Half-Life: Alyx

 PC
User Score
9.2

Universal acclaim- based on 2812 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2,575 out of 2812
  2. Mixed: 58 out of 2812
  3. Negative: 179 out of 2812

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  1. PrismGames
    Jul 31, 2023
    0
    Absolutely incredible almost all aspects and hands down the best gaming experience I’ve had. Can be a bit scary sometimes, but the gun play is amazing and the mechanics are as well. Absolutely makes VR worth it.
  2. Bsbsnsnsn
    May 13, 2023
    0
    Tabii, Half-Life: Alyx oyununun kötü yanlarına ilişkin bir İngilizce inceleme yazabilirim. İşte örnek bir yazı:

    Half-Life: Alyx is one of the most hyped virtual reality games of recent years, but it falls short in many areas. While it offers a compelling story and immersive gameplay, there are several aspects that are frustrating and disappointing. Firstly, the game is incredibly    Tabii, Half-Life: Alyx oyununun kötü yanlarına ilişkin bir İngilizce inceleme yazabilirim. İşte örnek bir yazı:

    Half-Life: Alyx is one of the most hyped virtual reality games of recent years, but it falls short in many areas. While it offers a compelling story and immersive gameplay, there are several aspects that are frustrating and disappointing.

    Firstly, the game is incredibly demanding on computer hardware. Most players will need a top-of-the-line gaming PC to run it smoothly, which is a huge barrier to entry for many. Additionally, the game's reliance on VR technology limits its audience even further, as not everyone has access to VR headsets.

    Secondly, the controls can be clunky and unintuitive, particularly when it comes to interacting with objects in the environment. This can be frustrating and immersion-breaking, as players struggle to pick up and manipulate objects in a natural and intuitive way.

    Finally, the game's pacing is uneven, with long stretches of exploration and puzzle-solving punctuated by intense combat sequences. While this can be effective at times, it can also feel repetitive and unbalanced.

    Overall, Half-Life: Alyx is a visually stunning and immersive game, but its demanding hardware requirements, clunky controls, and uneven pacing make it a flawed experience.    … Expand
  3. BlackChicken
    Mar 10, 2023
    0
    Its a great shame its VR only, they really did us dirty +++++++++++++++++++
  4. Black_S
    Jan 14, 2023
    0
    Most overrated game of all time again in VR. Same way people overrate nonsensical art, they overrate this "game" only to show their own superiority and ego. No surprise. The Bussiness of valve stands on those people.

    - shallow story . shalow npc, blabbering all time - shalow enemies, dead in one hit - easy to play/win gameplay - shallow graphic which is ugly as before, wow, 10    Most overrated game of all time again in VR. Same way people overrate nonsensical art, they overrate this "game" only to show their own superiority and ego. No surprise. The Bussiness of valve stands on those people.

    - shallow story
    . shalow npc, blabbering all time
    - shalow enemies, dead in one hit
    - easy to play/win gameplay
    - shallow graphic which is ugly as before, wow, 10 years, nothing changed
    - "Gabe" man image of what gabe tumor newell wanna be, but never be.

    No reason to play this, what keeps it alive is nostalgia.

