This race of Nazi-esque extraterrestrials conquered the world in seven hours, and Alyx has known nothing but their rule. Alyx is the only thing that has grabbed my attention away, like an alien barnacle waiting high above with a hungry mouth and a sticky tongue.Ī prequel to Half-Life 2, we play as Alyx Vance, a fighter in a resistance army looking to eradicate the alien combine from Earth. In a week where we’ve had all the time to do what we want, it’s been hard to do anything but think. Some of those worries temporarily fade when I pull the Valve Index over my eyes and strap the controllers to my hands, stepping into the terrifying world of Half-Life: Alyx.Īlyx has been the last week of my life, switching between this virtual reality world and the horror of our actual existence. Nothing exists now but looming dread and anxiety, a fear of the future following a global pandemic and what changes it might bring. But I know, deep down, everything has changed. My children are downstairs playing like nothing is different. They’re all locked away and the world is still. In the real world, the birds are singing but there’s no noise from my neighbours. It’s a dream - or perhaps a nightmare - come true. I might be standing still in real life, but my brain is utterly convinced by the illusion that I’m here among the Soviet modernist buildings, the sirens, the radio chatter of City-17. I can hear headcrabs scuttling in the vents above, and occasionally there’s a low moan from a zombified resident who’s being puppeteered by one of these space chicken gits. Organic growths throb from the walls, and disgusting pustules swell and spurt open as I pass. Hopefully, the experience is worth the price tag.I’m wandering through an abandoned hotel in the quarantine zone of City-17, carefully opening doors with my actual hands and using my real-life head and eyes to peek into the dark. While 60 bucks for a VR game may seem expensive, Valve has stated in the past that it hopes to revolutionize the VR gaming industry with expansive, long-form immersive content.
Half-Life: Alyx launches March 2020 on SteamVR for $59.99 Valve Index users will receive a copy of the game free-of-charge. Whether or not players will be able to join these custom-environments together remains to be seen. The company has already updated its official level authoring tool, Hammer, to support VR. The most surprising part of the announcement, however, is that Valve will be offering players a set of Source 2 tools, allowing you to build your own VR levels and share them with the community. Not only does the headsets 1440×1600 per eye resolution provide a crystal-clear look at Alyx’s incredible visuals, but Valve’s proprietary Valve Index ‘Knuckles’ controllers add a new layer of interactivity to your in-game experience thanks to built-in grip sensitivity and finger-tracking. To get the most out of the experience, however, you’ll want to get your hands on a Valve Index.
HALF LIFE 2 BARNACLE FIRST ENCOUNTER WINDOWS
According to Valve, the title will be accessible via their SteamVR platform and was designed specifically with the Valve Index in mind, though they claim it will run fine on the HTC Vive/Vive Pro, Windows Mixed Reality, Oculus Rift/Rift S, and the Oculus Quest via Oculus Link.
HALF LIFE 2 BARNACLE FIRST ENCOUNTER PC
In terms of accessibility, Half-Life: Alyx will be available to play on any PC VR headset. VR was built for the kind of gameplay that sits at the heart of Half-Life,” states Valve in the official release. Tear a headcrab off your face and throw it out the window. Manipulate tools to hack alien interfaces.
Rummage through shelves to find a healing syringe and some shotgun shells. “Lean around a broken wall and under a barnacle to make an impossible shot. There will also be a heavy focus on exploration and looting at one point in the trailer it shows the player knocking items off a shelf in order to reach a handful of scattered shotgun shelves.
Image Credit: Valve CorporationĪccording to the official release, the narrative-driven experience was built from the ground-up for VR and will feature a healthy combination of intense combat and - of course - plenty of environmental puzzles (this is a Half-Life game after all). Within the occupied walls of City 17, you’ll work alongside a growing force of resistance members to battle Combine forces and perform critical research, all in the hopes of discovering a weakness. Set between the events of the original Half-Life and Half-Life 2, the prequel/sequel hybrid puts you in the shoes of Alyx Vance, a skilled hacker and scientific researcher who - alongside her father - is about to launch an early resistance against an invading alien force known as The Combine.
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