Half-Life Alyx: 13 Biggest Questions Answered For New Fans

Many Valve employees, even going as high up as Gabe Newell himself, have stated that Half-Life: Alyx had to be in VR.

They have been adamant about the game’s developmental platform and what it means in regard to gameplay and immersion. The fact of the matter is, if Alyx was somehow ported to mouse and keyboard, it would likely lose its magic. That being the immersive nature of grabbing, pulling, shooting and lurking through the world of Half-Life.

In a more historical vein, Half-Life has always been about innovation.

You have likely heard this a million times at this point, how creative and unique the Half-Life games were on release, but it’s true. The original showed that the FPS could be more than fast-paced corridor shooting with no story or narrative to speak of. It introduced story, character and unique, arguably realistic environments into the FPS genre.

Half-Life 2 looked more at physics and AI, with puzzles being a huge point of gameplay, as well as characters, such as Alyx herself, reacting to Gordon. For example, when you shone your flashlight in her eyes.

Half-Life: Alyx looks to do the same round of innovation but this time in the VR space. Simple things, like a full 15 hour game and showing off a world where you can interact with everything.

In all actuality, it’s already innovated by doing its best to get as many people buying VR as possible, contributing to the platform's journey in becoming mainstream.