/get the right angle on it fast enough. Interestingly only ever pistol ammo, and only when I was past half full. I might just be looking into it too far with that bit.

[@chrystales6169]

I'm 100% sure it does have a director. If you look at the skill.cfg, where you set damage/health for a bunch of things in the game, there are settings for telling how much the AI director spawns ammo depending on how much the player has. For example, on normal and hard difficulty, there's a minimum and maximum for how much pistol ammo the game thinks you should have. If you have less than 20 in reserve, the director gives you more. If you have more than 60, it reduces the rate. I did test this myself too; at one point I used console cheats to give myself like 20 pistol mags. Then I played through a section of the game, and during that, it barely gave me any ammo. It's only until my ammo is reduced to 40-ish it started spawning at normal levels again. I'm guessing it's to accommodate different playstyles. Considering that HL:A has no melee weapons, it makes sense to make sure that players would never run out of ammo.

[@brickct123]

@@chrystales6169 I've looked into the skill.cfg files and you're definitely right. search 'ammobal' for the cvars. The 'removeat' variables for the ammo types must have been what I was seeing. Very neat. I've also noticed that skill.cfg has values for bullsquid & houndeyes & advisors and such. Very strange. Hopefully that's planned content, and not just a leftover from hl3's scrapped development.

[@ValentineC137]

I personally realised something was up when I had done my 2nd playthrough, and as a Hoarder I realised different kinds of ammo spawned at different rates and even in different locations. Really sneaky

[@emarskineel]

Just finished the game this morning...the pacing was incredible, it's pure fun from the first minute to the twentieth hour. By far the best looking vr game, but simultaneously runs incredibly smooth even on ultra. Great sound design(hearing the high pitched growl of an unseen headcrab is very unnerving). Its great shooter/horror/survival game. The complete package is incredible. The tease at the end got me so excited for what is to come.

[@thepeps101]

Aside form Episode 3 / HL3, i would like a Half life Barney, where you play as barney when he is undercover in the combine. That could be cool i feel.

[@woah5546]

I want a post hl2:e1 Barney game

[@nnikitov57]

Yeah, it's my dream game.

[@KayJay01]

Wow, I don't think I've ever agreed with a review more than this one. This was spot on and exactly how I felt about my playthrough of the game.

[@ramblefish]

Brilliant review, hit the nail on the head. You're one of the best out there

[@Der_Eddie]

What a great video! Not that this would be an exception on your channels but I just have to say that watching it was soo much fun. Thank you :)

[@honkman5542]

The thing that genuinely pissed me off early on is that you can't just kick the shit out of enemies when you run out of ammo. I think the lack of melee combat is incredibly bad

[@randomcatdude]

Valve actually did try to implement melee combat into the game, but they never got a result that they were happy with. The melee weapon they gave players would often get caught and stuck on things as they went by, which isn't really noticeable due to the lack of feedback. They tried disabling the weapon's collision when it was off-screen to help mitigate this, but they never got it working to the standard they wanted.

[@Tyretes]

@@deathpallie easy as in easier said than done.

[@henryambrose8607]

Thanks for uploading with a high FOV. It feels much better than the gameplay videos other people have posted.

[@mvnkycheez]

The way I see it, continuous movement and teleportation go hand in hand. I use continuous mvmt because it feels more immersive, and it matches normal walking speed. Plus it's slow, and doesn't make me feel queezy, which is fantastic. I use the teleport effectively AS the sprint button, if I want to dash somewhere quickly. I think it feels super natural and really good if you combine them properly

[@kayj312]

Great and honest review. Though I don’t have a VR headset, I still get a good feel for what the gameplay is like if I did. I like how you push the game to some of its limits and play the game in multiple mindsets to get a good sample size that more people can relate to, not to mention how new this game actually is.

