10 Secrets You Didn't Know About Half-Life: Alyx
2. An In-Game Body
A fun fact that most players won’t have thought about is that you have an in-game body while playing Half-Life: Alyx. Well, duh! Really, though, think about it.
You don’t have a body, you can’t see anything except your hands. This is done to stop issues of clipping. For example, so players don't struggle to pick things up or aim. Even then, when you walk, jump, teleport or brush up against something, you make a noise. That noise is a crucial part of building immersion and scales based on speed and height.
Valve stated that they added these sorts of sounds, be it the rustling of Alyx’s coat or her arm brushing a wall, to engage players. You may have only noticed it on a sub-conscious or secondary level but at the forefront of your mind, you were Alyx Vance.
More obvious actions include being choked by Barnacles or holding your mouth during the Jeff sequence. However, it’s the little things that set this game apart from every other VR title before it. It goes that extra step, from the sound of footsteps on the floor to not blocking a door from opening with your virtual body.