Half-Life: Alyx And What We Know So Far

A new Half-Life game is coming to SteamVR with a roughly fifteen-hour campaign that takes place before Half-Life 2. The game focuses on Alyx Vance and includes headcrabs and the G-Man.

Valve announced its next game, Half-Life: Alyx. And considering that 12 years have gone by since the last game in the series, Half-Life 2: Episode Two, fans (including ourselves) are hyped to see where this new game takes us. We do have a good idea of what it's going, though. The reveal trailer showed gameplay and teased its story, but also showcased why it's going in this direction. It's strictly a VR game, built from the ground up for virtual reality, but it's much more than what you might be used to. Half-Life: Alyx is said to be a 15-hour experience that puts you in the shoes of key character Alyx Vance, who seems to be trying to track down her dad and genius scientist Eli Vance in pursuit of a greater truth.

The staples of Half-Life are here; headcrabs, barnacles, Combine threats, the rebellious spirit of the people of City 17, and so much more. But there are plenty of lore implications just from the trailer alone. Mechanics specific for VR look to be a big part of the game, too, as you see with the gloves that function similar to the Gravity Gun, and its seemingly complex puzzles and emphasis on environmental interaction. In the video above, we dig into the things that stood out to us in the reveal of Half-Life: Alyx and talk about what we know.

Half-Life: Alyx launches in March 2020 and will be playable on any SteamVR-compatible headset--this includes Valve Index, HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Oculus Quest (via PC Link), and Windows Mixed Reality. Folks who have Valve Index setups, or buy one today (up until the game's launch), will get the game for free. Otherwise, it'll be a full $60 game though a 10% pre-order discount is going on right now. We have the game covered from every angle, so be sure to read all our stories on Half-Life: Alyx.