    #StopSteam #StopNewell #FreeGameIndustry    … Expand
  5. agentbinky
    Dec 1, 2022
    0
    This game makes every other Virtual Reality "effort" almost an embarrassment by comparison. Say what you will about Valve and their taxes and hats, they almost always hit a home run when it comes to game development.
  6. helloarty
    Nov 6, 2022
    0
    Whoever decided to make the game for VR, and especially SteamVR developers - just burn in hell pls. I ruined around 8 hours of my life trying to figure out how to run it as with each new method it just spited another error and in the best case showing black screen instead of game (it worked well on pc screen tho, just couldn't do anything). Don't understand why it was a probleem to justWhoever decided to make the game for VR, and especially SteamVR developers - just burn in hell pls. I ruined around 8 hours of my life trying to figure out how to run it as with each new method it just spited another error and in the best case showing black screen instead of game (it worked well on pc screen tho, just couldn't do anything). Don't understand why it was a probleem to just make 2 mods (VR and no-VR) so everyone could try it. Valve could focus on a great gameplay/concepts as they always do, instead of just putting the same game into VR which bugged af and even doesn't work.
    They'll soon complain that no one buys single player games anymore and continue add new hats to DOTA.    … Expand
  7. nickpemb
    Oct 11, 2021
    0
    At first, it was an amazing game, I absolutely loved it, however, after less than 2 hours of playtime, the game started instantly crashing when launched, saying Timed out waiting for response from mongoose. This bug has been around since the day after its release, and it still hasn't been addressed. I tried contacting steam support however they were completely incompetent and there seemsAt first, it was an amazing game, I absolutely loved it, however, after less than 2 hours of playtime, the game started instantly crashing when launched, saying Timed out waiting for response from mongoose. This bug has been around since the day after its release, and it still hasn't been addressed. I tried contacting steam support however they were completely incompetent and there seems to be no set solution online, only solutions that seem to apparently work for some people and not work for others. Utterly disappointed. Eventually, I just got a refund because after 5 hrs total of attempting to fix this bug, multiple requests for support from steam, all they had to give me was half baked solutions like "You should remove razer software" which I did, and it still didn't work and "You should verify your game files" which I had already done multiple times and I prefaced the whole interaction saying that I had already verified my files for both HL: Alyx and SteamVR multiple times, they also told me to go into the beta version, which I knew wouldn't work due to their incompetence to fix a single bug over the span of more than a year, however, I humoured them and did it anyway, and it still didn't work as I thought. I wish steam started caring about their customer experiences rather than putting crappy staff on their support team and forgetting about it.… Expand
  8. vilefox
    Jul 12, 2021
    2
    Story: 0/10
    Most cliché story of any game I've ever played. If this was a movie it would've been a complete joke. Very slight spoiler: your objective is to save the world. Amazingly original, I know. Alyx's character is incredibly annoying. She is condescending to the one creature that tries to help her, and she constantly makes snide remarks to the person guiding her through her journey.    Story: 0/10
    Most cliché story of any game I've ever played. If this was a movie it would've been a complete joke. Very slight spoiler: your objective is to save the world. Amazingly original, I know. Alyx's character is incredibly annoying. She is condescending to the one creature that tries to help her, and she constantly makes snide remarks to the person guiding her through her journey. The story also makes the person who invented the gravity gloves seem stupid. It's supposed to be funny, but I'm not really amused by the "look this guy is so stupid!" kind of humor. You have no choice in what Alyx says, and she basically says the opposite of what I want her to say every single time.

    Gameplay: 3/10
    Guns are really satisfying (reloading and holding your gun "feels" nice. Really well polished) and the upgrade mechanics are nice. Gun fights are pretty fun and the AI is decent. Only issue is the enemies are always in front of you. Flanking typically isn't an option and you kind of just hang out in one cover spot shooting everybody. There's no incentive to move around of anything.

    Problem is, gunfights are about 5-10% of the game. Most of the gameplay is walking around, shooting the occasional headcrab, figuring out where to go next, and solving the same 3D puzzle over and over again. Its a very boring and slow paced game. You're given a flashlight that turns on automatically in the dark, but often it doesn't actually turn on so you can't see what's on the floor and find stuff. Just a minor annoyance. The game has some scary flashlight in the dark scenes, but they're ruined by Alyx's snide remarks throughout them. It's a very linear game. Its essentially just going level to level without any real options. I'd prefer at least a semi open world game like Metro Exodus, but I guess it stays true to HL so not a big deal.

    Graphics: 10/10
    Definitely the best looking VR game I've ever played. Runs really well and looks fantastic. I'd love to see an open world game where you can just go around exploring City 17 with this level of graphically fidelity, but it seems they were only able to achieve this because of linear nature of the game.

