| Half-Life: Alyx | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer | Valve |
| Publisher | Valve |
| Writers | |
| Composer | Mike Morasky |
| Series | Half-Life |
| Engine | Source 2 |
| Platforms | |
| Release |
|
| Genre | First-person shooter |
| Mode | Single-player |
Half-Life: Alyx is a 2020virtual reality (VR)first-person shooter game developed and published byValve. It was released forWindows on March 23, 2020, and forLinux on May 15, with support for most PC-compatibleVR headsets. Players controlAlyx Vance on a mission to seize a superweapon belonging to the alienCombine before the events ofHalf-Life 2 (2004). Like previousHalf-Life games,Alyx incorporates combat, puzzles and exploration. Players use VR to interact with the environment and fight enemies, using "gravity gloves" to snatch objects from a distance, similarly to thegravity gun fromHalf-Life 2.
The previousHalf-Life game,Episode Two, was released in 2007 and ended on acliffhanger. Valve madeseveral attempts to develop furtherHalf-Life games, but could not settle on a direction. In the mid-2010s, Valve began experimenting with VR and identified demand for a major VR game. They experimented with prototypes using their various game series, such asPortal, and found thatHalf-Life was best suited for VR.
Alyx entered production using Valve's newSource 2 engine in 2016, with the largest team in Valve's history, including members ofCampo Santo, a studio acquired by Valve in 2018. VR affected almost every aspect of the design, including level design, combat, movement and pacing. Valve planned to launchAlyx alongside itsIndex VR headset in 2019, but delayed it to rewrite the story following internal feedback.
Alyx received acclaim for its graphics, voice acting, narrative and atmosphere, and has been described as the first VRkiller app. It was nominated for numerous awards and won "Best VR/AR" at the2020 Game Awards. Valve acknowledged that the audience for VR games was limited, andGabe Newell, Valve's president, describedAlyx as a long-term investment into new technologies. As of 2024, it had sold more than two million copies.
Half-Life Alyx is afirst-person shooter played invirtual reality (VR). Players control the Resistance memberAlyx Vance, who fights theCombine, an alien empire that has conquered Earth.[1] Like previousHalf-Life games,Alyx incorporates combat, puzzles, exploration and narrative.[2] Players use VR to get supplies, use interfaces, throw objects and use weapons. Like thegravity gun fromHalf-Life 2, the gravity gloves allow players to pick up objects from a distance.[3]
Alyx includes elements ofsurvival horror, with frightening encounters and scarce ammunition.[4][5][6] In one chapter, players encounter Jeff, a blind monster attracted to sound, and must move quietly and throw objects to distract him. Alien spores in this chapter cause Alyx to cough, which players can prevent by holding their hands over their mouths.[7]
Alyx supports allVR headsets compatible withSteamVR, including theValve Index,HTC Vive,Oculus Rift,Meta Quest and allWindows Mixed Reality headsets.[1] As the gameplay was designed for VR, Valve said they had no plans for a non-VR version.[1][8]Alyx also supportsuser mods via theSteam Workshop.[9]
Earth has been conquered by the alienCombine, who have implemented a brutalpolice state.[10] In City 17,Alyx Vance (Ozioma Akagha) and her fatherEli (James Moses Black) are arrested by Combine forces as part of a crackdown on the Resistance. The Resistance memberRussell (Rhys Darby), an inventor, rescues Alyx and warns her that the Combine are planning to transport Eli to Nova Prospekt for interrogation.[11]
In the quarantine zone, an area of City 17 overrun with alien creatures, Alyx meets a vortigaunt named Gary (Tony Todd). He asks her to save his fellow vortigaunts and foresees that Eli will die.[12] Alyx derails the train carrying Eli, who is rescued from the wreckage by Gary. While in custody, Eli learned that the Combine are storing a superweapon in a vault inside the quarantine zone. He instructs Alyx to find the vault and retrieve its contents.[13]
