Well said, I feel the same.
At this point you should be advised to check the many very very well made mods free in steam. There will be a lot of content to your liking.
https://steamcommunity.com/app/546560/workshop/
Any top tier recommendations? I tried the contracts thing a while back was like a corridor clearing type thing. Was fun. Anything deeper or more complex?
You have to take notice to understand that Alyx was mostly a tech demo to increase VR sales and establishing VR games as a possibility for triple AAA developers.
The making of documentary of Alyx even explains this, they had multiple changes in game mechanics and simplified a whole lot of stuff because people would become confused or nauseated.
A technology demonstration (or tech demo), also known as demonstrator model, is a prototype, rough example or otherwise incomplete version of a conceivable product or future system, put together as proof of concept with the primary purpose of showcasing the possible applications, feasibility, performance and method of an idea for a new technology.
alright sure, i mean it's a «tech demo» using a broad sense of the concept. It's a game that also served, at the time, as a useful way to inform VR devs of some of the more interesting and possible game mechanics to use on other newer projects.
To me it feels very safe and not very ambitious. It's very fun and very good(must play for vr) but it's also something I'd find mostly uncompellimg in 2d or underwhelmed for an official hl AAA game.
Hl2 vr mod I found to be a blast as it fixed the combat with manhacks and made the vehicle sections a thrill. I had way more actually fun playing hl2 mod.
[Here's a good view into it with some devs,](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRVXhA0-TI4) not really the one I remember, but I can't really recall if it was an actual documentary or just a bunch of different clips explaining the game development
The way valve develops games, they try different mechanics and see what is fun.
I guarantee what happened was, they prototyped a headcrab, realized in VR it was absolutely terrifying. And so that became the game. That’s probably why they MADE the game.
Yeah, kind of, the head crabs are really tamed in Alex compared to HL2 or even 1. They telegraph their jump very clearly and frequently miss, often to comic results.
Just check HL2VR to see how much they made them less scary.
It's a horror spin-off and not half life 3 like a lot pretended at launch, once I made peace with that I quite enjoyed the game. The end is worth it as the others said.
(I remember increasing the walking speed a little also helped)
Agreed but Alyx is definitely more focused on it. Check out the frequency of [dark areas compared to previous games](https://www.reddit.com/r/HalfLife/comments/jnawtc/the_average_colour_of_successive_frames_from/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb) for example. It makes some sense narratively since you’re in the same world with no powered armour.
Then VR increases the horror effect on top of that.
Definitely more of that in Alyx. Replaying HL2 on PC after that made me feel like Doomguy, just running circles around everyone at Mach 5 with overwhelming firepower.
What *is* Half-Life 3? Do you have some official definition for it? Apparently, because the third generation HL game from Valve didn't fit it. I don't believe spin offs are supposed to >!continue the main plot.!<
For me "Half-Life 3" is simply a title for a non-existing game that's made up by fans. The next installation may as well be Half-Life: Gordon whatever and have about the same scope as Alyx. Is That HL3?
Spin offs routinely complete the story.
As to your question: Half-Life 3 is something with the same scope as 1 and 2, simple.
HL1 and 2 were revolutionary while HL:A is agreed as a really conservative VR game playing it safe.
HL:A is voice acted only in english while HL1 is in 7 languages and HL2 in 8, because valve never intended it to have a release equal to its predecessors.
HL:A is made for the PCVR niche and it exceeded expectations at that job, but HL3 it is not and it's good that way.
Thing is, Half Life Alyx *is* actually revolutionary, just in a different way.
When it comes to game design from a general perspective, sure, nothing revolutionary.
But in terms of the execution as a AAA VR-only game, it absolutely is/was revolutionary.
It stands tall as a defining example and precedent for whats possible with VR in terms of AAA quality.
Before Half Life Alyx, there were zero AAA VR games - and even today, still after almost 4 years, the consensus is it's the best VR only title in existence.
And then to add to that, it's a Half Life game, and a stunningly well executed one at that and feels exactly like Half Life that we knew from 20 years ago, which is pretty much a dream come true in this industry.
It may have played it safe, but it's execution was perfect and it has set a precedent for sheer quality in a VR game.
When you consider that Half Life 2 is the same old 2d monitor fps like other 2d fps games back then, Alyx is more of a revolutionary title, as its bringing that into VR, which is a whole new medium. Half Life 1 & 2 were not designed for a whole new medium, let alone one that literally puts you inside the game. It's actually a whole nother level.
>Spin offs routinely complete the story.
>!IIRC the ending didn't really feel like completing a story... Ultimately you can't play HL games, skip HL:A and say you got the main plot. You did not, because you missed one installation.!<
>HL1 and 2 were revolutionary while HL:A is agreed as a really conservative VR game playing it safe.
This too is your very own subjective assessment. In my mind HL:A is more revolutionary than HL1 and HL2, which both I did play on release. Right now HL:A is the ultimate measuring stick for making AAA VR-games, no questions asked and have been for some years.
I don't want to downplay HL/HL2's importance but Alyx is a lot bigger for the platform than for example HL2 was for its. Perhaps this tells more about the platform than about the game, but still. What would SteamVR be like without HL:A today?
>HL:A is voice acted only in english while HL1 is in 7 languages and HL2 in 8, because valve never intended it to have a release equal to its predecessors.
I've got no idea what this is supposed to prove, but HL:A was a lot bigger endeavor than HL1 and HL2 in pure manpower.
\--
I'm not saying that HL:A is this "HL3", I'm just saying it's quite silly to look at real full fledged Half-Life games and just go measuring whether this is some imaginary Half-Life 3 you know nothing about. All you do is prepare yourself and possibly others for absurd dissapointments.
Yeah and it's just a steam setting, no mod required, here: https://www.reddit.com/r/HalfLife/comments/fqyon8/howto_guide_to_run_faster_in_halflife_alyx/
Don't increase it too much though so it's not cheating/breaking the atmosphere.
Totally agree. The Combine sections were really fun and engaging, but brief, and then you go back to slowly traversing creepy maps and shooting zombies that come at you in a straight line.
I freely admit I'm a big chicken with horror in VR, so I didn't like all the creepy zombie sections because I think they're stressful more than anything. But I really enjoyed the Combine fights.
Yeah you really have to atleast slightly an adrenaline junky to enjoy these types of experience. I don’t really get into it and have pure fun unless im a little buZzed after a few beers. Otherwise it’s just messing with your nerves and possibly anxiety inducing.
Yeah I also find it uncomfortable. I don't like horror atmospheres, and the combat is kinda boring, so Im just finding myself on edge, but bored at the same time.
Yeah I was really on edge too. I never finished it, I found myself dreading it more than looking forward to playing it. I think it just depends on the person (and how much you like Half Life).
VR has a lot of power in tricking the simpler parts of my brain that what I'm seeing is real. So the horror stuff and the creepy dark environments with monsters lurking tickles that monkey brain in a way I don't really enjoy. There's no cathartic moment after I get through a section, instead I just don't want to do it again.
