Is Half Life Alyx worth the hype? | An Honest Review in 2024

[@dudemannxs]

Just got it for $20! I figured it would get this low one day. The fact that it took four years to reach this sale price point is a testament to how good the game actually is.

[@BigWynter]

Still don't think I have played or seen a better VR game yet

[@madanshaw63]

​@@BigWynter😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮

[@TheBaldrickk]

Alyx is STILL the most polished VR title. Though even at release, it felt a little old in gameplay (no running, sprinting, proper climbing (you can't drop) etc) So it's a little weird on that aspect :D

[@BigWynter]

Completely agree my friend! Was shocked at just how good it was though despite its flaws.

[@TheBaldrickk]

@@BigWynter I put it down to Valve UNDERSTANDING what they set out to do, AND the medium. While the time spent developing did lead to having "old school" mechanics (smooth loco being a last minute addition) - They made what they intended it to be, and did it well. CoH is my go-to contrasting title - it could have been a great game, but it's very clear that the studio treated it more like an exorcise in ticking boxes - that as soon as something was made, it was ticked off and left, to move on to the next one with none of the polish that it required to work well.

[@christoffer886]

Half Life Alyx is the only real high profile VR game. Every other game on the market is either a very good janky multiplayer knockoff of PC games like Pavlov or some slapped together add-on VR to a 2D game. Half Life Alyx is a REAL game, MADE for VR, with good storytelling, good acting, writing, optimized good graphics, VR functions that's polished and with purpose. Like.... no one else comes close. It's actually the only game that's actually pushed gaming forward overall in a time with stagnated gameplay design. And every other VR game feels like a cheap gimmick in comparison. That studios aren't using it as THE template guide for how to design VR games is downright stupid and so far into the life of VR gaming, that no one else have even come close.... ugh. The only one who's gonna be able to beat this is Valve themselves with a follow-up on the Deckard. It's gonna be wild.

[@BigWynter]

Whilst it does frustrate me too and I do agree with you, I think VR game development is extremely under funded and notoriously difficult to develop. I do think there have been some great developments in the last year or so and I'm hyped for 2024/5 for the VR space.

[@Andrew-hk8qi]

Asgard Wrath 2 is pretty sweet. Another 1 player story game. Also, while grimlord is still in early access it's a great time as well. I'll definitely be picking up this one soon.

[@StarseedResistance]

Asgard's wrath 2 and countless others would like a word with you.

[@insectostrich4407]

Even though it feels smaller in scale, it makes up for in everything else. The graphics have greatly improved. The animations and character models have more variety, making them feel more immersive. However, what really sold it for me, besides everything, was the characters and ending. We get to see just how clueless Alyx is about life before the war, Russell is gold and every other supporting character is great. The ending makes it feel like we actually gained something because it wasn’t just a prequel, it was something that literally affected future events. I just hope the next Half Life game will release someday.

[@BigWynter]

Great points my friend!

[@insectostrich4407]

@@BigWynter Thank you. Yeah, sometimes the original game felt like sprites put in a sandbox, which wasn’t its fault, but in this game the environments, objects and characters all feel like they belong. If that makes any sense.😅

[@feritye767]

@@insectostrich4407 yeah lack of variety was definitely a problem with half-life 2, it still confuses me that even the antlions have different patterns on their backs, yet every single zombie has the same white shirt

[@jeremygman2710]

Alyx is the most amazing gaming experience I’ve ever had. I bought an Index just so I could experience it back in 2020. Community mods have helped ramp up the challenge of the combat-making the Combine smarter and more aggressive, for example. A few other VR titles have been very fun and a handful have decent graphics, but by and large VR titles are developed by individuals or a team of just a few and it shows. I know motion sickness and just the weight of headsets make VR gaming unappealing for many, but hopefully hardware will continue to improve and VR can finally go mainstream. Because after playing Alyx, flat screen games just aren’t as immersive as they used to be.

[@BigWynter]

I understand what you mean, its hard to describe the level of immersion you can get and its not really translated to a 2D KZbin video very well

[@underflip2]

Absolutely amazing game and still one of my favorites and that includes flat games.

[@BigWynter]

It’s one of those games I wish I could forget and replay fresh.

[@mjjmedia12]

I really feel like another decade is gonna go by and this game will still be the VR GOAT. There's simply not enough investment in the VR space to go big. Imagine if Nintendo really invested in this space, if only it weren't such a risk

[@BigWynter]

You might honestly be right, we're not far off half way and it still at the top

[@Elite-bh6pm]

Since you never played Half Life 1 or 2 as you mention in the video, now would be a great time to play them because you can play Half Life 1 and 2 plus all their expansions in VR.

[@BigWynter]

Very good point! I'll take a look.

