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

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. LatinCritic13
    Mar 28, 2020
    10
    A macabre virtual reality masterpiece that people must play. And something tells me that Valve is actually working on Half Life 3 even though Alyx feels like a preparation or a placemarker to Half Life 3.
  2. vldmrkrch
    Mar 24, 2020
    10
    Oh ma GOD. IT'S BEAUTIFUL! I have nothing to say cuz any words are excess...
  3. PepperNSalt
    Apr 2, 2020
    10
    Half Life Alyx is a sign that Valve’s still got it. This game is highly detailed and immersive, and exudes polish. A must have for vr owners.
  4. daigual
    Mar 25, 2020
    10
    good morning baby how wash the dishes to the store and the other two were the first
  5. GuacCostsExtra
    Mar 25, 2020
    10
    I created an account just to give this game a perfect score. This game is a full fledged dive into, and under, City 17 that shatters all expectations. The game is a very large download (46 gigs) so it takes some time to download. Personally, I used that time to call my boss and loved ones to inform them that contracted COVID-19 and I will be in unreachable quarantine until furtherI created an account just to give this game a perfect score. This game is a full fledged dive into, and under, City 17 that shatters all expectations. The game is a very large download (46 gigs) so it takes some time to download. Personally, I used that time to call my boss and loved ones to inform them that contracted COVID-19 and I will be in unreachable quarantine until further notice. If you're efficient, you will have just enough time to apply for state Corona benefits and you can actually spend the next few weeks playing this game. There's also an added bonus of being a good social distancer..... Yadada. Highly recommend. R....… Expand
  6. Fedor1
    Mar 27, 2020
    10
    Do not listen to the troll reviews! Valve has worked hard on this game and made it compatible for even the most affordable HMDs. There are more ways to move, such as smooth locomotion instead of teleportation. Ladder movement has been fixed! The level design, sound design, graphics and puzzles are phenomenal.
  7. Udne
    Mar 30, 2020
    10
    This game was amazing. Just what VR needed; a fully fleshed out game with with an optimized engine and graphics. Looking forward to what they can think of next!
  8. melo12125
    Mar 23, 2020
    10
    A return to the series, a very good game, love it.

    Had the chance to play it early.
  9. AmirCrysis
    Mar 23, 2020
    10
    return to the half-life universe that was great game in VR i hope next half-life game not be a vr game good job valve
  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. Laisa12345
    Mar 23, 2020
    10
    The physics and enviroment are so immersive, omg, can't wait the custom maps

    10 because it's half life
  12. Malerman
    Mar 23, 2020
    10
    The second best game of the best franchise love it, hope everyone like it :)
  13. oiop12125
    Mar 23, 2020
    10
    Finally a new Half Life game.

    Please Valve return to this series :)

    Had fun playing it
  14. CounterDestroy
    Mar 23, 2020
    10
    This game is the pinnacle of VR. This is what the platform needed and it is what it got. This is an experience no one should pass up if you can get a VR headset. Thank you Valve!
  15. 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
  16. cole21771
    Mar 23, 2020
    10
    Absolutely phenomenal. Significantly better than I had every expected and my expectations were already though the roof!
  17. Willhart
    Mar 24, 2020
    10
    Best VR game yet. The gameplay feels super smooth after a while, especially moving/jumping around and interacting with items and guns by using the gloves. It is everything I've been looking forward to.
  18. mcruser
    Mar 24, 2020
    10
    This is ahead of its time gaming like HL2 in 2004. Amazing! Valve still Valve. Gabe is Great.
  19. frezsh
    Mar 24, 2020
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Genious game, genious ending. Plot twist with GMan is awesome. More theories for the god of theories!… Expand
  20. sheppardbo
    Mar 29, 2020
    10
    Absolute masterpiece. Words cannot do it justice, it must be experienced. Without a doubt 10/10, Valve has done it again.
  21. Arestris
    Mar 26, 2020
    9
    Great VR game!
    No, it doesn't reinvent the wheel, no, it's not perfect (but then, I think, that's not entirely possible with current gen VR headsets), but it shows what's possible with the current gen and pushes VR game quality to a new level.
    Also, it brought us a new story in the HL universe and promises even more.
    So, I give it 9 out of 10.
  22. Sotyka94
    Mar 26, 2020
    9
    An almost perfect game, and the best VR games to this day for sure. This game will determine the future of VR gaming.
  23. DillonPRobinson
    Mar 26, 2020
    10
    I have been in the VR resurgence scene since early 2013. I've owned the Rift development kits 1 + 2, CV1, and been enjoying my Vive since not long after release. I've played everything there has been to play, watched the community and niche grow for years. I've talked to all the developers, and did some hobbyist development myself. I know how it all works. It's hard to be impressed with aI have been in the VR resurgence scene since early 2013. I've owned the Rift development kits 1 + 2, CV1, and been enjoying my Vive since not long after release. I've played everything there has been to play, watched the community and niche grow for years. I've talked to all the developers, and did some hobbyist development myself. I know how it all works. It's hard to be impressed with a lot of the output in recent years, let alone immersed. I have ridiculous standards at this point.