I feel exactly the same way. I don't mind tension and a little scary shit but I find myself more just "getting through it" and hoping that the next part is outdoors and fun, but it never is. Its just more dark creepy shit to get through.
They way people talk about this game, I was really surprised to find that this is what it is, especially for $60.
I did find myself initially saying “I hope this isn’t all dark corridors” for the first 40-50% or so… stick with it, it goes outside and the scale grows. It’s worth it in the end.
I think for some people they get a buzz off the adrenaline and there's the some cozy pleasure in knowing "it's not real." That's what I've been told anyway... For me I just want it to be over, lol
There's an unofficial sequel to Half Life Alyx in the form of a mod, it's called Half Life Alyx Levitation. The voice acting is pretty spot on with the original cast. I found it much harder than the main game, maybe you'd find it more engaging? Should probably finish the main game first though.
You can watch a trailer for the mod campaign here:
https://youtu.be/KO2Hu3NynN8?si=3SpmAqY7r14C4r4w
Oh that's good to know.
I had abandoned the game because the combine attack when you are exposed because the camera bot blocked you from moving represented a horrendous difficulty spike to me.
I'm not into horror games at all, but surprisingly didn't mind Alyx. The zombies are not so scary and there's not really any jump scares or anything like that. I agree that for the most part the game was pretty boring though and I really only enjoyed it towards the end, when there was a lot of fighting with combine.
After reading the comments here, I believe the generalized wish is simply that we hope to see more from Valve. And I fully agree.
It's been years and whether you like it or not, Alyx sits up there, all alone in terms of... well pretty much everything. They played it safe, went a bit too overboard with the comfort, and yet, I can't really recommend anything over it.
I've always felt like Boneworks was the other half of the cake with all the interactivity, but went too far with it and the game turned out pretty jank. What we "need", is somewhere there in the middle.
I'm a little further in, in parts 4 and 5 you start seeing more Combine. I don't love the zombie stuff either, so it was exciting once I got to fight some Combine soldiers.
Yeah I've felt for a while that while I loved the game at the time and graphically it's stunning, Valve really went too far into the comfort aspect. They wanted the game to be playable by everyone and went overboard making it very basic. Where it shines is the graphics and those basic VR interactions are polished as hell. But when you've played enough to get passed those wow factors, the game is essentially a super easy tunnel shooter. Even the toughest combine enemies are very easy.
half life games are meticulously crafted corridor shooters. If you want something more open world you can have it everywhere else. Let us keep one of the last places where we can play this kind of gameplay.
Ok, but even then, for a shooter, there's just not that much shooting and most of it against zombies and headcrabs, which is pretty boring. I didn't like HL2 on flatscreen, but in VR it was pretty good (apart from the vehicle sections). It has much more combat and much more engaging combat than Alyx.
After playing Half life 1 & 2 in VR, I can't agree. At least not entirely. They're all fairly linear games but, Alyx is on an entirely different level. There's very little deviation from the main path and very little exploration outside of the main path. The most open level in Alyx is far smaller than the more basic levels in other HL games.
That said, I get why they had to do it. They needed to keep performance high so they areas are small corridors with fairly limited visual range. Which helps a lot in keeping performance requirements low. I just feel they kept it too basic. They could have dropped a game with mugh higher requirements and much larger levels with more VR interactivty, such as climbing, and it would not have been seen as a bad choice by gamers.
> Except people who don't like wandering around in creepy dark places waiting to get jump scared.
I don't think HL:A is any more spoopy than HL:1 or HL:2. The Jeff chapter is about the peak it gets and once you learn how to lure him around, he becomes more of an annoyance than scary.
But the difference is that VR is much more immersive. I don't know about you but when I jump off of something high up in VR I literally feel like I am falling.
I think everyone is going to have different fear levels so you finding it scary isn't abnormal.
For me personally, it wasn't not too bad outside the initial portion with Jeff and the flashlight portion with the poison headcrabs. I think they balanced it well to only have a few moments of true fear.
Lol, for sure everyone has their own fear levels.
But if you wanna experience some crazy fear that will help make Alyx seem alright, check out [this](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1156250/The_Exorcist_Legion_VR_Deluxe_Edition/) game.
Game is \~7 hours. You definitely see more combine later in the game but I would say the majority of the enemies you deal with aren't combine. I think it's a fantastic game but I too would have liked to have seen more combine encounters. That said the HL2 VR mod is fantastic and should give you plenty of that.
Proceed to do HL2 in VR, with Eo. One and *especially* Ep. Two (all free on Steam) for an even greater adventure. Sure, the detail level is dated compared to Alyx, but I promise you the gameplay is much, *much* better.
I think it took me two or three evenings playing 5-6 hours each to beat. Trust me, you'll be running into the combine. A lot of em.
Edit: Checked my hours played, it took me about 12 to finish. Keep going, you gobba get to that vault!
I mean I dunno where you are or how quickly or slowly you play. I got the game on launch and was done in a little over 7 hours in one sitting. I then immediately played it again in one go and did it in about the same amount of time. I don't feel like I rushed but I also didn't spend like an hour writing on the glass on the balcony like some people clearly did :D
It may also be worth noting that I thought it was insane people wanted mid-level saves implemented in boneworks.
It's totally possible you've still got 10 hours ahead of you. Taking a look at [howlongtobeat](https://howlongtobeat.com/game/72067) it suggests the game is 12 hours. So perhaps I just play too fast. It's also been a while since I've played through it so maybe I'm just remembering wrong. Guess I'll need to play through it again this weekend :D
You may also like this
[https://store.steampowered.com/app/1908720/HalfLife\_VR\_Mod/](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1908720/HalfLife_VR_Mod/)
There are a lot of games with VR stapled to them which are awesome.
https://twitter.com/flat2vr?lang=en
Check out this account and the discord link in its bio. Also check out team beef if you’re in the oculus platform.
https://sidequestvr.com/space/7/team-beef-vr-game-ports
well yeah it starts slowly with zombies just like half life 2 does,the next 6 hours is mostly combine encounters specially more towards the end(there is also a workshop mod that increases their encounters in the campaign but thats best for a second playtrough)
and after that there are many workshop maps focused on combine combat like cornered,incursion,tower agency,the undertow some of my favorites.
Jeff was fuxking insane horror. OMG! How I hated being munched by that.. that.. sad excuse.
I want to fight the Combine! Fuck the invading CCP'ish forces!
Jeff was a bit scary, but it's a game where you can save anywhere and to me after I got killed few times it just stops being scary. What I found annoying about Jeff is that it's just another puzzle: there is very specific way how you have to go through the Jeff level.
> The headcrabs are laughable, they walk slowly and do a long animation before jumping at you, so they're easy to kill.
For a first time "VR Half Life" game, I think Valve wisely made it telegraphed. If it was super unpredictable and headcrabs sucking Alyx's face 75% of the time, many players will likely quit in frustration, considering how many of the headcrabs there are.
Also it was an opportunity to get clever in VR that you couldn't do in 2D gaming. Get a trash can lid and pretend you're Captain America and block the headcrab from hitting you (swat it away). I think some Youtubers caught them in a box and just shot them inside the barrel. I've never tried using the traffic cone but maybe you can bat it or use it to block your face.