[@marius8696]

I think for me it’s the small things that ruin my enjoyment of games. Half-Life: Alyx made major strides, but because it’s the first game to commit to VR as a medium, it’s inevitably going to have many issues that aren’t gonna age well. The best way to illustrate this is to look at Half-Life 1. I can appreciate what it did for games, but there are minor issues that really add up. Stuff like unavoidable damage to progress to the next area, or Scientist getting stuck on incredibly small geometry, or the entirety of on a rail. This doesn’t just apply to old games. I really like GTA V, but I never play it because the UI is the single worst thing created by man. I believe Valve will address these small nitpicks in future VR games, and when they do I really think it will be the Half-Life: 2 of VR. They are working on two VR games at the moment. One is code named Citadel, it’s been floating around the community for a while, and comparing leaks between that and before HLA’s release, it seems pretty far along and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see an announcement later this year. Citadel doesn’t seem to be a normal game. It’s some strange hybrid between VR and a pancake gameplay, so I doubt it’s the continuation people are hoping for. But very recently a new code name appeared after a couple Dota 2 updates. The code name is HLX. There isn’t a lot of information about it, but I think this might be the true continuation we are all hoping for.

[@MrGunzngirlz]

The Hl1 for VR analogy holds strong when you realize they basically went back to one basic zombie type even though poison headcrabs were present.

[@will891410]

I wish they bring back F.E.A.R in VR too.

[@mrturner4620]

That would be cool, but the chances of them bringing that series back is so so unlikely

[@aodtonix]

Monolith is a husk now. Doubt that'd happen.

[@coffin7904]

Holy shit just kill me now i would actually fucking shit my pants

[@VitorGuerreiroVideos]

Excellent awesome review! Really enjoy your writing/reading! ☺️ Great work!

[@ungabunga7879]

5:25 I think your correct. I noticed this myself while playing, whenever I needed ammo for a specific thing such as my shotgun, I started to find it wayyy more, especially in crates. I’d find myself like “pleeeeasse be health” and the crate would have health or other items I desperately needed at that moment, never something I didn’t

[@McStebb]

1:45 That was a hell of a nade toss. My play area is pretty small, so I can't really go Ham and Cheese when I toss grenades lol, I always throw them too short because I'm afraid I'll put a dent in my wall

[@vertxxyz]

This is the first review I've agreed with. I sadly have additional complaints. Minor spoilers / hints ahead. I don't actually care about the combat. Perhaps because of the complaints you've made. I switched to story mode and the combat actually feels better, no more bullet sponges - but - sadly, the neutering of the enemies and the brevity of it that you mention, they turn into 10 seconds of slaughter. I understand the decisions they've made, but it feels like one made for the sake of accessibility and not for fun. I would love enemies to have a speed and pace that is realistic, for headcrabs to be any threat at all. Zombies to not lumber around in thought for minutes before lunging precariously. I've not really enjoyed the controller experience with Vive controllers, and sadly I do not have access to the Index controllers in Australia. Some of the upgrades became mandatory to make reloading some weapons not feel like a mess, and the accuracy and angle of the gravity gloves mechanic failed to become totally second nature even at the end game. I can't say I'm a fan of VR, so I never felt as immersed as I would have wanted, and found it difficult to take in the scale of the world at times. I'm sure this is better on more modern headsets. I killed myself multiple times from falling off things, trying to use ladders, or just having VR tracking freak out for an explosive moment. My loading screens were literal minutes long. The levels are as you say, a dense, but samey-feeling familiar place. I feel like I've been to these places, 13 years ago. Except that they actually are devoid of a human presence that I loved HL2 for. No longer am I checking out a beachside house because of its intriguing landscape, I'm looking in a bucket, and finding a resin under the fourth cardboard box. Few of the props have meaning, and their placement arbitrary. Nothing is a better example of this than the Zoo level. This to me felt like a level designer had decided they wanted to make some zoo-related props. This level is practically second to last and has absolutely no bearing on narrative. There's not even any real evidence of animals ever living there, and almost every exhibit has ammo or resin, why? It feels like an extremely large portion of the game's level design is to serve this purpose, and this comes at the sacrifice of immersion for me. I have so many memorable worldbuilding experiences and narrative from Half-Life and its sequels. I absolutely love experiencing the grand narrative, but from a boots-on-the-ground perspective. The combine are draining the seas, you experience that by driving down the beach. Reproduction is suppressed, you experience that by seeing couples, crying, childless. You experience the suffering brought onto people, their transformations into stalkers if they're out of line or in the wrong place. This isn't something I can say Alyx gives you, there's no sense of purpose to the small inklings of that world you're given, bar a few minor examples. Milking antlions for some reason, draining the power of the vorts, and the concept of who the combine are imprisoning. Beyond that I didn't really get the same depth from the world. Funnily enough, the final mind-bending level sequence also felt like a polished version of some mods from 13 years ago. I've played mods (Half-Mind one I can remember) that have turned the HL2 apartment block sequence upside down, and this feels eerily of the same inspiration. It was enjoyable, but somehow equally bland, with very little experimentation. I also didn't find the emotional connection in Alyx's voice acting I remember from HL2 ep2, though every other voice actor was strong throughout. The things I enjoyed though: the cutscenes, I love the vort, and gman is the most imposing and intriguing I've ever seen him. The world is still pretty, even if I didn't get the human connections from it. The end narrative thread, and leadup. It's very satisfying to know that the IP has two people in it that transcend time, and that was used very satisfyingly. I enjoyed the in-wall wires puzzles. The rest of them were easy and/or boring, and lacked the diagetic aspect. The level you speak of was engaging and interesting. I especially loved the elevator ride, whoever was the brains behind it is a genius.

