Half-Life: Alyx in the test

For four long years Valve worked behind closed doors on "Half-Life: Alyx". Now the first-person shooter, available exclusively for PC VR headsets, is finally here. We have tested the prequel to "Half-Life 2" and tell you as spoiler-free as possible why it is by far the best VR game on the market.

VR enthusiasts among you may remember "The Lab", released by Valve in April 2016. Initially tailored only for HTC Vive, the free software consisted of eight different technology demos that impressively demonstrated the possibilities of the new medium. Robo Repair" in particular stood out. The repair mini-game is not only extremely elaborate graphically, but also uses Valve's puzzle shooter "Portal" as a narrative setting. As a result, fans were so enthusiastic that calls for a full-fledged VR game from Valve were already being heard after just a few days. Since "Portal" is set in the same narrative universe as "Half-Life", some even speculated that Valve could use the new medium of VR as a springboard for "Half-Life 3".

Almost four years later, the world is still waiting for "Half-Life 3", but is all the more pleased that the studio from the US state of Seattle has actually managed to deliver an almost equivalent replacement. Because "Half-Life: Alyx" sees itself as an official prequel to "Half-Life 2" and shows for the first time what happened in City 17 before series veteran Gordon Freeman appeared there.

The focus is on the fate of resistance fighter Alyx Vance, who shortly after the start of the game witnesses her father Eli Vance being captured by the alien invaders Combine. What follows is a story campaign lasting almost 15 hours, in which Alyx not only does everything she can to free her beloved dad, but also has her hands full uncovering the secret of a devastating superweapon.

Keyword hands: As is typical for VR, they are the interface between you and the virtual world. Opening doors, climbing ladders, setting mechanisms in motion, pressing switches, heaving obstacles out of the way, reloading weapons - all this and more happens intuitively and, thanks to extensive optimisations for all common VR controllers, provides an unimagined feeling of being right in the middle of things.

The latter is reinforced by an impressive love of small details. In the very first level, for example, attentive players will discover some crayons near a window. If you pick them up, you can use them to paint the glass pane as you wish. But many other things from the environment can also be picked up, inspected at close range and manipulated. Especially worth seeing: drink cans can be crushed with the Knuckles controllers in your hand. Although this has no advantages in terms of gameplay, the immersion benefits immensely from such and other gimmicks.

The mixture makes the difference

In terms of game mechanics, "Half-Life: Alyx" remains true to the proven series formula and confronts you with an excellently balanced mixture of exploration and puzzle sections as well as challenging battles against a multitude of enemies typical of the series in unprecedented visual quality. Whether it's headcrabs, barnicles, zombies, combat warriors, ant lions, drones or the three-legged striders: the 3D models based on the Source 2 engine are a feast for the eyes and seem almost photorealistic in places.

From time to time you will also meet exciting newcomers such as Jeff in chapter 7, a headless zombie in a protective suit whose entire body is controlled by a mysterious fungus. Jeff can't see you, but he can hear you very well. By the way, you don't have any weapons in this section of the game, so you have to mislead Jeff by throwing objects in order to survive. Just one of many great level design ideas!

Also new are headcrabs that protect their entire backs with impenetrable armour. Shooting at them is a waste of ammunition and leads nowhere. Only if you aim at the red glowing mark on their abdomen or use guards do you have a chance of getting rid of the intrusive beasts.

The battles are spiced up by the omnipresent scarcity of ammunition. This can be frustrating at first, but it becomes less so as soon as you regularly search chests, lockers, cupboards, drawers, shelves, corpses, etc. for magazines and cartridges and are careful when firing your weapons.

Speaking of weapons: Both the pistol, shotgun and SMG are excellently modelled and can be upgraded several times at the Combine factory in exchange for so-called polymers. If you give the pistol a reflex sight, for example, the weak points of your enemies are highlighted in orange when you aim with the rear sight. But a laser sight, grenade launcher attachment and an extended magazine are also welcome improvements that make the sweaty battles noticeably easier.

Alyx's gravity gloves are not a weapon in the classic sense, but they are nevertheless extremely practical. Developed by her regularly radioed-in ally Russell, they ensure that you can pull almost all small and medium-sized objects in your environment towards you, even from a greater distance. Simply aim, wait until the object lights up orange, flick your wrist briefly and the object flies in your direction. This takes a little getting used to at first, but then it quickly becomes second nature and adds depth to the gameplay. If you are clever, you can use this technique to steal the grenades attached to the belts of combat soldiers, for example.

Motion sickness hardly stands a chance

And how does "Half-Life: Alyx" do in terms of anti-motion sickness measures? Extremely well! The main reason for this, apart from the high level of immersion, is the fact that Valve offers a variety of locomotion and comfort functions. For example, those who like can combine classic free-roam locomotion with teleport manoeuvres, configure the angle of the view rotation in detail and even determine whether the sticky tongue of a Barnicle pulls the game character up to the ceiling or simply causes damage while standing on the ground.

Another great feature: If desired, "Half-Life: Alyx" can also be played sitting down (ducking is then done at the touch of a button) and controlled with only one controller. This is a blessing for people with physical disabilities or infirmities!

Wow, what an experience! Even the very first minutes of play are nothing less than a revelation for every gaming enthusiast and make it unmistakably clear why Valve's decision to develop the next "Half-Life" exclusively for the medium of VR was exactly the right one.

Whether it's the almost photorealistic graphics in places, the omnipresent love of small details or the incredibly intuitive controls: "Half-Life: Alyx" sets VR standards in all these areas. On top of that, it not only tells a great story, but also offers 15 hours of highly entertaining gameplay. Sneaking through pitch-black tunnels with a torch at the ready while Russell encourages you, fighting nasty headcrabs with scarce ammunition supplies, smoking out heavy combat infantry with grenades, solving tricky 3D puzzles with the multitool - plenty of variety is provided.