I've finally tried Half-Life: Alyx and I wouldn't mind if H-L 3 was VR-only

Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm late to the party, and I should blog it.

I never was a fan of VR. I always thought it was just an overpriced pile of garbage mostly because of the lack of killer apps. But the problem is, the last time I've tried VR was at the time when Oculus launched. It was crap. The games were shit, and the whole experience (imo) was shit.

Oh boy, how times have changed.

I still don't own VR. I borrowed Oculus from a friend, only because I wanted to try H-L: Alyx.

And, I mean, I'm just blown away. It's incredible. Yeah, the teleport walking around is still shit, but man, the immersion... I never was particularly scared of headcrabs. Those things are just terrifying in VR.

An additional problem is that you really need to have a beefy PC for this game. I have an alright rig with an okay GPU (RX Vega 56). I actually wanted to upgrade anyway, so, yeah....

Anyway, long story short, I'll try to finish the game even though I'm scared shitless. From what I've seen and experienced, I actually wouldn't mind if H-L 3 was VR-only.

Yeah it's one of the best gaming experiences I have ever had and that's mostly thanks to the VR experience. Can't wait for more AAA studios to release these kinds of story driven SP games.

Half-Life games have always been, first and foremost, technological showcases; Valve only make a HL game when they think they have something to show. They would not have made HL:Alyx if they didn't think they can do something interesting with VR.

Which is why I would temper expectations for HL3 a bit. They'll only make that game when they have something new to go "tada."

I wasn’t as impressed. Far too much searching, too many long stretches of non gameplay, and incredibly slow paced gameplay when it does happen. Looked impressive and was immersive to the lore, but it’s not as fun as HL2 or the following acts.

No thanks. Alyx is spinoff thats why it worked.

HL3 being VR exclusive having invisible arms would be slap in face of franchise.

ghost still mad he cant torrent Valve Index

You can turn off teleport walking and use the trackpad or stick to move.

Yeah, agreed. Although I believe and I hope they have only scratched the surface when it comes to VR.

I somewhat agree. I haven't played DOOM VR, nor Fallout 4 VR, so I'm not sure how dynamic those games are.

When it comes to the dynamics, Alyx has a perfect pace for my taste when it comes to playing FPS games in VR.

Interesting. I'll try that.

I don't want a slower playing HL3, no thanks.

I don't own a VR headset so I never had the chance to play Alyx myself but watching a full playthrough online left me quite impressed. And I imagine that experiencing it on your own must be twice as amazing.

HL3 would be at least 4 years off, at which point full body tracking will be viable with camera-based tracking meaning it can finally be standardized.

If isn't a VR game, it would feel like a huge step back. HL3 needs to be not just a step forward from Alyx, but a big step forward. I don't care if they utilize a PS7 for HL3; it's always going to be a step back from Alyx if it's not a VR game.

@darthbuzzard: It will be several steps forward for gamers though who don't want or care about the gimmick called VR.

Its one of the best gaming experiences I have had in the last 5 years.

Honestly they nailed VR gaming with their first game, I can't imagine what they have in store next with the other 2 games they have planned for VR.

Welcome to the dark side TC. And thank you GabeN.

But you don't need Index for Alyx.

@IgGy621985: Lol dude, your post, hands down has gotten me a bit more interested for VR. Once VR prices come down in the near future, ill be sure to check out Half Life Alyx.

Yeah. I mean, Half-Life 3 has to be VR. It needs to be VR. I would be happy if they released both, non-VR and VR versions tho.

I'll gladly wait for it. Doesn't matter how long. Alyx definitely exceeded my expectations.

I have minor quibbles.

Needed an NG+. It has that Valve problem (and boon) where they play test and play test and focus test for average soccer mom, but when it comes to gamers competent and efficient their isn't really much their to challenge the player, and in this case, very little replay value.

They add all this resource gathering with resin, but it's always in the same place each run. As is ammo. As are enemy placements and enemy count.

I'd argue Valve are pretty dated in this respect. Shit like Resident Evil, which this is heavily influenced by, probably the most. As soon as you finish a run it's designed for multiple play-throughs. Alyx just doesn't have that. I'd hope in the future they'd add something like that, a remix mode, but I wouldn't count on it.

I would have also liked to see Valve incorporate more Resident Evil 2 design (or even Halflife 1 which had it specifically with the testicle) where the player is backtracking and making maximum use of a fixed point rather than constant momentum forward.

The horror aspect is where Alyx really excels. The early sections, particularly in the sewers are expertly crafted. It actually puts Resident Evil to shame in that respect.

The combat AI is clearly designed for newcomers to VR, again, I wish Valve added some options for people properly indoctrinated with the hardware, it's fun, but they've definitely held back on.

The VR aspect has basically fixed almost every conceivable jank to the point it's as fluid as it gets. Like, once you play it, absolutely do not want to go back to flat-screen.