    Overall: 2/10
    The occasional fun gun fight and beautiful graphics aren't worth the annoying entitled condescending 19 year old constantly screeching in your ear. A story based game needs a good story and good characters, something HL:A clearly lacks.    … Expand
  9. Joe_Sanderson
    May 17, 2021
    4
    No amount of polish can make a fundamentally flawed game good, this is the case with HL:A. No amount of stunning visuals can mask antiquated movement systems, utterly odd physics choices, obviously flawed AI, or simply strange inventory and weapons. There's a sprinkle of humor here and there, but the characters are mostly forgettable. Overall, there's a gimmicky feel that's baked into theNo amount of polish can make a fundamentally flawed game good, this is the case with HL:A. No amount of stunning visuals can mask antiquated movement systems, utterly odd physics choices, obviously flawed AI, or simply strange inventory and weapons. There's a sprinkle of humor here and there, but the characters are mostly forgettable. Overall, there's a gimmicky feel that's baked into the core of the game that stays for the duration of the game. The only thing it's worth playing for is the "A gnome vault of my own" achievement which very few people seem to have, and you get the bragging rights that go along with it.… Expand
  10. SamLang
    Dec 25, 2020
    3
    Half-Life: Alyx – In Review
    “This game… It insists upon itself.”
    Un-immersive. From all I have heard about how immersive this game is I was disappointed when I got the gravity gloves & a gun, you press a button & open a two-dimensional menu to switch between them. There are only a few guns & a multitool, these could easily be fitted to your hips & back (like many VR games do) for a    Half-Life: Alyx – In Review
    “This game… It insists upon itself.”

    Un-immersive.
    From all I have heard about how immersive this game is I was disappointed when I got the gravity gloves & a gun, you press a button & open a two-dimensional menu to switch between them. There are only a few guns & a multitool, these could easily be fitted to your hips & back (like many VR games do) for a more immersive experience.

    Interact with everything or just don’t.
    Many think this game is revolutionary because you can “interact with everything” but it’s totally pointless. The only things you really interact with are weapons, healing items & a multitool. Everything else is set dressing & has no use apart from the occasional object you need to move out of the way of a door.

    Early in the game I had to pull a pipe out of a door to get through it, after picking up the pipe I came upon an enemy & tried to hit them with it… Nope. You can’t even swat away head crabs when they jump at you, your only option is to move (teleport) out the way or get head grabbed.

    At least 80% of the time that I interact with anything I become unable to turn for a few seconds, this is one of the most annoying (of the many) bugs in the game & as you can imagine it's great in combat or when you're navigating near deadly drops.

    Painful Traversal.
    This must be the only VR game I have played where I can move faster by physically walking in my play space than I can by using the control stick in the game. I have heard some say the developers implemented this to make it more immersive, if this is true how come you can still teleport in an un-immersive way?

    You still need to teleport all the time to jump or drop down & anything that is not walking. It got to the point where I was using smooth walking only in small areas after teleporting or just to back away from enemies.

    Un-immersive AI.
    The AI in this game is annoying & stupid, they just run at you using no tactics or intelligence. They know where you are all the time even before they have seen you & will try to shoot at you through walls. They don’t see doors & push themselves partly through them to hit you, I had one occasion where a head crab zombie was pushing through a door so I shot it & the head crab that he had pushed through the door was still alive & attacked me on the other side of the door.

    Dark but not in a spooky way.
    You get to a dark area & must find a torch to get through it, they tell you “it will turn on automatically in dark areas”. This is a lie, what they mean is that it will turn on when the developers want it to. Most of the time you will be left in the dark wishing you had a [working] torch. On more than one occasion I was grabbed by a barnacle that I could not see at all because it was too dark & I couldn’t even shoot it to defend myself while it sucked me up because It was hidden in complete darkness.

    Retro Crashing.
    One of the many bugs in this over nine-months-old game will cause your headset screens to flash rapidly & asynchronously whilst freezing your pc to the point where you need to press the reset button on the pc itself. I have not had crashing like this since the original half-life! To fix it you must go into the game’s files in app data & delete them.