Alyx fights past Combine forces and shuts down a power station keeping the vault aloft. She discovers that each station is powered by an enslaved vortigaunt. She rescues the station's vortigaunt, who promises that the vortigaunts will disable the remaining stations.[14] Alyx moves through a distillery, where she escapes a hazardous waste worker, Jeff, who has succumbed to alien infection. Eli contacts Alyx and warns her that the vault is a prison built to contain something discovered by the Combine. Russell reasons that it holdsGordon Freeman, and Alyx crashes the vault to the ground.[15][16] Instead of finding Freeman inside, she releases theG-Man.[17]
As a reward for freeing him, the G-Man offers his services to Alyx. She demands the removal of the Combine from Earth, but the G-Man says this would not be in the interests of his "employers". He instead shows her a vision taking place five years in the future, and offers her the chance to change the outcome of Eli's death at the hands of a CombineAdvisor at theWhite Forest rocket facility.[18] Alyx complies, killing the Advisor and saving her father. The G-Man informs Alyx that she has proven herself capable of replacing Freeman, with whom he has grown dissatisfied. Despite Alyx's protests, he suspends her in stasis and leaves.[19] Five years later, Freeman regains consciousness at White Forest and is reunited with Eli. Realizing that the G-Man has Alyx, Eli declares his intention to kill him and hands Freeman his crowbar.[20]
After releasingHalf-Life 2 in 2004, Valve began developing a trilogy ofepisodic sequels, planning to release shorter games more frequently.[22]Half-Life 2: Episode One was released in 2006, followed byEpisode Two in 2007, which ended on acliffhanger.Episode Three was scheduled for 2008, but was canceled.[23] The designerRobin Walker said that Valve uses theHalf-Life series to "solve some interesting collision of technology and art that had reared itself", but had failed to find a unifying idea that provided a sense of "wonderment, or opening, or expansion" forEpisode Three.[24]
After the release ofLeft 4 Dead in 2008, Valve abandoned episodic development and madeseveral failed attempts to develop furtherHalf-Life projects.[25][26] They decided to complete their new engine,Source 2, before beginning a new game, as developingHalf-Life 2 and theSource engine simultaneously had created problems.[27] In 2016 and 2017, theHalf-Life writersMarc Laidlaw,Erik Wolpaw,Jay Pinkerton andChet Faliszek left Valve. Coupled with Valve's support for their other franchises, journalists took the departures as an indicator that newHalf-Life games were no longer in development.[28][29] Walker blamed the lack of progress on Valve'sflat management structure, whereby employees decide what to work on themselves. The team decided they would be happier if they worked together on a large project, even if it was not everyone's preferred choice.[30]
By 2013, Valve was experimenting with VR usingHalf-Life 2 as a basis.[31] In 2015, they collaborated with the electronics companyHTC to develop theHTC Vive, avirtual reality headset released in 2016.[8] Valve's president,Gabe Newell, aimed for Valve to become more likeNintendo, which develops games in tandem with hardware, allowing them to create innovative games such asSuper Mario 64 (1996).[21] In 2016, Valve releasedThe Lab, a collection of VR minigames, and recognized that many players wanted a more ambitious VRAAA game.[32] Walker wondered if they could develop a VR "killer app" equivalent to the influential FPSDoom in 1993.[21]
Valve developed several VR prototypes, with three projects under development by 2017.[33][34] Finding that the portal systems of their puzzle seriesPortal weredisorienting in VR, they settled onHalf-Life.[8] Walker said thatHalf-Life 3 had been a "terrifyingly daunting prospect", and the team saw VR as a way to return to the series.[8] Additionally, they anticipated that fans would react negatively ifHalf-Life 3 were a VR-only game, and felt that a prequel carried less weight.[21]
Valve built prototypes usingHalf-Life 2 assets and narrowed the gameplay systems to those that best fit VR.[8] They found that theHalf-Life systems were a natural fit, but that VR affected almost every aspect of the design, including combat, level design and pacing. For example, shooting in VR, which requires the player to physically position their hand in space, is a different experience from aiming with traditionalmouse-and-keyboard controls.[32]