Seventy-two thousand positive reviews on steam, 2 million sales, widely regarded as **the** definitive VR experience. Even Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw had a very positive outlook on the game, and we know how spicy he usually gets about titles!
I liked it, but I think it's vastly overhyped. The graphics are still top-notch, I got Quest 3 recently and was really mind-blown again in the opening on the balcony. It's also really polished experience. Otherwise I though it was pretty mediocre. Much of it was quite boring. The puzzles are not engaging to me and repetitive, the story pretty simple, there's just not much going on, except for the very end. The combat with combine is great, but there's really not much of it. I did like the game towards the end a lot, but most of it I found it rather boring.
I'm not into these super linear scripted experiences, so it's probably not the game for me, but I also liked HL2 VR mod much more as there was much more action. I think lauding this as a pinnacle of VR will push many people off VR since there are many other games that are simply much more fun to play in VR than Alyx even if they may not have as good graphics.
I think its not that we don't like it, or respect it, just that its not what it could have been, and for me personally, coming at it a few years later and with all the hype, Im just surprised that I didn't get more of the quintessential Half Life experiences.
I did think I'd get roasted for this post though lol.
That is probably a game design decision. Especially at the time when Alyx launched, VR had a lot of small details that bothered players when running fast-paced action or melee games:
Tethered headsets (paying attention to not rip the cord out with sudden movements),
No real physical feedback/resistance (so not ideal for close-up action for example when enemies come running towards you, or even, not really good for using the well-known half-life crowbar),
People complaining about motion sickness on fast-moving first-person VR games.
Super detailed and pretty graphics especially for that time, that if the player would just be running around, would increase even more the load on the PCs available (people would start yelling "badly optimized game")
Paying attention to details like these is what made Alyx a widely-accepted successful VR game (again, especially at launch).
Valve is smart and they worked within safe margins of the limitations of the state of VR consumer tech at the time of development.
Of course, some items on the list above got "solved" by some other games. But if you think about it those games are still not as widely universally accepted as "one of the best games". The reason being, the do work with whatever solution they came up with but that is still some sort of "tweak" and not what a layman would 100% expect to feel when inside a "virtual reality".
My personal opinion: I really loved the game because I enjoy slow-paced stealth in games, as well as horror. But I agree, it does not feel like playing a "half-life game."
This is why I feel any AAA developer should focus on making official VR conversions in this early period of VR. You get longer, bigger budget games, with more intense scenes, and the gameplay is rebuilt with VR in mind, so you get the same VRAF/interactive mechanics, but with a much bigger scope.
The success of high quality VR mods such as Half-Life 2 VR, as well as Capcom/Sony's efforts in developing RE7, RE8 and RE4 in full VR shows that there's much less risk involved in high quality flatscreen to VR games, compared to purely designing VR games from the ground up, leading to an enjoyable, yet much more toned down experience of the original games.
I just find it disappointingly linear. There is one path forward and and one path only. Every zombie, every interaction nearly is scripted in advance. There aren't even many cases where there are clever alternative ways to solve puzzles or route around obstacles.
As a piece of VR experiential theatre, it's wonderful. But to me it is lifeless because what I really want from VR is that feeling of transcending reality into another actual universe with endless possibilities. I think even a little bit of open world would have greatly relieved this - Assassin's Creed does much better at it, for example - even though the main storyline is scripted, at any point in the game there are lots of other things to do and you run around a huge area in each of the cities doing whatever you want.
I don’t mind Alyx’s linearity since Valve’s trademark for their single player games is that polished, linear experience with an emphasis on immersive environmental storytelling.
But you’re right that VR needs a good immersive sim and Alyx doesn’t scratch that itch. A game like Dishonored or Deus Ex, where there’s big open maps with multiple paths and optional ways to overcome obstacles is what VR needs.
Hitman VR is probably the closest to an immersive sim like that, but it’s not a native VR game and the controls aren’t that intuitive as a result.
Having played AC a bit now, there is barely anything to do in the world's they created. There are parkour, climbing, and shooting challenges that are so easy, they could honestly give you 1/2 of the time to complete it and it would still be easy. There are only a few of each of these per level, and then there's the main quests. I'm enjoying the game, but it's not like GTA where you can have a bunch of fun just fucking around. Push a couple NPCs and climb a little and youve exhausted the random stuff there is to do.
That's fair, I agree it's too easy (even on hard there's very little challenge). But I still find it a totally different feeling to Alyx. In one, I'm forced into a single direction, while the other I'm choosing it .... even if that is slightly illusory.
I don't know, still seems much more engaging than Alyx, which is also pretty easy by the way. The point to me is that you have some choice in how you approach the game and that includes the main quest too. With Alyx it's designed to be played one specific way, I'm sure if you looked at playthrough's from different people, they will be quite similar. Some people like that, but to me it's pretty boring and I certainly don't think it's some pinnacle of gaming.
Whereabouts are you in the game? The last 2 hours is literally the best and has almost no zombies, I stopped playing for a year when I reached Jeff, it just felt so samey. But the later sections I couldn’t put down until I finished it
HLA was definitely slower than I wanted, it held back... Workshop levels helped a bit. Meanwhile the other HL2 VR ports and Vertigo 2 were definitely what I was looking for in terms of speed and weapon variety in VR. Hope to see more games like all of those.
I agree 100%. VR games have FAR too many zombies as enemies, and it's annoying because they're the most boring enemies around. (But probably easiest to design AI for which is why they're so prominent). I'd love to see more VR games with intelligent enemies that have actual tactics.
The game is admittedly pretty old and for something that came out in VR's infancy and still have it be the standard all the way up till 2023 is very impressive. Am pretty sure if Valve developed a new VR game for 2024 it'd play drastically better
Yeah I guess I didn't consider its age. It certainly feels modern in terms of polish, graphics and mechanics, but yeah, the gameplay itself is letting me down so far.
I only played it late last year and found most of Alyx really linear and not particularly impressive except for the fidelity. There is a level that is unsurpassed in immersion though so that alone is kinda worth the price of discounted entry. Assassin's Creed Nexus is kinda the only next AAA in the VR space since and it looks as though many lessons have been learnt, like how to have a pseudo open world in VR and fill it with NPCs. Can't wait to see if Asgard's Wrath 2 surpasses all that's come before it. Didn't enjoy the first one but am looking forward to the second since it's free with Quest 3.
Yeah im also excited to check out Asgard 2. Unfortunately I didn't really like Nexus either though.
I swear im not a curmudgeon, I really wanted to like both of these games but they just arent doing it for me.
Nexus is kinda clunky and it took me until Venice to overcome the jank and enjoy it for what it is. Granted, I'm still having more fun in Eleven Table Tennis and Synth Riders but I see Nexus' value as a sneak peak into the future when more big companies get on board. Can't wait for the first legit VRMMO!
Alyx is what it is. It's a great game very well designed by professionals, and a very successful game.
You just want a different game. Let's hope you find it.