    Things I Like.
    This is the best glass smashing simulator I have ever played, glass breaks in a very realistic way & it’s very satisfying, the most fun I had in this game.
    You can place helmets, traffic cones, buckets & all sorts of things on your head! As a bonus if you walk under a barnacle you haven’t spotted, instead of grabbing your head they will take what’s on it instead.

    Summary.
    This game is a below par retro first-person shooter with some highly pretentious, non-useful or impactful interaction gimmicks crowbarred into it. Anything outside of picking up random useless scenery objects is handled in a completely non-immersive (& often glitchy) way. The graphics are pretty if you can run them but I would rather play something that is more immersive & fun.

    Three out of ten.    … Expand
  11. redbeggsandsham
    Oct 13, 2020
    0
    Half Life: Alyx is a clunky, annoying, poorly thought out VR game. It looks superb, which is probably why a lot of gamers wasted their money on this shlock, but behind the pretty picture, is a disgusting diarrhea filled toilet. It has unresponsive and poorly tracked controls that leave you lagged behind and more often than not, irritated. It has clunky annoying movement that make you feelHalf Life: Alyx is a clunky, annoying, poorly thought out VR game. It looks superb, which is probably why a lot of gamers wasted their money on this shlock, but behind the pretty picture, is a disgusting diarrhea filled toilet. It has unresponsive and poorly tracked controls that leave you lagged behind and more often than not, irritated. It has clunky annoying movement that make you feel like a Bus with entirely popped wheels. It has poor and slightly pathetic level design, that make you question if anyone even cared about this game in the first place. You'd think a new Half Life game from Valve is a miracle, but in reality Half Life: Alyx can only be described as a curse.… Expand
  12. BELLjr8
    Jul 12, 2020
    0
    Another **** VR game that would be a very poor game without the expensive VR kit.
  13. nonaste
    May 16, 2020
    0
    A vehicle just to push newell's vr "vision" and not an attempt to give Half Life fans a game that provides closure of the series before gaben ruined it with this atrocity.
  14. Alfredson
    Mar 23, 2020
    0
    Uninspired, jaggy, rushed fan service to the most overrated franchise of all time. LMFAO. critics giving this a 10/10 to justify their $1000 PC VR headset purchase. The game looks like they took 2004's Half Life 2 ... but in VR.
  15. siltsunrise
    Apr 10, 2020
    0
    First thing: majorly overhyped. Goofy floating hands destroy immersion. Clunky. Slow. Boring story. Boring gameplay. Corny dialogue. Linear. So you dropped a grand plus to play this? Sucker.
    What a waste.
    Only redeeming value: gorgeous graphics.
  16. kaoria
    Apr 6, 2020
    0
    The only thing more disappointing than a game that only exists to sell a gimmick after years of GabeN spitting on his fans, is the colossal amount of shills around here.

    A bland shooter with slightly more interactive elements.
  17. XSeoN
    Apr 2, 2020
    0
    Just mainstream spinoff. Not interesting story, universe not grow up. just VR features. really disappointment
  18. Lily33
    Apr 2, 2020
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. El segundo jugador no tiene las mismas opciones en el juego que el primero, está muy limitado el juego… Expand
  19. sasha2rus
    Apr 1, 2020
    0
    boring puzzle
    bad shooting
    disgusting gameplay
    but beautiful graphics (by standards of 2012) in a boring game
  20. szgege
    Mar 24, 2020
    0
    Half Life is a game for most of us, with story and good ai. Not this overhyped vr **** VR is 1% of the gaming community. Wow what a good idea...
  21. AAAAAAAAAAAAAOO
    Mar 31, 2020
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Good old Valve, infamous for their mediocre games, and releasing too many sequels. Let's see what they messed up this time:

    Graphics:
    The graphics in this game look terrible, especially when you're playing this game with a giant strap over your head. It hurt my eyes to look at anything, mostly because I had my eyes wide open with a plastic headset resting on them, but that probably had something to do with the graphics.
    Controls:
    I don't care how it controls, I have the headset hurting my head.
    Gameplay:
    Really fun, if you hate fun. The terrible controls ruin everything, enemies are untouchable, because you'll be busy turning around slowly to find them, with your little imaginary gun. Boring gameplay, way too boring. I got a hole in the wall at my local Chile's' that I got stuck in because I tried to play this game in there. I can't see anything, terrible game.