Valve did not develop a non-VR version ofAlyx, as they were confident that it would only be possible in VR. They anticipated that fans would modify it to run without VR equipment. Though this bothered some on the team, Walker was not concerned, as he believed it would offer an inferior experience and demonstrate why they had chosen VR.[35]
Half-Life: Alyx entered development around February 2016,[36] and entered full production later that year.[3] The team, comprising around 80 people,[37] was the largest in Valve's history, and includedCampo Santo, a studio Valve acquired in 2018.[2][8] As Valve had repeatedly failed to see projects through, some staff were reluctant to join and many were skeptical that VR was the right direction.[21]Mike Morasky, the composer forPortal 2 andTeam Fortress 2, wrote the score in consultation withKelly Bailey, the composer for previousHalf-Life games.[38] He citedindustrial music by acts such asNine Inch Nails,the Prodigy andSkinny Puppy as inspiration.[21]
In late 2018, Valve held a company-wideplaytest of the entire game. The results convinced them that VR had been the right choice.[21] The final weeks of development took place remotely due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[21]
To mitigate the problem ofmotion sickness in VR, Valve implemented several movement options. They cited inspiration from the 2018 VR gameBudget Cuts, which uses teleporting to move the player between locations. Valve had assumed that teleportation would damage the experience; however, though teleporting appears jarring when watching others use it, they found that players quickly became accustomed to it. According to Walker, "It recedes to the background of your mind, and you become much more focused on what you're doing with it."[39]
To disincentivize players from quickly teleporting through levels, Valve filled areas with elements to capture their attention and slow them down, such as threats, collectables, set pieces, or other points of interest.[39] To solve the problem of taller players having to crouch when moving through some spaces, Valve standardized the player's virtual body size when they teleport, effectively making every player the same height when teleporting.[40] They found that players did not notice this discrepancy as they were focused on moving to their goal.[40]
Every weapon in the game is used one-handed, as Valve wanted players to have a hand free to interact with the world at all times.[41] The crowbar, an iconic weapon from previousHalf-Life games, was omitted as Valve could not make melee combat work in VR, and because players would accidentally catch it on objects in the game world as they moved, creating confusion. Additionally, players associated the crowbar withGordon Freeman, the protagonist of previous games. Valve wanted to create a different identity for Alyx, portraying her as a "hacker and tinkerer".[42] Other discarded weapon concepts include a trip mine, slingshot, shield, and rocket launcher.[21]
As players move at more realistic speeds in VR compared to typical FPS games, Valve had to adjust enemies to make combat fair and fun.[21] Antlions, returning enemies fromHalf-Life 2, would quickly overwhelm players with their speed. The team slowed the antlions' movement and added the ability to shoot their legs off to slow them down.[21] Fast zombies and fast headcrabs, also introduced inHalf-Life 2, were cut as they were too frightening for some players in VR. According to the designer Dario Casali, "The shock of having [them] come around the corner and latch onto you before you'd even know what was going on was just too much."[43]
Jeff, a blind monster in chapter seven, came from the idea of forcing the player to share space with a frightening entity in VR. The team created several versions, including a Combine robot, before settling on a horror-influenced creature. Valve forced players to do things they did not want but still found enjoyable, such as leading them to the realization that they had to release Jeff after trapping him. They also gave the player more opportunities to escape when Jeff caught them, as near-deaths were exciting and too many deaths proved frustrating. Combat sequences with other enemies, designed to demonstrate Jeff's strength, were removed as they distracted from the tension.[44]
