Half-Life: Alyx

Half-Life: Alyx is a 2020 virtual reality (VR) first-person shooter game developed and published by Valve. It was released for Windows on March 23, 2020, and for Linux on May 15, with support for most PC-compatible VR headsets. Players control Alyx Vance on a mission to seize a superweapon belonging to the alien Combine before the events of Half-Life 2 (2004). Like previous Half-Life games, Alyx incorporates combat, puzzles and exploration. Players use VR to interact with the environment and fight enemies, using "gravity gloves" to snatch objects from a distance, similarly to the gravity gun from Half-Life 2.

The previous Half-Life game, Episode Two, was released in 2007 and ended on a cliffhanger. Valve made several attempts to develop further Half-Life games, but could not settle on a direction. In the mid-2010s, Valve began experimenting with VR and identified demand for a major VR game. They experimented with prototypes using their various game series, such as Portal, and found that Half-Life was best suited for VR.

Alyx entered production using Valve's new Source 2 engine in 2016, with the largest team in Valve's history, including members of Campo Santo, a studio acquired by Valve in 2018. VR affected almost every aspect of the design, including level design, combat, movement and pacing. Valve planned to launch Alyx alongside its Index VR headset in 2019, but delayed it to rewrite the story following internal feedback.

Alyx received acclaim for its graphics, voice acting, narrative and atmosphere, and has been described as the first VR killer app. It was nominated for numerous awards and won "Best VR/AR" at the 2020 Game Awards. Valve acknowledged that the audience for VR games was limited, and Gabe Newell, Valve's president, described Alyx as a long-term investment into new technologies. As of 2024, it had sold more than two million copies.

Half-Life Alyx is a first-person shooter played in virtual reality (VR). Players control the Resistance member Alyx Vance, who fights the Combine, an alien empire that has conquered Earth. Like previous Half-Life games, Alyx incorporates combat, puzzles, exploration and narrative. Players use VR to get supplies, use interfaces, throw objects and use weapons. Like the gravity gun from Half-Life 2, the gravity gloves allow players to pick up objects from a distance.

Alyx includes elements of survival horror, with frightening encounters and scarce ammunition. In one chapter, players encounter Jeff, a blind monster attracted to sound, and must move quietly and throw objects to distract him. Alien spores in this chapter cause Alyx to cough, which players can prevent by holding their hands over their mouths.

Alyx supports all VR headsets compatible with SteamVR, including the Valve Index, HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Meta Quest and all Windows Mixed Reality headsets. As the gameplay was designed for VR, Valve said they had no plans for a non-VR version. Alyx also supports user mods via the Steam Workshop.

Earth has been conquered by the alien Combine, who have implemented a brutal police state. In City 17, Alyx Vance (Ozioma Akagha) and her father Eli (James Moses Black) are arrested by Combine forces as part of a crackdown on the Resistance. The Resistance member Russell (Rhys Darby), an inventor, rescues Alyx and warns her that the Combine are planning to transport Eli to Nova Prospekt for interrogation.