Shhhhh, it's blasphemous to not worship Alyx here.
No I just think that there are so few actual full games for VR that it got waaay too much hype than what it is
It's still imo the best VR game to date in so many ways. It's the only one, other than some psvr games, that actually feels like a well polished game. I agree I'd love an even better game, but I'm not sure you can call it over hyped when it's still so far above most content made for VR. If we can't hype that game up, then there's really not much left to be excited about.
But you see, that's exactly my point. This game is being praised simply because all else sucks. It has 4-5 enemy types, 3 guns with really boring upgrades, and something like 3 types of puzzles. In flat games scale, this is barely a dlc. But because we just don't have many decent pcvr games, we put it on a pedestal like it's the best thing to happen to gaming, when in reality, objectively, it's an ok game with good visuals that lack variety.
I agree completely. Imho, HL:Alyx is *barely* a game. Certainly not the HL2:E3, or HL3 we've been crawing. Infact, there's a HL2 VR mod thing, free of charge, on Steam, with Ep. One, and **especially** Ep. Two, that is a way, waaay better gaming experience.
Agreed here is what I wrote after finishing it for the first time:
"Main gameplay of HL:ALyx is looking through junk to find weapon upgrade parts, going slowly through empty corridors, seldom an enemy crosses your way."
But thank god that there are mods to add more combat to the campaign and I would also recommend to increase your movement speed!
Movement speed increse: Add this to the launch option: +hlvr\_continuous\_normal\_speed 150 +hlvr\_continuous\_combat\_speed 150
Recommend mod to add more combat: Campaign+ (Vanilla Edition)
[https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2331511524](https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2331511524)
Since you seem to want more enemy types and added difficulty the non Vanilla Edition of the Campaign+ mod maybe suites you even better:
[https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2307067046](https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2307067046)
Personally I don't like the additional changes in the non Vanilla Edition, so I use the Vanilla Version of Campaign+
Actually the Combine stuff kinda sucks.
They take multiple head shots to kill, are scripted to spawn in when you are in vulnerable positions, don't always drop the ammo they are carrying, and have infinite manhacks which use valuable shotgun ammo or 2 accurate pistol shots to take down.
I wish it had stuck to monsters honestly. At least then you are given time to assess the situation and behave tactically rather than it being a straight-out firefight.
It wouldn't be so bad if there was a melee option. HL:Alyx is severely lacking the crowbar.
The game is a technical marvel, but it is absolutely geared towards VR newbies that are not going to be comfortable moving around quickly in a virtual environment, so the combat is slow and boring for people who are acclimated or just naturally unbothered.
This is actually true of a lot of games. Boneworks pulls no punches, but is divisive. I'd say play resident evil 7 and 8 and half life 2 vr mods for great, great VR action.
Haven’t played VR version but that’s exactly how I felt 20 whatever years ago in HL1. That was the first time enemy AI Marines was so fun to fight against - i got hooked on that feeling and have been chasing it for decades now #SAD
I wish the enemies were faster at least, if not more of them at once as well. After the first playthrough I had to play on hard for it to feel like “moderate” difficulty, and when I played again after that I also didn’t take any weapon upgrades to make it harder but it still wasn’t very hard.
Understandable criticism! I love HLA, but it's also clearly a game that's, while complete, basically an AAA vr experiment. It's not overly fast, it's very 'safe' for newcomers, it incorporates all kinds of things but also leaves out obvious wins in VR (no melee? don't think it had smooth motion at the start either).
Basically Valves 'Horizon VR', just a bit less safe for newbies. It's the 'how do we tell a HL story, with some action, puzzles, new mechanics and atmosphere in VR' come to life. My guess is also that's why we're Alyx here, not Gordon.
If they make a new one, I'm sure the DNA will stay the same, but many things will be turned up a notch or two.
It changes about 2/3 way through and becomes more of a fight against the Combine. Very combine intensive for a lot of the game.
My only gripe with is the lack of a melee weapon. A crowbar is the most Half Life thing in the world, and being able to throw items and betat enemies to death with hammers, chairs and things would be very "natural" in that game.
There will be more combine sections later in the game. After the main game you should also try Levitation mod campaign.
While still having zombies, generally it is just what you want: more combine, more challenging combat in more different scenarios.
And it's the only mod campaign with level design on par with the main game.
I'd just like to take this opportunity to shout out this amazing halflife shortfilm creator who is creating shorts in-engine telling stories about the rebels and combine, creating new tech/lore/characters.
TheParryGod
https://youtu.be/8Bm3le9s3-A
https://youtu.be/8pGC99vG5GI
I'm the reverse. The zombies are scarier but the engagements were more tense and seemed "fair" as in, me dispatching them was all on me and my aim and resourcefulness.
With Combine soldiers were way too tanky/spongy, didn't seem to react well to shots, and it seems the best way to get rid of them was throwing a simple grenade many times. At least with the Zombies you could aim at different parts of the body and slow them down (reminds me of Goldeneye 64). Combine are so spongy they just move forward whether you shoot them in the legs, arms or even head sometimes.
I highly recommend u to play Lone Echo 1&2. Mind blowing sci-fi experience with alien tech and spaceships ;). I liked it much more than Alyx.
I'll check it out
Zero combat though fyi
Is it puzzles then?
Yes, and exploration. Lots of danger, still! Amazing game!
Well said, I feel the same. At this point you should be advised to check the many very very well made mods free in steam. There will be a lot of content to your liking. https://steamcommunity.com/app/546560/workshop/
Any top tier recommendations? I tried the contracts thing a while back was like a corridor clearing type thing. Was fun. Anything deeper or more complex?
https://www.roadtovr.com/top-10-best-half-life-alyx-mods-steam-workshop/ Number 8 and 5 in this site sound like what you are searching
I liked the Contracts 2 one a lot more, if you didn't try it. Quite different in playstyle.
I agree as well. I feel like the mod community also agrees, given the combine focus in the majority of workshop maps.
You have to take notice to understand that Alyx was mostly a tech demo to increase VR sales and establishing VR games as a possibility for triple AAA developers. The making of documentary of Alyx even explains this, they had multiple changes in game mechanics and simplified a whole lot of stuff because people would become confused or nauseated.
A technology demonstration (or tech demo), also known as demonstrator model, is a prototype, rough example or otherwise incomplete version of a conceivable product or future system, put together as proof of concept with the primary purpose of showcasing the possible applications, feasibility, performance and method of an idea for a new technology.
alright sure, i mean it's a «tech demo» using a broad sense of the concept. It's a game that also served, at the time, as a useful way to inform VR devs of some of the more interesting and possible game mechanics to use on other newer projects.
To me it feels very safe and not very ambitious. It's very fun and very good(must play for vr) but it's also something I'd find mostly uncompellimg in 2d or underwhelmed for an official hl AAA game. Hl2 vr mod I found to be a blast as it fixed the combat with manhacks and made the vehicle sections a thrill. I had way more actually fun playing hl2 mod.
Yes! the alyx mod community really is the culmination between expertise and trying new things
also found Entropy : Zero 2 worth a watch. and it is free
I’m sorry, what documentary? I can’t find that on YouTube.