The chapter contains more physics objects than the entirety ofHalf-Life 2, and was set in a distillery to explain the abundance of bottles the player can throw to distract Jeff. It includes alien spores that cause Alyx to cough, drawing Jeff's attention. After playtesters instinctively covered their mouths, the team implemented this into the design. This also added strategy, as players have to keep one hand free to carry a bottle. At the end of the chapter, the player traps Jeff in a trash compactor. Most playtesters chose to activate the compactor and crush him.[44]
Merle Dandridge reprised her role as Alyx for initial recording sessions in March 2019, but after playtests indicated that Alyx needed a younger voice,Ozioma Akagha was cast in September 2019.[38] Akagha avoided using irritation in her performance, as "you don't want someone in your head that sounds irritated with you".[21]
Additional actors include James Moses Black as Eli, replacingRobert Guillaume, who died in 2017,[45] andRhys Darby as Russell, who added comedic elements.[21] Returning actors includeTony Todd as the alienVortigaunts,Mike Shapiro as theG-Man, andEllen McLain as the voice of the Combine broadcasts.[45] Shapiro recorded his lines in one 20-minute take, with pickups in 2019.[46]Cissy Jones (Olga) andRich Sommer (Larry, Russell's drone, and Combine Soldiers) were cast at the suggestion of the writerSean Vanaman, who had worked with them on Campo Santo'sFirewatch (2016).[46]
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The former Valve writers Erik Wolpaw and Jay Pinkerton turned down invitations to return to Valve early in theAlyx development.[21] Instead, Valve recruited Rob Yescombe ofThe Invisible Hours, who worked onAlyx in 2017 and 2018. Yescombe's narrative was darker than previousHalf-Life games, with scenes of dread, torture and horror. The antagonist was a female Combine officer named Hahn; in one proposed ending, Alyx would kill Hahn in revenge for torturing her father.[21] Yescombe also proposed an ending in which Alyx and the G-Man would travel back in time to the events of the firstHalf-Life to prevent Freeman from triggering the alien invasion.[21]
After the company-wide playtest in 2018, feedback was overwhelmingly positive but for the story, which employees scored the lowest of any Valve game.[21] Morasky described it as "dark, serious and laborious", likening it to aZack Snyder superhero film.[21] The designer Corey Peters said the feedback vindicated their misgivings.[21]
Valve initially planned to launchAlyx alongside itsIndex VR headset in June 2019, but delayed it to address the story. They re-enlisted Wolpaw and Pinkerton to rewrite the plot and dialogue while preserving the gameplay, along withJake Rodkin and Sean Vanaman, who had joined when Valve acquired Campo Santo.[21][47] Marc Laidlaw, who retired in 2016, denied reports that he had provided consultation, saying he had confidence in Pinkerton and Wolpaw and did not want them "second-guessing" him.[48]
The new writers identified three problems.[21] First, the nature of a prequel meant that players knew the characters would survive, reducing suspense. Second, the story did not have an impact on the overallHalf-Life story; the writers did not want it to feel "just like a hermetically sealed short story in the world ofHalf-Life".[49] Third, the game had to end with the powerful G-Man giving Alyx something for freeing him.[21] The team wanted the ending to have a meaningful impact and end the "narrative limbo" fans had been in sinceEpisode Two.[50]
Having Alyx and the G-Man travel forward in time and rescue Eli at the end ofEpisode Two was suggested by the character artist Jim Murray.[21] The team was reluctant, as this undid theEpisode Two cliffhanger, but were intrigued by the questions it raised about the world and how it pushed theHalf-Life story forward.[46] The change required Valve to create new assets, such as theEpisode Two White Forest helicopter hangar and models for Dog, the older Eli, and Gordon Freeman.[21] Thered herring, wherein Alyx believes she is rescuing Gordon Freeman before discovering the G-Man, was conceived by Vanaman late in production. As there was no character model for the Combine scientist Alyx overhears, the scene was animated inshadow play.[21]