    Characters:
    Idk I wasn't paying attention

    Story:
    See above

    Music:
    The music in this game sounds like it's some song that plays in the background of a 2007 YouTube tutorial. Ear-bleeding.
    Overall:
    Bad game.    … Expand
  22. Gmanfreeman
    Mar 31, 2020
    1
    thank god for you tube vids that showed the game play and storry line otherwise the game might just sold itself on the nostalgia factor alone.. that would had been a huge expensive mistake .. the game dosent know what it supposed to be: a fps game or a vr simulator showing off the source 2 engine, plus a recycled storyline from previous episodes with same pitch: everybody it's fightingthank god for you tube vids that showed the game play and storry line otherwise the game might just sold itself on the nostalgia factor alone.. that would had been a huge expensive mistake .. the game dosent know what it supposed to be: a fps game or a vr simulator showing off the source 2 engine, plus a recycled storyline from previous episodes with same pitch: everybody it's fighting the combine from a different perspective, now its alyx in the hl2 ep4 will be alyx father maybe. and the game play is slow paced and less dynamic than a normal shooter! Even worse that some vr employees and developers have stated that it's an "exclusive" you are not a fan if you don't like it, or you are poor!… Expand
  23. holoman
    Mar 31, 2020
    0
    Imagine thinking the Half-Life series has great storytelling when games like Planescape Torment exist, wrong, the Half-Life series is a series of tech demos and sadly this time around Valve is using it to force a gimmick into the mainstream, a gimmick that was dying and only survived this far due to the mindless and irrational love for a corporate overlord that has treated his fans likeImagine thinking the Half-Life series has great storytelling when games like Planescape Torment exist, wrong, the Half-Life series is a series of tech demos and sadly this time around Valve is using it to force a gimmick into the mainstream, a gimmick that was dying and only survived this far due to the mindless and irrational love for a corporate overlord that has treated his fans like trash for years.

    The game itself is bland, the little interactivity segments like drawing on a wall is a gimmick that makes the user waste time fooling around instead of proceeding through the bland story line, the game itself is as boring as Half-Life 2 was, and for the life of me, I'll never understand what makes these games great.    … Expand
  24. Bryuvlar
    Mar 28, 2020
    1
    I don’t understand where such high marks are from? 90% of the game is some kind of item search simulator, 5% shooter, 5% riddles for preschool children and all this in narrow corridors. After Alyx, I don't need a Half-Life 3. Today's journalists can not be trusted.
  25. Frgtuw
    Mar 26, 2020
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Довольно странная игра, выворачивающая сюжет Half life на изнанку!… Expand
  26. Xelluse
    Mar 25, 2020
    0
    Unoptimized peace of crap, which uses title Half Life, just to sell VR.
    Graphics bad for such system requirements, game look worse, than Fallout, a lot of bugs, polygon and geometry are like from 2002, bad sound quality (tbh, nice music), Gameplay after what Boneworks provide feels bleh..., story... wait, is there a story ? Did not find...
    Shortly - overpromoted Zzzz, with bad graphics,    Unoptimized peace of crap, which uses title Half Life, just to sell VR.
    Graphics bad for such system requirements, game look worse, than Fallout, a lot of bugs, polygon and geometry are like from 2002, bad sound quality (tbh, nice music), Gameplay after what Boneworks provide feels bleh..., story... wait, is there a story ? Did not find...
    Shortly - overpromoted Zzzz, with bad graphics, bad optimization, not interesting gameplay, feels like a F2P student work...    … Expand
  27. Vasot
    Mar 25, 2020
    0
    Generic FPS with nothing new to offer to the genre and only available for VR what a waste of money
  28. rikersisland
    Mar 25, 2020
    3
    Immediately skeptical of all of the gushing 10/10 reviews (most likely trolls and Valve shills), and it turns out my concern was justified.