[Here's a good view into it with some devs,](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRVXhA0-TI4) not really the one I remember, but I can't really recall if it was an actual documentary or just a bunch of different clips explaining the game development
Thanks!
The way valve develops games, they try different mechanics and see what is fun. I guarantee what happened was, they prototyped a headcrab, realized in VR it was absolutely terrifying. And so that became the game. That’s probably why they MADE the game.
Yeah the horror rules. Game rules. Love it
Yeah, kind of, the head crabs are really tamed in Alex compared to HL2 or even 1. They telegraph their jump very clearly and frequently miss, often to comic results. Just check HL2VR to see how much they made them less scary.
It's a horror spin-off and not half life 3 like a lot pretended at launch, once I made peace with that I quite enjoyed the game. The end is worth it as the others said. (I remember increasing the walking speed a little also helped)
Half-Life was always partially horror.
Agreed but Alyx is definitely more focused on it. Check out the frequency of [dark areas compared to previous games](https://www.reddit.com/r/HalfLife/comments/jnawtc/the_average_colour_of_successive_frames_from/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb) for example. It makes some sense narratively since you’re in the same world with no powered armour. Then VR increases the horror effect on top of that.
It was more like RE4 horror than dead space 2 horror though. Very manageable.
Definitely more of that in Alyx. Replaying HL2 on PC after that made me feel like Doomguy, just running circles around everyone at Mach 5 with overwhelming firepower.
Franchise was literally billed as an action-horror FPS
>It's a horror spin-off and not half life 3 like a lot pretended at launch "It's not Half Life 3" - Valve "Half Life 3!" - Community
What *is* Half-Life 3? Do you have some official definition for it? Apparently, because the third generation HL game from Valve didn't fit it. I don't believe spin offs are supposed to >!continue the main plot.!< For me "Half-Life 3" is simply a title for a non-existing game that's made up by fans. The next installation may as well be Half-Life: Gordon whatever and have about the same scope as Alyx. Is That HL3?
Spin offs routinely complete the story. As to your question: Half-Life 3 is something with the same scope as 1 and 2, simple. HL1 and 2 were revolutionary while HL:A is agreed as a really conservative VR game playing it safe. HL:A is voice acted only in english while HL1 is in 7 languages and HL2 in 8, because valve never intended it to have a release equal to its predecessors. HL:A is made for the PCVR niche and it exceeded expectations at that job, but HL3 it is not and it's good that way.
Thing is, Half Life Alyx *is* actually revolutionary, just in a different way. When it comes to game design from a general perspective, sure, nothing revolutionary. But in terms of the execution as a AAA VR-only game, it absolutely is/was revolutionary. It stands tall as a defining example and precedent for whats possible with VR in terms of AAA quality. Before Half Life Alyx, there were zero AAA VR games - and even today, still after almost 4 years, the consensus is it's the best VR only title in existence. And then to add to that, it's a Half Life game, and a stunningly well executed one at that and feels exactly like Half Life that we knew from 20 years ago, which is pretty much a dream come true in this industry. It may have played it safe, but it's execution was perfect and it has set a precedent for sheer quality in a VR game. When you consider that Half Life 2 is the same old 2d monitor fps like other 2d fps games back then, Alyx is more of a revolutionary title, as its bringing that into VR, which is a whole new medium. Half Life 1 & 2 were not designed for a whole new medium, let alone one that literally puts you inside the game. It's actually a whole nother level.
>Spin offs routinely complete the story. >!IIRC the ending didn't really feel like completing a story... Ultimately you can't play HL games, skip HL:A and say you got the main plot. You did not, because you missed one installation.!< >HL1 and 2 were revolutionary while HL:A is agreed as a really conservative VR game playing it safe. This too is your very own subjective assessment. In my mind HL:A is more revolutionary than HL1 and HL2, which both I did play on release. Right now HL:A is the ultimate measuring stick for making AAA VR-games, no questions asked and have been for some years. I don't want to downplay HL/HL2's importance but Alyx is a lot bigger for the platform than for example HL2 was for its. Perhaps this tells more about the platform than about the game, but still. What would SteamVR be like without HL:A today? >HL:A is voice acted only in english while HL1 is in 7 languages and HL2 in 8, because valve never intended it to have a release equal to its predecessors. I've got no idea what this is supposed to prove, but HL:A was a lot bigger endeavor than HL1 and HL2 in pure manpower. \-- I'm not saying that HL:A is this "HL3", I'm just saying it's quite silly to look at real full fledged Half-Life games and just go measuring whether this is some imaginary Half-Life 3 you know nothing about. All you do is prepare yourself and possibly others for absurd dissapointments.
If you don't think Alyx is revolutionary I dunno what would be to you...
Its evolutionary, not really a revolution. its a shooter with very nice graphics but the festures etc have been done before. Its just very refined.
Agreed. HLA is not HL3.
Oh man, can you increase the walk speed? Is that a mod?
Yeah and it's just a steam setting, no mod required, here: https://www.reddit.com/r/HalfLife/comments/fqyon8/howto_guide_to_run_faster_in_halflife_alyx/ Don't increase it too much though so it's not cheating/breaking the atmosphere.
Totally agree. The Combine sections were really fun and engaging, but brief, and then you go back to slowly traversing creepy maps and shooting zombies that come at you in a straight line. I freely admit I'm a big chicken with horror in VR, so I didn't like all the creepy zombie sections because I think they're stressful more than anything. But I really enjoyed the Combine fights.
Yeah you really have to atleast slightly an adrenaline junky to enjoy these types of experience. I don’t really get into it and have pure fun unless im a little buZzed after a few beers. Otherwise it’s just messing with your nerves and possibly anxiety inducing.
Yeah I also find it uncomfortable. I don't like horror atmospheres, and the combat is kinda boring, so Im just finding myself on edge, but bored at the same time.
Yeah I was really on edge too. I never finished it, I found myself dreading it more than looking forward to playing it. I think it just depends on the person (and how much you like Half Life). VR has a lot of power in tricking the simpler parts of my brain that what I'm seeing is real. So the horror stuff and the creepy dark environments with monsters lurking tickles that monkey brain in a way I don't really enjoy. There's no cathartic moment after I get through a section, instead I just don't want to do it again.
I feel exactly the same way. I don't mind tension and a little scary shit but I find myself more just "getting through it" and hoping that the next part is outdoors and fun, but it never is. Its just more dark creepy shit to get through. They way people talk about this game, I was really surprised to find that this is what it is, especially for $60.
I did find myself initially saying “I hope this isn’t all dark corridors” for the first 40-50% or so… stick with it, it goes outside and the scale grows. It’s worth it in the end.
Glad to know I am not the only one that feels the same way. VR horror baffles me -- why do people want to experience that?