While previous Valve games usesilent protagonists, the writers found that having Alyx speak improved the storytelling.[51] They added radio dialog between Alyx and Russell as a simple way to "bring the energy up" whenever needed.[21] The final script ran to 280 pages, compared to 128 pages forHalf-Life 2 and 18 forHalf-Life.[21]
Valve announcedHalf-Life: Alyx in November 2019.[23][52] They waited until it was almost complete before announcing it, aiming to avoid the delays of previous games.[21] They were conscious that players, having waited years for a newHalf-Life game, might be disappointed by a VR game, and tightly managed the announcement.[21] To promoteAlyx, Valve made the priorHalf-Life games free on Steam from January 2020 until its release.[53] Valve was due to showcaseAlyx at the2019 Game Awards that December, but canceled hours prior, saying they were "hard at work on the game".[54]
Alyx was released on March 23, 2020.[55] It was free to owners ofValve Index headsets or controllers.[1] Valve released aLinux version on May 15, along withVulkan rendering support for both platforms.[56] A pre-release build was mistakenly released on Steam; it included non-VR developer tools, allowing interactions such as picking up objects and firing weapons. However, most of the basic interactions, such as pressing buttons or filling Alyx's backpack, could not be completed with mouse-and-keyboard controls.[57]
Asked about plans for futureHalf-Life games, the designer David Speyrer said Valve was willing but were waiting for the reaction toAlyx.[3] According to Walker, "We absolutely seeHalf-Life: Alyx as our return to this world, not the end of it."[32]
Mod tools for the Source 2 engine and Steam Workshop support forHalf-Life: Alyx were released on May 15, 2020.[58] Valve announced plans to release a new Hammer level editor for Source 2, and planned to release a partial Source 2software development kit for the updated features later, with the focus at launch on shipping and supportingAlyx.[38]
In March 2023, fans released the "NoVR" mod, which allows players to play through the game without a VR headset. This also allowsAlyx to run on less powerful devices, such as theSteam Deck.[59][60] Reviewers found the mod removed the game's immediacy and that mouse-and-keyboard controls could not replicate the dexterity of VR controllers.[59]
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | 93/100[61] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Destructoid | 9/10[67] |
| Edge | 9/10[70] |
| Game Informer | 9/10[65] |
| GameSpot | 9/10[62] |
| IGN | 10/10[63] |
| PC Gamer (US) | 92%[64] |
| The Guardian |  [69] |
| USgamer | 4.5/5[66] |
| VG247 | [68] |
Half-Life: Alyx received "universal acclaim", according to thereview aggregator websiteMetacritic.[61] By April 2020, it was one of the 20 highest-rated PC games on Metacritic.[71]VG247,TechRadar andVideo Games Chronicle described it as VR's "killer app".[68][72][73]
The announcement trailer was watched more than 10 million times within the first 24 hours of its release.[74] Though most fans expressed excitement, some were disappointed thatAlyx was only available in VR,[75] a small but growing market in 2019.[76] Before the game's release, Vic Hood ofTechRadar expressed enthusiasm but wrote that "we forever live in hope for aHalf-Life 3".[77]
Kevin Webb ofBusiness Insider wrote thatAlyx could "spark fresh interest in an industry [VR] that has struggled to win over hardcore gamers".[78] Andrew King ofUSGamer also suggested thatAlyx would be the "make or break VR Jesus Moment" for the modding community, in whether the players would be interested and be capable of using the tools provided by Valve to produce new creations that took advantage of VR space, as modification within VR space had traditionally been difficult to work with prior to this point.[79]
InIGN, Dan Stapleton wrote thatAlyx was one of the best shooter games, and the best VR shooter by far. He felt that "Valve has set a new bar for VR in interactivity, detail, and level design ... It feels like a game from the future, and one that the rest of VR gaming will likely take a good long while to match, much less surpass."[63]