[@logprb5048]

I completely agree with what you said about the Zoo level. When the level started I was excited. I thought to myself "what kind of cool monsters have been created by Xen merging with animals? This will be awesome" and I was expecting some really interesting tiger-xen hybrid monsters or unique animal-related situations. But inside every animal cage were no animals, only headcrabs... and human zombies... I was disappointed at that level because nothing really stood out as being "zoo" related other than the bars on the cages and the signs.

[@TheQuixoticEnd]

Watching your first episode blew my mind. Not only for VR capability but also it's potential and unique entertainment factors. Knowing the player and seeing your personality show through your movement alone was something new. ALSO: People getting mad over kliksphillip ignoring important items was hilarious and ridiculous. Its not like you DIDN'T know what they were, it's exactly how you troll between the lines. You do the same exact thing in some of your commentary videos

[@dantep6318]

I've just started playing this game, and after hearing you described that one chapter at the end, it has got me scared to continue playing, but excited.

[@oocelot3040]

great review, almost exactly captured my feelings on the game. It ended and I just wanted more... I think you're right about the ammo. I never touched the shotgun because I don't think I ever had more than 15 rounds in reserve for it. I think I found maybe 2 shells/level. Pistol, on the other hand, I used exclusively and ammo was everywhere. I'm also curious about the abundance of resin. I was pretty meticulous about searching for it and I still ended the game about 40 resin short of having every gun fully upgraded. I think there was probably more if I had killed every barnacle, but that would have burned through my ammo... Hopefully now that the VR framework and engine are in place, we'll start to see regular content trickling out. I really wish the game had more replay value. it would have been nice if they included stuff like a new game +, some kind of combat or survival mode, or just an free explore mode.

[@Gigaamped]

oocelot I ended my play through with 25 resin short of max upgrades and then I immediately saw 3 resins I missed while watching other people’s play through so I know they’re all out there(!)

[@Gigaamped]

Just beat it again and only needed 18 resin to get max...where could they be?!?

[@oocelot3040]

@@Gigaamped I noticed that sometimes the barnacles drop them. in my playthrough, I would usually avoid the barnacles instead of killing all of them. I also thought there might be more in the flashlight parts that I sped through as fast as I could.

[@HansonJ]

The loading screens actually took 5-8 minutes each time I encountered them, despite installing it on an SSD. This made the game extremely frustrating when I died frequently, because what would’ve taken 2 minutes to finish a battle, had taken 30 minutes. Also I agree with every point, fantastic video.

[@thatoneguy9153]

I love that you didn't spoil anything. Thanks for the honest review and all that you do man. Keep making content! I'm like a child at a candy store every time one of your videos comes up on my feed.

[@pFULCRUMq]

hey Philip from many hl alyx videos full Walkthrough u have the best movement I really enjoy watching your videos so please make the rest of the chapters because you are the only one I want to watch playing this game the other videos on youtube are idk I don't like it they don't know how to use the movement and the rest. but u know please continue the videos with hl alyx full Walkthrough

[@Dudelger]

9:15 You can use Teleport while freemove if you just use jump

[@BagheeraTube]

Feels like it is time to get a VR headset..

[@Navhkrin]

Man VR headsets cost over 4000 currency where i live, more expensive than what i earn in 3 months.

[@notimeforcreativenamesjust3034]

@@Navhkrin dont know where your from but on amazon theres one for 400

[@BagheeraTube]

@@Navhkrin that sucks, maybe look at secound hand market?