[@Maxtorym]

Ohh nice are those vr titels by itself or modded? and where can i find them

[@therealmovieman]

They are on steam so hl 1,2 and 2 has ep1 and ep2

[@Paszq]

Reviewing Alyx without playing previous games is pretty pointless. Like reviewing 3rd season of Breaking Bad without knowing anything about it.

[@leinadreign3510]

@@Paszq If you talk more about the technicality of the title and not about the story, it works. Also I would say it works without knowing about the previous titles. Yes, you arent catching the "rescue this person" thing much, but the game works pretty well as a stand alone in my opinion.

[@manuelferreira8772]

I am currently playing it on psvr2, and I have to say that it's amazing.

[@BigWynter]

Glad you’re enjoying!

[@yeeyo11]

Just ordered my vr headset, and i just bought it for this game. Half life series has been my favorite game of all time, cant wait to play this game

[@BigWynter]

Which headset? Let me know how you get on with it and I hope you enjoy!

[@yeeyo11]

@@BigWynter its a meta quest 3, do you think its a good option?

[@BigWynter]

@@yeeyo11 Great headset!

[@ashtondillard6906]

@@yeeyo11how was the game?

[@yeeyo11]

@@ashtondillard6906 well this my first time expericing vr and it was a blast, the game is really fun and very challenging in their way, i havent played that much because the battery of my headset is very stupid, i also played Half life 2 and portal 2 in vr and i think these 2 last games are better than Alyx in vr mode. Alyx is good in its way. 8/10

[@thenosid951]

Questt 2 lenses and display are not "outdated" as PSVR 2 has the same lenses, and the upcoming quest 3s will have the same lenses and display.

[@BigWynter]

I disagree my friend, I would say they are outdated. That’s not saying they’re terrible, but they are still fresnel with a lower resolution and field of view compared to newer headsets

[@thenosid951]

@@BigWynter There is no point comparing those newer headset to the quest 2 giving they cost at least 2 times the price. The quest 2 and quest 3s lenses and display is and will still be the entry point in VR at around 250$ for years to come. Thats the same as saying most cars are outdated because supercars exists.

[@BigWynter]

I still disagree here, even the jump from quest 2 to 3 is big in my opinion in terms of colour, clarity, resolution and fps. I agree that super high end headsets aren’t a fair comparison, but that’s not what I was trying to refer to

[@thenosid951]

@@BigWynter even the quest 3 is 2 time the price of the quest 2.

[@petersmith1190]

Nice intro brother

[@BigWynter]

Thank you brother

[@bobbastian760]

Still the GOAT. IT has hundreds of great user made workshop maps too, hundreds of hours of free to play mods.

[@BigWynter]

Not played any mods for it yet, sounds exciting

[@darkxenobi]

Just finished Alyx 2 days ago, it's a game from an alternate reality

[@BigWynter]

Still waiting for something as good

[@wvecst]

Yes, it is one of the best gaming experiences I've ever had

[@BigWynter]

Apparently the new Arkham VR game is almost on par, have you played it?

[@wvecst]

@BigWynter i have not, once my new rig comes in this month I'll check it out.

[@Glow_work]

Half life Alyx is arguably the best vr game ever or even the best game ever and it was released 4 years ago!

[@BigWynter]

Let’s hope something comes to rival it soon!

[@littlebigcomrade]

What’s so trippy about a good VR game is that I remember being in the game like I was actually there. Other games I always remember them in the context of a television.

[@BigWynter]

I'd never really thought about it like that, but that makes a lot of sense actually

[@kshitijdedhe]

its like 10-15 dollars right now and im buying it for my quest 3 i jus had a question my laptop is rtx 3060 (8gb) 16 gigs ram and rysen 7840hs will it work smoothly? because normally these specs are pretty good but laptop components are usually weaker

[@BigWynter]

It should be totally fine to run I think!

[@kshitijdedhe]

@@BigWynter oh thanks and also i mis spelled my rtx 4060 for 3060

[@ModeratelyInsane]

Going beyond the novelty of VR, for me HL:A was slightly disappointing. You are spending a lot of time in tight corridors and small rooms doing mostly repetitive puzzles. I feel the game lacks an element of openness and exploration. It has its moments of course, and I am going to replay it one day with better hardware.

[@BigWynter]

Fair commentary honestly, but I don't think it is the type of game that would benefit from having more open world. I think being somewhat limited in the ways you can go etc helps keep the player on track as VR tends to be a lot more disorienting for a lot of people

[@ParaZen]

There won’t be any other VR title that will come close to Half-Life Alyx in the next 5 years. Valve was always developing games that were a decade ahead of the rest. Counter Strike was a Half-life mod and people still play it today;) Talking of Mods. There are already lots of HL Alyx mods on steam like: Locomotive Post-Human Re-Education Storm Drain The Undertwo Incursion

[@BigWynter]

Whilst you might be right, I really hope you aren’t. It would be awesome to get games as good as Alyx frequently.