InPolygon, Ben Kuchera wrote of howAlyx used VR to transform FPS systems. For example, he felt that reloading guns, traditionally performed with a button press, was more fun in VR. He wrote: "The magic lies in beinginside the world, being able to touch it, and interact with it, directly. The game's design and pacing would lose all meaning if played as a standard game, even if more players would be able to experience the story for its own sake."[35]Alyx won theEasy Allies 2020 awards for both Best World Design and Game of the Year.[80]
The Valve Index headset, controllers, and base stations sold out in the United States, Canada, and Europe within a week of theAlyx announcement.[81] By mid-January 2020, they were sold out in all 31 regions where they were sold.[82] According to Superdata, Valve sold 103,000 Index units in the fourth quarter of 2019 as a result of theAlyx announcements, compared to the total 149,000 sold throughout 2019, and it was the highest-selling VR headset for PCs during that quarter.[83] Though Valve had expected to supply several Index orders in time for the release ofAlyx, theCOVID-19 pandemic limited their supply chain.[84]
Valve's Greg Coomer said Valve knew many people would not playAlyx on launch and that its audience was "relatively small right now".[85] Newell described it as a "forward investment" into long-term technologies.[86] In 2021,PCGamesN wrote that though it was "artfully crafted",Alyx had had little cultural impact.[87] As of December 2024,Alyx had sold more than two million copies.[88]
Half-Life: Alyx won "Game of the Year" at the 2020 VR Awards. Atthe Game Awards 2020, it was nominated for "Best Game Direction", "Best Audio Design" and "Best Action", and won for "Best VR/AR".[89][90] At the17th British Academy Games Awards, it was nominated for "Best Game", "Game Direction", "Audio Achievement" and "Artistic Achievement".[91] At the24th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, it was nominated for "Action Game of the Year", "Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction", and "Outstanding Achievement in Game Design", and won for "Immersive Reality Technical Achievement" and "Immersive Reality Game of the Year".[92]
Opening text: It is five years before the collapse of the Citadel and the death of Eli Vance.
Alyx: Russell... What did you guysfind back there? /Russell: Well, that's the crazy thing! I don't know! Just... blurry pictures of a... building. /Alyx: The Citadel? /Russell: No, it's something else. And whatever it is, they're gonna kill anybody who saw it,and anybody who knows anybody who saw it. Which means us... and your dad.
Alyx: I would help, I really would, but the Alyx Vance is really busy trying to save her dad. /The Lone Vortigaunt: You will not save him. He is dead. /Alyx: What?! /The Lone Vortigaunt: Or... hewill be... /Alyx: Is? Or will be? /The Lone Vortigaunt: It is a matter of perspective. But Alyx Vance alone cannot prevent his fate.
Eli: No! Alyx, listen! The thing Russell and I found is some sort of... some sort of superweapon! /Alyx: A superweapon? /Eli: It's something big. They got it here in the QZ in some kind of vault. But they're about to move it. Where, I don't know, but it's gonna be soon... You head to the Vault! I'll take this thing to Russell's and get down to work!
Vortigaunt: The Vortigaunt will extract ourselves and seek our own vengeance.You must go to the weapon.
Scientist: Look, this guy we got in there survived Black Mesa. He raised holy hell and then just disappeared! We finally caught him and you're just gonna let him go again?! MOVE THE BOX. /Russell: Survived Black Mesa... then disappeared... Eli! Theydo have a superweapon! /Eli: Goddammit, Russ, they've got Gordon Freeman! /Alyx: All right! So, let's go save Gordon Freeman!
Eli: Russell, stop her! Alyx! Don't go in the V—[signal cuts out]
Alyx: Okay, Gordon... Let's get you out of this thing...
G-Man: We are in the future. This is the moment where you watch your father die... unless... /Alyx: What? Unlesswhat? /G-Man: Unless, you were to take matters into your own hands. Release your father, Miss Vance.
Closing text:Subject: Alyx Vance /Status: Hired /Awaiting Assignment
Eli: Gordon?! Gordon! Wake up, Gordon! She's gone, Gordon. She'sgone. Son of a bitch and his "unforeseen consequences"! I knew it. When I get my hands on him, I'm gonna... I'm gonnakill him. I'm gonna fix this. Right now... Come on, Gordon. We've got work to do.
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