10 Secrets You Didn't Know About Half-Life: Alyx
That goddamn gnome is back...
It’s been a few weeks since the release of Half-Life: Alyx, and everyone has had their time to soak in the more physical version of City 17 as new protagonist, Alyx Vance.
Instead of clanging and banging around the world with a crowbar, players take a slower, more tactical approach. This slower pace is a direct result of the new VR format, giving us a more manageable weapon wheel and movement through City 17. The b-hopping Gordon Freeman is swapped out for a grounded Alyx who can interact with so much of her environment.
Now that players experience the world of Half-Life in a more tactile way, with their very own hands and eyes, they've come to find a new appreciation for the secrets hidden around the place, having to stand on their tippy-toes to reach a Time-esque magazine with Dr Breen on the front, or crouch down to pick up Dr Kleiner’s very own book.
Not all secrets are just laying around on the floor, though, and when you have an army of Combine or family of poisonous headcrabs behind you, it’s kind of hard to stop and smell the roses. That’s why we’ve made this list, looking at ten secrets, be them Easter eggs or otherwise, that you may have missed or not fully understood.
10. The G-Man’s Background Appearance
The G-Man’s appearances in Half-Life 1 and 2 serve as the i-spy of gaming. Look, there he is on the bridge. Hold on, he’s over
there behind a train car. Oh look, he’s back again and he’s putting me into
this weird, dark, timeless vacuum. Wait-
Leading up to the game's finale, eagle eyed fans noticed something very specific lacking from Half-Life: Alyx’s background. In that, the G-Man is nowhere to be seen.
Those up to date will know that’s because the G-Man is trapped inside the vault. This vault is the main plot point for the game and floats above the city, connected to all kinds of crazy Vortigaunt-powered doo-dads. That isn’t the secret, though.
The secret is that the G-Man does make one single background appearance.
At the very, very, very end of the game. Past Alyx’s rescue, past the credits themselves. As you play a short but oh-so-sweet section as Gordon Freeman, he’s there. Out the corner of your eye, as a now-not-dead Eli is ranting about the G-Man’s meddling, he watches.
All the way left. The G-Man is standing on a catwalk, overlooking Alyx’s handiwork.