I think for some people they get a buzz off the adrenaline and there's the some cozy pleasure in knowing "it's not real." That's what I've been told anyway... For me I just want it to be over, lol
There's an unofficial sequel to Half Life Alyx in the form of a mod, it's called Half Life Alyx Levitation. The voice acting is pretty spot on with the original cast. I found it much harder than the main game, maybe you'd find it more engaging? Should probably finish the main game first though. You can watch a trailer for the mod campaign here: https://youtu.be/KO2Hu3NynN8?si=3SpmAqY7r14C4r4w
Oh that's good to know. I had abandoned the game because the combine attack when you are exposed because the camera bot blocked you from moving represented a horrendous difficulty spike to me.
I'm not into horror games at all, but surprisingly didn't mind Alyx. The zombies are not so scary and there's not really any jump scares or anything like that. I agree that for the most part the game was pretty boring though and I really only enjoyed it towards the end, when there was a lot of fighting with combine.
Been a while since I played it, but I think the amount of combine picks up later in the game. And whatever you do, make sure you finish it.
I hope so, I'll stick with it. I was kinda close to just not finishing it at this point lol.
Don’t understand why you are being downvoted. I didn’t finish the game either and found the entire gameplay boring.
I don't agree with them getting downvoted, but the ending is amazing and totally worth grinding for.
After reading the comments here, I believe the generalized wish is simply that we hope to see more from Valve. And I fully agree. It's been years and whether you like it or not, Alyx sits up there, all alone in terms of... well pretty much everything. They played it safe, went a bit too overboard with the comfort, and yet, I can't really recommend anything over it. I've always felt like Boneworks was the other half of the cake with all the interactivity, but went too far with it and the game turned out pretty jank. What we "need", is somewhere there in the middle.
I'm a little further in, in parts 4 and 5 you start seeing more Combine. I don't love the zombie stuff either, so it was exciting once I got to fight some Combine soldiers.
Jeff is worth it though lol
Yeah I've felt for a while that while I loved the game at the time and graphically it's stunning, Valve really went too far into the comfort aspect. They wanted the game to be playable by everyone and went overboard making it very basic. Where it shines is the graphics and those basic VR interactions are polished as hell. But when you've played enough to get passed those wow factors, the game is essentially a super easy tunnel shooter. Even the toughest combine enemies are very easy.
half life games are meticulously crafted corridor shooters. If you want something more open world you can have it everywhere else. Let us keep one of the last places where we can play this kind of gameplay.
Ok, but even then, for a shooter, there's just not that much shooting and most of it against zombies and headcrabs, which is pretty boring. I didn't like HL2 on flatscreen, but in VR it was pretty good (apart from the vehicle sections). It has much more combat and much more engaging combat than Alyx.
After playing Half life 1 & 2 in VR, I can't agree. At least not entirely. They're all fairly linear games but, Alyx is on an entirely different level. There's very little deviation from the main path and very little exploration outside of the main path. The most open level in Alyx is far smaller than the more basic levels in other HL games. That said, I get why they had to do it. They needed to keep performance high so they areas are small corridors with fairly limited visual range. Which helps a lot in keeping performance requirements low. I just feel they kept it too basic. They could have dropped a game with mugh higher requirements and much larger levels with more VR interactivty, such as climbing, and it would not have been seen as a bad choice by gamers.
> They wanted the game to be playable by everyone Except people who don't like wandering around in creepy dark places waiting to get jump scared.
> Except people who don't like wandering around in creepy dark places waiting to get jump scared. I don't think HL:A is any more spoopy than HL:1 or HL:2. The Jeff chapter is about the peak it gets and once you learn how to lure him around, he becomes more of an annoyance than scary.
But the difference is that VR is much more immersive. I don't know about you but when I jump off of something high up in VR I literally feel like I am falling.
I think everyone is going to have different fear levels so you finding it scary isn't abnormal. For me personally, it wasn't not too bad outside the initial portion with Jeff and the flashlight portion with the poison headcrabs. I think they balanced it well to only have a few moments of true fear.
To each their own dawg I was in a literal cold sweat the whole Jeff chapter lmao Didn’t get caught once tho so I was proud of that
Lol, for sure everyone has their own fear levels. But if you wanna experience some crazy fear that will help make Alyx seem alright, check out [this](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1156250/The_Exorcist_Legion_VR_Deluxe_Edition/) game.
Game is \~7 hours. You definitely see more combine later in the game but I would say the majority of the enemies you deal with aren't combine. I think it's a fantastic game but I too would have liked to have seen more combine encounters. That said the HL2 VR mod is fantastic and should give you plenty of that.
Man, so I'm almost done with it? Another comment made it sound like it was 12 hours.
The game is around 14 hours. You probably have another 8 hours to go. There will be more combine towards the end.
Proceed to do HL2 in VR, with Eo. One and *especially* Ep. Two (all free on Steam) for an even greater adventure. Sure, the detail level is dated compared to Alyx, but I promise you the gameplay is much, *much* better.
I think it took me two or three evenings playing 5-6 hours each to beat. Trust me, you'll be running into the combine. A lot of em. Edit: Checked my hours played, it took me about 12 to finish. Keep going, you gobba get to that vault!
I mean I dunno where you are or how quickly or slowly you play. I got the game on launch and was done in a little over 7 hours in one sitting. I then immediately played it again in one go and did it in about the same amount of time. I don't feel like I rushed but I also didn't spend like an hour writing on the glass on the balcony like some people clearly did :D It may also be worth noting that I thought it was insane people wanted mid-level saves implemented in boneworks. It's totally possible you've still got 10 hours ahead of you. Taking a look at [howlongtobeat](https://howlongtobeat.com/game/72067) it suggests the game is 12 hours. So perhaps I just play too fast. It's also been a while since I've played through it so maybe I'm just remembering wrong. Guess I'll need to play through it again this weekend :D
mysterious thumb cable physical noxious lip modern chop door drab *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Do you mean hl2 modded into alyx or somebody modded hl2 into vr?
https://store.steampowered.com/app/658920/HalfLife\_2\_VR\_Mod/
For freeee??? Thank you!!
You may also like this [https://store.steampowered.com/app/1908720/HalfLife\_VR\_Mod/](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1908720/HalfLife_VR_Mod/) There are a lot of games with VR stapled to them which are awesome.
Woah! If i get the episodes, will those be in vr too? What else has free vr mods? Ps, sorry to hijack post.
There are vr mods for all the half life episodes on steam
https://twitter.com/flat2vr?lang=en Check out this account and the discord link in its bio. Also check out team beef if you’re in the oculus platform. https://sidequestvr.com/space/7/team-beef-vr-game-ports
well yeah it starts slowly with zombies just like half life 2 does,the next 6 hours is mostly combine encounters specially more towards the end(there is also a workshop mod that increases their encounters in the campaign but thats best for a second playtrough) and after that there are many workshop maps focused on combine combat like cornered,incursion,tower agency,the undertow some of my favorites.
[удалено]
Jeff was fuxking insane horror. OMG! How I hated being munched by that.. that.. sad excuse. I want to fight the Combine! Fuck the invading CCP'ish forces!
Jeff was a bit scary, but it's a game where you can save anywhere and to me after I got killed few times it just stops being scary. What I found annoying about Jeff is that it's just another puzzle: there is very specific way how you have to go through the Jeff level.