[@knyt0]

@@Navhkrin "4000 currency" maybe say what the currency is so we can translate?

[@Navhkrin]

@@knyt0 It is TL. But translation doesnt really matter as we arent getting paid with dollars, but with TL. So, in other words, i am masters computer science student, while on america my peers would get paid 1600 dollars, in my country we get paid with 1600 TL. So our "capacity to buy VR" is greatly limited. As cost applies to us as if it were 4000 dollars to someone living on america.

[@CoffeeWaffee]

I do wish you'd do more reviews of games, you've always got a lovely style.

[@doctorfaker391]

3:21 Kinda have to disagree with Philips here. The reason why HL2 has more diverse environments is because Gordon travels miles away from the city at the first day and the environment he’s in constantly changes because he has a different goal. meanwhile in Alyx most of the game takes place in QZ which is in the city.

[@SirFreelanders35]

Far as my understanding goes they made the antlions slower as they where to fast for vr gameplay as they cut the fast headcrab and it's zombie type because it was no fun to play with in vr

[@knyt0]

what about the poison zombie?

[@SirFreelanders35]

@@knyt0 that one I don't know about sadly, I don't even know if there is a model for it in-game like the fast headcrab, which just has the model left and I must say it looks better then what it did in half life 2. Don't know why it has to be black like the poison type but I do love the matching red claws? (Dont known the right term for the pointy things on the head crabs legs)

[@h1tsc4n40]

@@knyt0 Poison zombie is not in the game but poison headcrabs are.

[@gameofpj3286]

Oh man, the game is great, but i wasn't prepared for so much horror. Especially the level you hinted at. I don't know if i'll be able to pass it :(

[@josephi9219]

Game Of PJ I’m 13 and I got through it, it can be scary at some parts but nothing too bad. I wouldn’t recommend playing that chapter at night though lol.

[@linglingjr]

I hope you will continue uploading the full chapter play throughs. I've got to see what you're talking about with the one you wouldn't show here.

[@SmolBloof]

The shotgun ammo scenario reminded me of the ‘item dynamic resupply’ entity. That would also change what spawned (albeit usually from a crate you had to smash) depending on what ammo, health or power you were lacking the most! Cool to see it might still be happening in Alyx...

[@Die-Coughman]

This [16:47] is the most relatable explanation I've ever heard of anything.

[@munk6576]

SPOILERS!!! he is talking about the time where you have to go down an apartment building full of headcrabs to turn off the power, only for you to then go the same way back up again but this time in complete darkness right?

[@Die-Coughman]

@@munk6576 No.

[@TheJumboPenguin]

I have a feeling he is talking about the part where you are running away from an enemy but im not certain about that

[@Die-Coughman]

@@TheJumboPenguin I have no idea what you are talking about

[@makak_zeleny]

I think it's the Jeff part

[@tosutosu_]

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! Finally a review that matches my feelings with this game! I was getting tired by seeing countless nines and tens, calling the game a masterpiece without any flaws, well of course it's a masterpiece, but there were so many aspects you mentioned that should be taken note of! I was also worried that I was the only one out there that had a bit different, more critical opinion about the game

[@randomrsci6709]

I totally agree

[@de-ment]

yea

[@ackrien9630]

I didn’t think you would actually review it but now im happy you did.

[@mikejones-vd3fg]

Great review and have to say I felt similar, but really have to appreciate how well they put this all together in a VR game, it looks great and surprisingly more interactive then i imagined, all the little things they had to think of and make work smoothly is pretty impressive thats is going to set some new standars for VR games. Im just waiting for VR gloves now then you could spin basketballs on your fingers?!

[@Perenbarn]

My main critique i have on this game is the "making things cute to not overwhelm noobs" that is going on. The headcrabs just aren't very scary to me as the terror I felt in HL2. The dialogue of the main soldiers seemed way too human and not as robotic and creepy as in HL2. I would have liked to see some stalkers in VR. I get valve want's to target a wider audience. I hope the next half life VR is as gritty and creepy as HL2 was.

[@ST3RLII]

at first I had the game on my hdd and got annoyed by the long loading screens which took about 30 seconds to a whole minute, halfway through the game i moved it on an ssd and it was way more enjoyable to just wait 5 seconds than a whole minute :D, btw Jeff is awesome

[@underflip2]

It feels like the game is optimized for SSD. The load time was really short for me. I just wish they where less of them. In the end i cant complain.

