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. tom2189
    Mar 24, 2020
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. 1) Add More SPEED to enemies, i want hardcore
    2) Add AMMO BOXES (50+ ammo) in Combine crates
    3) Stupid and ANNOYING puzzles and hacking mini games
    4) Add few melee weapons with capability of carrying em
    5) Kind of stupid dialogues with Russell
    6) Very stupid verbal codes like "I am gonna shoot in 3 2 1, shooting" Thanks "a lot' for the info soldier!!!

    Other things is 10/10    … Expand
  2. 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
  3. GEFFUNDEI
    Mar 23, 2020
    3
    It’s really not that Hal-life, that was expected by fans for years. I think it is made for selling Vavle’s versions of VR. After Boneworks it’s no pleasure to play Alyx.
  4. 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
  5. 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
  6. 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
  7. 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
  8. 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.
  9. Salixx
    Mar 23, 2020
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Tremenda basura, jugabilidad asquerosa y nada llamativa, no te da nada que te invite a jugar mas… Expand
  10. 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
  11. 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
  12. 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
  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. 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
  15. 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
  16. BELLjr8
    Jul 12, 2020
    0
    Another **** VR game that would be a very poor game without the expensive VR kit.
  17. 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
  18. 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.
  19. mrdollar
    Mar 24, 2020
    0
    There are a lot of problems in the game. Worst Valve's game for sure, except Artifact. Also requires way too much PC power (bad optimization) and additional VR equipment.

    - No sprinting, no crouching, no jumping - only teleportation, witch instantly brakes immersion - No smooth turning, it really makes you motion sick fast enough - No arms, only floating hands really look weird -    There are a lot of problems in the game. Worst Valve's game for sure, except Artifact. Also requires way too much PC power (bad optimization) and additional VR equipment.

    - No sprinting, no crouching, no jumping - only teleportation, witch instantly brakes immersion
    - No smooth turning, it really makes you motion sick fast enough
    - No arms, only floating hands really look weird
    - Cannot use objects and your arms to defend or attack the enemy
    - locomotion moves at snails pace, pathetic attempt to prolong the game
    - Some objects cannot be interacted with like you can move chair, but can move table, feels strange
    - Too many invisible walls, brakes immersion
    - Terrible voice acting of Alyx, really lame jokes and annoying Russel
    - Levels are very linear, you can't stray of form main path at all.    … Expand
  20. OnlyOneHere
    Mar 23, 2020
    0
    This game is complete VR garbage. If the developers are going to force people to buy a VR just to play this trash game, the least they could do is make it immersive. It fails to do that with so many invisible walls. The AI in this game is incredibly stupid. The voice acting for the monsters are cringeworthy. Those small jumping monsters don't even sound like monsters, they sound likeThis game is complete VR garbage. If the developers are going to force people to buy a VR just to play this trash game, the least they could do is make it immersive. It fails to do that with so many invisible walls. The AI in this game is incredibly stupid. The voice acting for the monsters are cringeworthy. Those small jumping monsters don't even sound like monsters, they sound like raccoons growling. The level design is trash and boring. While the graphics are good, the outside environments have horrible lighting effects. The story is awful. The walking is too slow in this game.

    There is no multiplayer at all. So once you beat the story, there is not a reason to play this game again. Charging $60 for a game with no replay value is a cashgrab. These greedy developers are asking for too much money for a gimmicky game. I recommend you wait until this game is $5 before picking it up.    … Expand
  21. 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.
  22. AceAscendus
    Mar 23, 2020
    0
    Garbage story that ruins everything that Half-Life 1 and 2 did, what a disgrace. Also the VR is more of a gimmick than a boon. The gameplay is interesting for 30 minutes but then it becomes very boring, it lacks depth.
  23. 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
  24. 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...
  25. 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.
  26. NamelessRocker
    Mar 24, 2020
    0
    Выпустили по сути полноценную третью часть, события которой очень важны для понимания дальнейшего сюжета. И сделали это игрой для избранных. 0 из 10
  27. fckrianjohnson
    Mar 24, 2020
    0
    13 years waiting for a true Half Life game, and what did we get? a floating hands simulator.
    Shame on Valve.
  28. BlueHalo
    Mar 23, 2020
    0
    Basically this game costs the full price + VR equipment's price. Worth buying VR for playing games ? No.
    Just buying VR to play 1 game its incredibly stupid thing to do.
    Game is not that good, i don't get the hype. I repeat, GAME IS NOT THAT GOOD, just OVER HYPED, not worth buying. Its just a VR exclusive made so some waste their money on VR they don't need, i won't be forced to do    Basically this game costs the full price + VR equipment's price. Worth buying VR for playing games ? No.
    Just buying VR to play 1 game its incredibly stupid thing to do.
    Game is not that good, i don't get the hype.
    I repeat, GAME IS NOT THAT GOOD, just OVER HYPED, not worth buying.
    Its just a VR exclusive made so some waste their money on VR they don't need, i won't be forced to do this just because some smarty-pants wants VR exclusives.
    Game sucks.    … Expand
  29. jonato
    Mar 23, 2020
    0
    Ensure you have a finger tracked setup for this game. Nothing is added by using VR for this game, a bad shot at trying to breathe some life into VR using a beloved franchise.
  30. gimmicklord
    Mar 23, 2020
    0
    Tried it over an hour, it's really just a generic FPS with a little more interactivity, I really do think VR is just a gimmick, this was my latest and probably last attempt, tried Boneworks and several other titles before this one, VR really needs to mature a lot before I could recommend it.
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Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
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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