    And Half Life: Alyx is the best VR title I have ever played. It's nearly flawless. Do I wish there were more weapons? More modes? More enemy types? Absolutely. But the product, as it stands now, is flawless. This is the most robust engine I have seen for VR, ever. The embarrassingly-bad Boneworks cannot hold a candle to the sense of physical presence here. Sound is also a huge "presence"-enabler that is always, ALWAYS under-utilized in VR. It sounds so good here. So real. It's just wonderful. The ambiance you feel in every room is unrivaled. Incredible.

    And most of the negative reviews here are clearly from bitter little whiners who are mad that the new, official, canon HL game is on a format they don't have or can't afford. Don't be mad.    … Expand
  24. cyberwolf84
    Apr 4, 2020
    10
    Played on VIVE Cosmos. And it´s incredible!!! You are inside Half-Life world, fantastic true graphics, physics and great new experience, even inside VR games, because it´s not only regular vr-project - you are entering inside this world, you´ve seen years ago in HL and HL2 series. 10/10.
  25. LeonTheBest
    Mar 30, 2020
    10
    I enjoyed it. Took my time and spent 12 hours on 1st play through. I loved the overtaken residential houses.
  26. Firestorm185
    Mar 31, 2020
    10
    Though at times a whirlwind of events, Half-Life: Alyx shows that without a doubt, VR is a medium that can indeed facilitate strong, long-form video game storytelling. Immersive worlds and set pieces, riveting and intuitive combat, and mind-bending puzzles kept me on my heels for each and every second, eagerly awaiting the next big thing. And this game is just that. It's Half-Life's nextThough at times a whirlwind of events, Half-Life: Alyx shows that without a doubt, VR is a medium that can indeed facilitate strong, long-form video game storytelling. Immersive worlds and set pieces, riveting and intuitive combat, and mind-bending puzzles kept me on my heels for each and every second, eagerly awaiting the next big thing. And this game is just that. It's Half-Life's next big thing, and it's VR's next big thing. And we're just one crowbar swing away from the next big adventure!

    And lets not forget, the VR experience doesn't end when the story does! Valve has promised to release mapping tools for the game, meaning that in a short few months, mods and new mini quests will be plentiful for the game, extending the immsersion even further!    … Expand
  27. PandaPowGames
    May 19, 2020
    7
    It’s good and a great return for the series and in VR it’s a lot more immersive but still a true Half Life 3 would be great
  28. luis_ru
    Jul 21, 2020
    10
    Es realmente una joya, no había probado la realidad virtual y me compré unas oculus rift s el día que salió este juego, he seguido esta saga desde 1998 y me arriesgué con las gafas con la idea si no me gusta las devuelvo a la tienda y pido el reembolso en steam. Pero al completar mas de una hora de juego, me quedé callado, me saqué las gafas y me senté en mi sofá mirando el cielo, no tengoEs realmente una joya, no había probado la realidad virtual y me compré unas oculus rift s el día que salió este juego, he seguido esta saga desde 1998 y me arriesgué con las gafas con la idea si no me gusta las devuelvo a la tienda y pido el reembolso en steam. Pero al completar mas de una hora de juego, me quedé callado, me saqué las gafas y me senté en mi sofá mirando el cielo, no tengo palabras para describir lo que acabo de experimentar, Realmente estás ahí, en city 17, llevo 30 años jugando videojuegos y creí que ya nada me sorprendería como cuando era niño y llega este half life con su VR y sus mecánicas, todo se reduce a estas simples palabras "una obra maestra" . Valve y su equipo han hecho algo que jamás de mi vida de gamer olvidaré.… Expand
  29. BFG-1337
    May 6, 2021
    5
    The VR market is overpriced, and overrated.

    This is the most average game I've played yet, its so dull and uninspiring its kind of weird that its made by Valve, it honestly feels like a very polished school project.

    Ahh, what the OG developers could have done with VR.....
  30. 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
Page:

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
See all critic reviews »