[@knyt0]

bro, on my ssd im still waiting like 5-10 minutes, i think its broken or something

[@corvidconfidential8826]

@@knyt0 I have mine on an NvME ssd, but it still loads in about a minute, so it's not just you.

[@AlienTreeGuy]

No, fuck Jeff. The most stressed I've been in a game in a very long time xD

[@fortris]

@@corvidconfidential8826 Oh it's not just me? I wonder what the problem is honestly, I was shocked by how long the load times were on a drive that does 3500 MB/s reads lmao.

[@devostripes5964]

What a review, i enjoyed every moment listening, even tho the fanboy in me liked the game so much, i liked the way you analysed it and didn't want to praise it like everyone else, that just show the love you have for the series and your big knowledge about it

[@TheWeeky]

11:48 though i'd imagine that parallaxing or tesselation like in RDR2 would make it look just so much more incredible. 3D or 3D-like surfaces are often the biggest changes imo, one of No Mans Sky updates that added that option for ground textures almost transformed the game for mee

[@Monzy_]

I'm not sure which chapter he's talking about at the end. Is it Jeff, the end chapter or something else?

[@BHDpdq]

The horror, scary thing he was comparing to Ravenholm? I assumed so, but I personally didn't understand the hype behind that level. I thought it was a very cool, but drawn out stage.

[@fuzzy682mc]

He was showing footage from Jeff, so I am almost certain that is the chapter he is talking about.

[@Eplemos4Life]

Its the jeff part, yep.

[@logprb5048]

@@BHDpdq I'm the same way. I wasn't really that impressed with it, and after completing it and seeing people talking about the Jeff section and this and that, I don't get it. I found it FAR more unnerving the first time you get the flashlight and the headcrabs come at you from the dark... The Jeff part was kind of boring and annoying more than anything to be honest. Because of the mechanics, he literally can't do anything if you don't make noise, so I just throw bottles and move around, it didn't feel as tense for me as it was for some people.

[@tyleraskelton10]

Personally I just finished the headcrab lair/nest section within the North Star and that was unnerving. Especially when you discover the emergency power off switch I immediately quick saved 🙈

[@Kobemane]

What really disappointed me in this game is the lack of movement that Half Life 2 had, and even Half Life. Half Life2 had giant open world levels you could explore either by foot, or through a vehicle. Like the levels where you drive around in a buggy by the beaches and raid combine outposts while passing by. That level had so much open space to explore, and although there wasn’t nearly as much to interact with as in Half Life: Alyx, it was still fun to discover combine supplies in their outposts and finding out they had been spying on the rebels through telescopes located by their outposts. Alyx just does everything so, slow. Instead of not having fast enough reactions and just running away from grenades, you can throw them back in a few other ways, but the fun of almost being killed by a single prop is now almost completely gone. I haven’t seen the entire game yet, but the fast paced parts of Half Life 2 like the time you were chased by a chopper on a boat or the mission “ Follow Freeman” are, from my perspective, gone. I hope that this is something that will come back in the future Half Life games

[@isaacweisberg3571]

17:29 I remember hearing this phrase in this vid back when this review came out. I just played the game myself, and I 100% agree, this particular moment is inspiring and hilarious!

[@maximthemagnificent]

When I design something (I'm an engineer), the first version just gets it working, the second gets it working well, and the third is when it's polished as you apply more subtle lessons from the second attempt. For a sale-able product you need to be on at least that number two stage (unless you're Bethesda, apparently...), and that's where Half Life Alyx seems to reside.

[@calebr908]

Bethesda is basically, "how can we take this product and remove features"

[@holy0damn]

@@calebr908 lets make a huge world with things for people to mod

[@cy9nvs]

I'm only watching playthrough videos of the game, so I haven't played it myself. But the fact that you can't hit your enemies with objects, or throw them back with your hands is really a pretty big deal in my opinion. I would've expected such interactions to be pretty mandatory for a VR game of this caliber.

[@dagda1180]

From an article I've read, they have lost about a year in trying to code in melee combat with a crowbar, but found the issue that the iron kept getting stuck on the scenery.