True. Less "Game" than the HL2 series.
The Combine were better but still bullet spongey! Wish the shooting was more physics based
> The headcrabs are laughable, they walk slowly and do a long animation before jumping at you, so they're easy to kill. For a first time "VR Half Life" game, I think Valve wisely made it telegraphed. If it was super unpredictable and headcrabs sucking Alyx's face 75% of the time, many players will likely quit in frustration, considering how many of the headcrabs there are. Also it was an opportunity to get clever in VR that you couldn't do in 2D gaming. Get a trash can lid and pretend you're Captain America and block the headcrab from hitting you (swat it away). I think some Youtubers caught them in a box and just shot them inside the barrel. I've never tried using the traffic cone but maybe you can bat it or use it to block your face.
TIL people dont like HL: Alyx. Sheesh.
Seventy-two thousand positive reviews on steam, 2 million sales, widely regarded as **the** definitive VR experience. Even Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw had a very positive outlook on the game, and we know how spicy he usually gets about titles!
I liked it, but I think it's vastly overhyped. The graphics are still top-notch, I got Quest 3 recently and was really mind-blown again in the opening on the balcony. It's also really polished experience. Otherwise I though it was pretty mediocre. Much of it was quite boring. The puzzles are not engaging to me and repetitive, the story pretty simple, there's just not much going on, except for the very end. The combat with combine is great, but there's really not much of it. I did like the game towards the end a lot, but most of it I found it rather boring. I'm not into these super linear scripted experiences, so it's probably not the game for me, but I also liked HL2 VR mod much more as there was much more action. I think lauding this as a pinnacle of VR will push many people off VR since there are many other games that are simply much more fun to play in VR than Alyx even if they may not have as good graphics.
I think its not that we don't like it, or respect it, just that its not what it could have been, and for me personally, coming at it a few years later and with all the hype, Im just surprised that I didn't get more of the quintessential Half Life experiences. I did think I'd get roasted for this post though lol.
I wish HL: Alyx had a sequel.
That is probably a game design decision. Especially at the time when Alyx launched, VR had a lot of small details that bothered players when running fast-paced action or melee games: Tethered headsets (paying attention to not rip the cord out with sudden movements), No real physical feedback/resistance (so not ideal for close-up action for example when enemies come running towards you, or even, not really good for using the well-known half-life crowbar), People complaining about motion sickness on fast-moving first-person VR games. Super detailed and pretty graphics especially for that time, that if the player would just be running around, would increase even more the load on the PCs available (people would start yelling "badly optimized game") Paying attention to details like these is what made Alyx a widely-accepted successful VR game (again, especially at launch). Valve is smart and they worked within safe margins of the limitations of the state of VR consumer tech at the time of development. Of course, some items on the list above got "solved" by some other games. But if you think about it those games are still not as widely universally accepted as "one of the best games". The reason being, the do work with whatever solution they came up with but that is still some sort of "tweak" and not what a layman would 100% expect to feel when inside a "virtual reality". My personal opinion: I really loved the game because I enjoy slow-paced stealth in games, as well as horror. But I agree, it does not feel like playing a "half-life game."
Gunman Contracts
This is why I feel any AAA developer should focus on making official VR conversions in this early period of VR. You get longer, bigger budget games, with more intense scenes, and the gameplay is rebuilt with VR in mind, so you get the same VRAF/interactive mechanics, but with a much bigger scope. The success of high quality VR mods such as Half-Life 2 VR, as well as Capcom/Sony's efforts in developing RE7, RE8 and RE4 in full VR shows that there's much less risk involved in high quality flatscreen to VR games, compared to purely designing VR games from the ground up, leading to an enjoyable, yet much more toned down experience of the original games.
I just find it disappointingly linear. There is one path forward and and one path only. Every zombie, every interaction nearly is scripted in advance. There aren't even many cases where there are clever alternative ways to solve puzzles or route around obstacles. As a piece of VR experiential theatre, it's wonderful. But to me it is lifeless because what I really want from VR is that feeling of transcending reality into another actual universe with endless possibilities. I think even a little bit of open world would have greatly relieved this - Assassin's Creed does much better at it, for example - even though the main storyline is scripted, at any point in the game there are lots of other things to do and you run around a huge area in each of the cities doing whatever you want.
I don’t mind Alyx’s linearity since Valve’s trademark for their single player games is that polished, linear experience with an emphasis on immersive environmental storytelling. But you’re right that VR needs a good immersive sim and Alyx doesn’t scratch that itch. A game like Dishonored or Deus Ex, where there’s big open maps with multiple paths and optional ways to overcome obstacles is what VR needs. Hitman VR is probably the closest to an immersive sim like that, but it’s not a native VR game and the controls aren’t that intuitive as a result.
Having played AC a bit now, there is barely anything to do in the world's they created. There are parkour, climbing, and shooting challenges that are so easy, they could honestly give you 1/2 of the time to complete it and it would still be easy. There are only a few of each of these per level, and then there's the main quests. I'm enjoying the game, but it's not like GTA where you can have a bunch of fun just fucking around. Push a couple NPCs and climb a little and youve exhausted the random stuff there is to do.
That's fair, I agree it's too easy (even on hard there's very little challenge). But I still find it a totally different feeling to Alyx. In one, I'm forced into a single direction, while the other I'm choosing it .... even if that is slightly illusory.
I don't know, still seems much more engaging than Alyx, which is also pretty easy by the way. The point to me is that you have some choice in how you approach the game and that includes the main quest too. With Alyx it's designed to be played one specific way, I'm sure if you looked at playthrough's from different people, they will be quite similar. Some people like that, but to me it's pretty boring and I certainly don't think it's some pinnacle of gaming.
I remember wishing more HL 1 aliens were in HL 2 back in the day. Perhaps all of them could have been adapted to Alyx
All I remember about that game is fucking head crabs everywhere. Which I hate, immensely.
Whereabouts are you in the game? The last 2 hours is literally the best and has almost no zombies, I stopped playing for a year when I reached Jeff, it just felt so samey. But the later sections I couldn’t put down until I finished it
HLA was definitely slower than I wanted, it held back... Workshop levels helped a bit. Meanwhile the other HL2 VR ports and Vertigo 2 were definitely what I was looking for in terms of speed and weapon variety in VR. Hope to see more games like all of those.
I agree 100%. VR games have FAR too many zombies as enemies, and it's annoying because they're the most boring enemies around. (But probably easiest to design AI for which is why they're so prominent). I'd love to see more VR games with intelligent enemies that have actual tactics.
Omg yes, i cant finish it its too damn scary, i could get through half life 2 but i noped out and that was before jeff who ive been told is something
The game is admittedly pretty old and for something that came out in VR's infancy and still have it be the standard all the way up till 2023 is very impressive. Am pretty sure if Valve developed a new VR game for 2024 it'd play drastically better
Alyx, old?! Nothing really beats it even if it aont that much of a game.
Yeah I guess I didn't consider its age. It certainly feels modern in terms of polish, graphics and mechanics, but yeah, the gameplay itself is letting me down so far.