Certain games like Doom: Eternal aren't really viable, but slower pace heavier games, perfectly suited.

It's weird, considering all the hubble-bubble-trouble with goobers shitting their panties about VR, but my issues with the game are entirely unrelated to it but more with Valves traditional design not really evolving.

It emulated Resident Evil while ignoring much of Resident Evils best aspects.

But like say, they could come back in the future and add remixed NG+, greatly benefit the game.

It's probably going to have a ripple effect on Occulus, Ubisoft and other upcoming products where they are expected to raise their game, and I hope it does.

BTW - If you enjoy this game, Vertigo Remastered will probably be your jig. Very, very heavily influenced by Halflife 1.

Until You Fall is also up there with Halflife Alyx. It perfectly nails down melee arcade like feel you had at the amusement park with elements from shit like Dark Souls, DMC, Diablo etc... It should really be the framework for VR melee combat going forward, fixes one of the biggest issues of flailing into something refined requiring precision and reaction.

Haha :-D Well, I was just being honest. I probably won't buy a VR headset anytime soon. I tried a few games (friend put me on his family list on Steam), including Beat Saber. Yeah, it's cool and all. For a few days of fun. But man, H-L Alyx is something else. You really have to try it.

If tech keeps advancing I can easily say VR will be the future. Once we get past the the bulky headsets and the screendoor effect and having motion tracking gloves along with high resolution with light wireless sunglasses for VR it will be really hard to go back to flat screen gaming. I say by 2035 VR will be huge not just in gaming but entertainment as a whole.

On a side note Samsung recently created a high end display that will kill the screendoor effect.

https://byteside.com/2020/10/samsungs-new-displays-to-eliminate-screen-door-effect-in-vr/

Nuff said. :P

I wouldn't be surprised if you would complain about how it's stale and not revolutionary enough because of FPS gaming being stagnant in recent years.

VR is cool for this game. With that said, I don't see any reason the game couldn't be played traditionally.

No idea how I missed your post. Great write-up, man. Anyway,

I love horror, but it's on another level in Alyx. Everything in that game is so damn terrifying "thanks" to VR. I also somewhat agree with your other points, but I'm alright with one playthrough. H-L 1 and 2 were similar. It's not that you could see something completely different from the second playthrough. Both games were breathtaking from the first take, and imho, that's why H-L is so iconic.

The combat AI is spot-on for me since I'm a total newcomer to VR. And yet, I still shit in my pants when those zombies start walking towards me lol.

BTW - If you enjoy this game, Vertigo Remastered will probably be your jig. Very, very heavily influenced by Halflife 1.

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Until You Fall is also up there with Halflife Alyx. It perfectly nails down melee arcade like feel you had at the amusement park with elements from shit like Dark Souls, DMC, Diablo etc... It should really be the framework for VR melee combat going forward, fixes one of the biggest issues of flailing into something refined requiring precision and reaction.

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Interesting stuff. Added both of the games on my wishlist. Thanks mate!

My favourite vr games are skyrim vr, fallout 4 vr, borderlands 2 vr.

Sure halflife alyx is better than all of them, but it's short, those 3 games I mentioned have you set for a long time.

Skyrim is skyrim in vr, it's downright amazing. For somebody like me that get's sick when you don't use teleport, a battlemage here is really lore friendly, I really like the shield and swordplay, but I could talk hours about skyrim vr.

Fallout 4 vr is nice because of the gunplay, you haven't lived till you threw an underhand grenade in a stairwell, and see limbs flying, again I could hours why fallout 4 vr is so great, the game is so versatile I don't even know where to begin.

Borderlands 2 vr has the advantage that the cell shaded graphics work really well in vr. and yeah so many guns..., and they all look amazing. It's a simpler game to play in vr compared to the bethesda games, but it's not like just a shooter with no depth (like robo recall which is all about vr mechanics, and less about story, lore and loot)

@commander: Out of curiosity, how is walking resolved in those games? Teleport walking?

Teleport is pretty much only an option in every game that supports it, it's still the most effective way to avoid motion sickness

There are only a handfull of early vr games where it is teleport only, all the games I mentioned you can just walk around with your analog stick.

Teleport was never made to resolve walking in vr as if developpers had problems with it. For developpers making a game where you can walk with an analog stick is just as easy in a vr game as it is in normal game.

But not every vr user can stomach it , it's also the reason why they invented teleport. Frankly there's a considerable chance when you start using the analog stick for walking, you might get violently sick in minutes (if you never tried that before obviously)

@Pedro: the game would suck in non-VR. It's entire pacing and design is built around being VR. E.g. the pace of firefights is slower than in a regular FPS and actions like taking cover which you physically have to do yourself take longer etc...

For the record HL:A was brilliant and somewhat of a pleasant surprise tbh