[@Hous3rr]

Apparently, melee in VR is difficult to do well, and that is represented well in Boneworks as it is the least liked mechanic. Valve just didn't feel like it was good enough and didn't keep it.

[@kyle-cs1dl]

​@@Hous3rr Valve actually had the same thinking about smooth locomotion and just intended to make the game without it. But when boneworks showed it can be done, they added it in the game.

[@checkerbene]

This has to be the best review I have ever encountered! Very well spoken philip!

[@BwakBirb]

I heavily agree with your comments about ammo and weapons, whilst i do love the three you have available i only ever really used the pistol. Its ammo is hugely abundant in my own play through while i saved up shotgun ammo for powerful enemies (which are difficult to get close to anyhow). The mod you suggested of a shotgun only run is something i actually said to my friend too- it's such a COOL gun, the laser sight made me amazed too. The smg i felt was a bit lacking as it wasnt anything special so i only really used it when i ran out of pistol ammo.

[@BwakBirb]

AND when i ran out of ammo- i was fucked. I couldnt do anything but like hope i could run past the enemies quick enough. I WISH i could use some sort of ammoless/infinite weapon resource like the gravity gun

[@slightlyamusedblackkidfrom9153]

When I found out only a few guns in the game I was sad cuz I wanted to see a vr pulse rifle

[@knyt0]

@Midland Moto i was very glad that they were onehanded, i really don't like twohanded weapons in vr, it feels way too akward. also my controller tracking flips the fuck out if they both vibrate

[@glo8516]

Midland Moto you can 2 hand the shotgun of you have the grenade launcher, can also 2hand the pistol, but im not sure about the smg

[@glo8516]

Midland Moto you can

[@thekycklingwizard78]

Wouldn’t make much sense canonically

[@glo8516]

The Kyckling Wizard But some of the combine use the pulse rifle

[@TheRealGuywithoutaMustache]

It's still one of the better VR games to come out, in my opinion, but you were able to articulate how most of us feel about this game.

[@radioman9900]

It's literally the best VR game, not "a good one", though.

[@dbozan99]

You can adjust the speed of continuous movement with launch options. "+hlvr_continuous_normal_speed 200 +hlvr_continuous_combat_speed 200" Also, according to the workshop guide where I got this info ("Increase movement speed" by Kingo64), they state: "Also note that high movement speeds can cause issues with the player "falling" through staircases if you run at them too quickly. Try to walk up stairs."

[@alextilson9741]

Well done communicating all of this without spoilers. And holy shit does anyone else have the same issue where your hands dont feel like their your own anymore XD

[@TheAudioCGMan]

well yes but as a symptom of panic disorder 😏 it'll go away try to ignore it

[@mikaxms]

Now we just have to wait another decade for VR Half-Life 2.

[@corvidconfidential8826]

Not really, Gman mentioned a surprise later this year, but besides that, hl2 only came out 5 or so years after 1... along with blue shift also coming out before that

[@corvidconfidential8826]

Also, they're not going to ignore all this money they've gotten from the index and this masterpiece, just like how rockstar will be making GTA till the world implodes into the sun

[@kothemagica]

@@corvidconfidential8826 Money is not going to be Valve's major motive in making games, because of how much money they make on steam

[@corvidconfidential8826]

@@kothemagica you're a fool if you think people turn down easy opportunities for more money

[@kothemagica]

@@corvidconfidential8826 If they really want money they would've made HL:A only playable on Index

[@Nathraichean]

Hey Philip. City 17 appears to actually be Sofia, Bulgaria, as seen from the loading screen map. I just noticed that from your video and i saw that noone had pointed that out. Here is a link to my reddit post www.reddit.com/r/HalfLife/comments/fqnhet/city_17_is_located_in_sofia_bulgaria_confirmed/

[@StormyDoesVR]

Totally agree with all you said there, kliks. Cannot wait to see how they expand upon the basis they set with this game. And of course, I can't wait for the community maps. (Valve please add sprinting)

[@Hugmir]

Many thanks for this review. I had been wanting exactly such evaluation-summary; not the myriad of "hey, look at me play this choctastic game, am i not having fun" videos that swarmed youtube.

[@DanJoeProductions97]

I do think that it's nice to actually have some main character personalities, as i'm a bit tired of the silent protagonist myself. I always thought it was a bit of a lazy move honestly