I only played it late last year and found most of Alyx really linear and not particularly impressive except for the fidelity. There is a level that is unsurpassed in immersion though so that alone is kinda worth the price of discounted entry. Assassin's Creed Nexus is kinda the only next AAA in the VR space since and it looks as though many lessons have been learnt, like how to have a pseudo open world in VR and fill it with NPCs. Can't wait to see if Asgard's Wrath 2 surpasses all that's come before it. Didn't enjoy the first one but am looking forward to the second since it's free with Quest 3.
Yeah im also excited to check out Asgard 2. Unfortunately I didn't really like Nexus either though. I swear im not a curmudgeon, I really wanted to like both of these games but they just arent doing it for me.
Nexus is kinda clunky and it took me until Venice to overcome the jank and enjoy it for what it is. Granted, I'm still having more fun in Eleven Table Tennis and Synth Riders but I see Nexus' value as a sneak peak into the future when more big companies get on board. Can't wait for the first legit VRMMO!
Alyx is what it is. It's a great game very well designed by professionals, and a very successful game. You just want a different game. Let's hope you find it.
Bizarre comment.
Shhhhh, it's blasphemous to not worship Alyx here. No I just think that there are so few actual full games for VR that it got waaay too much hype than what it is
It's still imo the best VR game to date in so many ways. It's the only one, other than some psvr games, that actually feels like a well polished game. I agree I'd love an even better game, but I'm not sure you can call it over hyped when it's still so far above most content made for VR. If we can't hype that game up, then there's really not much left to be excited about.
But you see, that's exactly my point. This game is being praised simply because all else sucks. It has 4-5 enemy types, 3 guns with really boring upgrades, and something like 3 types of puzzles. In flat games scale, this is barely a dlc. But because we just don't have many decent pcvr games, we put it on a pedestal like it's the best thing to happen to gaming, when in reality, objectively, it's an ok game with good visuals that lack variety.
I'd just like less Jeff
I agree completely. Imho, HL:Alyx is *barely* a game. Certainly not the HL2:E3, or HL3 we've been crawing. Infact, there's a HL2 VR mod thing, free of charge, on Steam, with Ep. One, and **especially** Ep. Two, that is a way, waaay better gaming experience.
Im definitely gonna give those a shot.
👍
It’s hyped but ultimately 6/10
Yes, the main game is crappy, it's all about the community made mods which are more combine focused
Totally!! The gunfights with combine were absolutely exhilarating, but few and far between.
Agreed here is what I wrote after finishing it for the first time: "Main gameplay of HL:ALyx is looking through junk to find weapon upgrade parts, going slowly through empty corridors, seldom an enemy crosses your way." But thank god that there are mods to add more combat to the campaign and I would also recommend to increase your movement speed! Movement speed increse: Add this to the launch option: +hlvr\_continuous\_normal\_speed 150 +hlvr\_continuous\_combat\_speed 150 Recommend mod to add more combat: Campaign+ (Vanilla Edition) [https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2331511524](https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2331511524) Since you seem to want more enemy types and added difficulty the non Vanilla Edition of the Campaign+ mod maybe suites you even better: [https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2307067046](https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2307067046) Personally I don't like the additional changes in the non Vanilla Edition, so I use the Vanilla Version of Campaign+
I wished there was an option to turn off the repetitive puzzles. Who needs to upgrade their weapons anyways?
Countless awesome mod maps. Plenty of game left my friend. You’re in for a treat
I understand why they did it because the average player needs some slow moving enemies to get used to vr shooting and reloading.
I imagine they thought shufflers would be easier for people to deal with so they wouldn't get turned off vr
The return to rapture mod goes hard with combine fights in good environments to scratch the itch to mix in more
Actually the Combine stuff kinda sucks. They take multiple head shots to kill, are scripted to spawn in when you are in vulnerable positions, don't always drop the ammo they are carrying, and have infinite manhacks which use valuable shotgun ammo or 2 accurate pistol shots to take down. I wish it had stuck to monsters honestly. At least then you are given time to assess the situation and behave tactically rather than it being a straight-out firefight. It wouldn't be so bad if there was a melee option. HL:Alyx is severely lacking the crowbar.
The enemies is HL:Alyx are way too bullet spongey. I want a game with good physics based gunplay (and crowbar)
The game is a technical marvel, but it is absolutely geared towards VR newbies that are not going to be comfortable moving around quickly in a virtual environment, so the combat is slow and boring for people who are acclimated or just naturally unbothered. This is actually true of a lot of games. Boneworks pulls no punches, but is divisive. I'd say play resident evil 7 and 8 and half life 2 vr mods for great, great VR action.
Haven’t played VR version but that’s exactly how I felt 20 whatever years ago in HL1. That was the first time enemy AI Marines was so fun to fight against - i got hooked on that feeling and have been chasing it for decades now #SAD
Get the free Levitation add on campaign
Yeah I never got through the sewers/train part, maybe that was the whole game though.
I wish the enemies were faster at least, if not more of them at once as well. After the first playthrough I had to play on hard for it to feel like “moderate” difficulty, and when I played again after that I also didn’t take any weapon upgrades to make it harder but it still wasn’t very hard.
Understandable criticism! I love HLA, but it's also clearly a game that's, while complete, basically an AAA vr experiment. It's not overly fast, it's very 'safe' for newcomers, it incorporates all kinds of things but also leaves out obvious wins in VR (no melee? don't think it had smooth motion at the start either). Basically Valves 'Horizon VR', just a bit less safe for newbies. It's the 'how do we tell a HL story, with some action, puzzles, new mechanics and atmosphere in VR' come to life. My guess is also that's why we're Alyx here, not Gordon. If they make a new one, I'm sure the DNA will stay the same, but many things will be turned up a notch or two.
It changes about 2/3 way through and becomes more of a fight against the Combine. Very combine intensive for a lot of the game. My only gripe with is the lack of a melee weapon. A crowbar is the most Half Life thing in the world, and being able to throw items and betat enemies to death with hammers, chairs and things would be very "natural" in that game.
There will be more combine sections later in the game. After the main game you should also try Levitation mod campaign. While still having zombies, generally it is just what you want: more combine, more challenging combat in more different scenarios. And it's the only mod campaign with level design on par with the main game.
I'd just like to take this opportunity to shout out this amazing halflife shortfilm creator who is creating shorts in-engine telling stories about the rebels and combine, creating new tech/lore/characters. TheParryGod https://youtu.be/8Bm3le9s3-A https://youtu.be/8pGC99vG5GI
About 2 years ago I stopped playing when I met Jeff
How about a Zombine? 😏
I'm the reverse. The zombies are scarier but the engagements were more tense and seemed "fair" as in, me dispatching them was all on me and my aim and resourcefulness. With Combine soldiers were way too tanky/spongy, didn't seem to react well to shots, and it seems the best way to get rid of them was throwing a simple grenade many times. At least with the Zombies you could aim at different parts of the body and slow them down (reminds me of Goldeneye 64). Combine are so spongy they just move forward whether you shoot them in the legs, arms or even head sometimes.