    Half Life is at its heart an FPS. Slowing down shooting gameplay for the sake of selling headsets is inexcusable. If you're looking for a challenge, you won't find it here as dumb as rocks enemies hold your hand from beginning to end. The tells    Immediately skeptical of all of the gushing 10/10 reviews (most likely trolls and Valve shills), and it turns out my concern was justified.

    Half Life is at its heart an FPS. Slowing down shooting gameplay for the sake of selling headsets is inexcusable. If you're looking for a challenge, you won't find it here as dumb as rocks enemies hold your hand from beginning to end. The tells are laughable, and in some cases you're given a full minute to prepare for being attacked. Its very slow. No keyboard and mouse support is another deal breaker. The game tries to pad these shortcomings with minor distractions (drawing peepeecacapoopoo on tram windows, throwing headcrabs into baskets) before the next scripted scene.

    And without spoiling the plot: established canon has been rewritten and ruined to push a side character. The series real protagonist is nowhere to be seen, and events are altered in favor of said side character. This is a slap in the face to longtime fans.

    In the midst of all this, where is Half Life 3? Where is the man who is free? God help us if that too becomes a terrible VR exclusive like this game.    … Expand
  29. progamerr
    Mar 25, 2020
    0
    No, I just don't get it. After all these years, we get the Alyx based VR version of this game. Most people were different expectations. For myself, I wanted to hear an announcement about HL3 or episode 3. At least a game that does not require VR for playing. They made a decision and that decision is wrong. I want to be optimistic, maybe we will see HL3 or similar games in the future.No, I just don't get it. After all these years, we get the Alyx based VR version of this game. Most people were different expectations. For myself, I wanted to hear an announcement about HL3 or episode 3. At least a game that does not require VR for playing. They made a decision and that decision is wrong. I want to be optimistic, maybe we will see HL3 or similar games in the future. Now I feel a big disappointment. All of HL fans feel the same way possibly. I suggest you should take a look at the Black Mesa instead of this. Thx to the developers like Crowbar Collective the real Half-life never gonna end. ( they added Xen planet at the lastest patch to Black Mesa.)… Expand
  30. HL_is_dead
    Mar 25, 2020
    0
    This game destroyed the reputation of the best game franchise ever. It is below the level of the rest of the games in the franchise. What a shame. Valve is not consumer oriented.
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Awards & Rankings

1
#1 Best PC Game of 2020
9
#9 Most Discussed PC Game of 2020

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
93

Universal acclaim - based on 69 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 67 out of 69
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 69
  3. Negative: 0 out of 69
  1. Areajugones
    Dec 21, 2020
    95
    Half-Life Alyx is proof that Valve is still at its best creatively. This emblematic franchise has been brought to virtual reality; in Alyx we enjoy an immersion never seen before, with comfortable and intuitive mechanics as well as excellent visuals and atmosphere that accompany this interesting adventure within the iconic saga.
    Read full review
  2. Game World Navigator Magazine
    May 21, 2020
    92
    It’s a good thing that Valve didn’t add a digit to the title: from Half-Life 3 we expect nothing short of revolution, while Alyx is “merely” an amazing game. [Issue#245, p.50]
  3. Screen Rant
    May 15, 2020
    100
    A special mention should be made of the game's dialog, mainly consisting of Alyx herself and Russel, a scientist who Alex remains in constant communication with throughout the game. Their relationship feels genuine, the conversations between them are enjoyable, and almost all of the intended comedic moments land perfectly, which is something most video games seem to have trouble with.
    Read full review
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