[@ChefPrownlos]

How is this video underrated!?!

[@BigWynter]

I didn't say it was underrated did I? I think as far as gaming more generally, perhaps as not everyone has access to VR. But for the VR space I wouldn't say its underrated

[@ChefPrownlos]

@@BigWynter No, no, I meant "How is this videunderrated?" This is too good

[@BigWynter]

@@ChefPrownlos oh I’m sorry I totally misunderstood, thank you so much!

[@ChefPrownlos]

@@BigWynter Nah, I didn't word it good, it's my fault

[@BigWynter]

Not at all bud, just my poor reading!

[@bobbastian760]

Playing wireless is better - you just need to make sure nothing else is using a 5Ghz wifi network in the same room.

[@BigWynter]

I would prefer wireless, but my 5ghz just isn't as good as the link cable

[@ripoutyourprejudice]

I don't really understand, "I never played HL1 or HL2 before Alyx". How long or how much of a comitment do you thing it was to buy it on the same platform you play Alyx ? First game is literally 5-6 hours long and the expansions Opposing Force and Blue shift barely 5 to 3 hours each. I'm pretty sure people take shits with their phone on the toilet that takes longer than finishing these games. You can finish the original trilogy in less than 24 hours. HL2 is 6-8 hour game, Episode 1 is 2 hours, Episode 2 is 4 hours. In 2 days you can play all of them. I don't see the issue. And you can finish the 2nd trilogy in less than the original. Stupid excuse is a stupid excuse.

[@samuelm4021]

Loved the game so much. I just wish the guns were a little more satisfying to shoot… Valve still had the half life magic, that much is clear. Like yourself, I won’t spend 900 bucks on a valve headset. That being said Quest 2 driver support has been lacking since day one. It’s now becoming smooth after years of updates.

[@BigWynter]

I get what you mean and to be honest I don’t have a tonne of experience with VR shooters, but to me it seems hard to give VR guns good weight to them if that makes sense?

[@Treebsquire]

What's even more incredible with the game was the included steam workshop support. There are some custom made campaigns that are as good as the base game. Plus some incredible weapon mods like the recurve bow.

[@BigWynter]

I’m still yet to do a modded playthrough, but I just might take a look!

[@the_quadracorn]

...I hate the concept of "an honest review". All reviews should be honest, or they're not really reviews. I played it in 2024 and it's the best game I've ever played, bar none. I have never felt joy of this degree while playing a game ever. The whole half life series is just kind of a masterpiece of tech based game design based on the limitations of the era. The way I feel about the story is just an added bonus because I love that world. Some stories I might think are better, some small aspects of gameplay, some ideas, etc. but judged as a work of art in a particular medium in it's totality, Half Life Alyx just destroys. I see "VR games" as a separate medium to "computer/video games". They are both experiencing electronic entertainment with a particular set of limitations. Although similar, they're not the same. Like comparing Movies to TV, or stage production to live TV presentation Different mediums require different design considerations to maximize their potential for enjoyment.

[@BigWynter]

Thanks for taking the time to comment! I get what you mean, I think 'Honest review' just highlights to people looking for a review that it won't be skewed by politics or investors etc like a big review company might be

[@bobbastian760]

HL 1/2 are some of the best games ever made.

[@BigWynter]

I feel like I would struggle going back to them now

[@jiroscop]

yeah, I played a lot of VR games since Alyx and nothing comes even close.

[@BigWynter]

The metro VR games looks pretty promising honestly, have you played it yet?

[@jiroscop]

@@BigWynter Yes, I just started it and I like it. Perfect inventory and control systems, very atmospheric, just the immersion is a little broken by the low res textures

[@jiroscop]

That Metro game climbs higher and higher in my VR ranking the more I play :) Inventory system, sounds, music and atmosphere are great

[@BigWynter]

@@jiroscop Might just have to try it out on stream some time :)

[@the-guy-beyond-the-socket]

i think HLA is actually weaker than any other half life game. the weakest part is locations, they are the same from first 30 minutes to last 30 minutes. next is lore, which is just smol. any other are just small cons

[@BigWynter]

You may just be right as I haven’t played the first two. But to be honest, I think what VR might lack in depth it makes up for in pure immersion. After all, what is great and in depth world building for if not immersion?

[@seebarry4068]

Imagine the sales on this the day you can get it on a quest 6 or similar future headset. Even by then there will be zero competition and a huge market of non pc gamers. This is Valves long game I think. Maybe even on their own standalone headset. Deckard is rumoured to be standalone. Just saying. ​@BigWynter

[@BigWynter]

I do hope the deckard comes out soon, would love to upgrade from my Quest 2 and give this game another go some time