[ACS_Solver]

Could you share a few spoiler-free thoughts about HL:A as a dedicated series fan?

I'm in the same boat. Loved HL1, then HL2 even more, it's one of the very rare games I regard as perfect. Then both Episode 1 and Episode 2 surpassed my expectations, and I was very disappointed with Valve's refusal to say anything at all for years. The HL:A announcement took me by surprise, as I had given up on more HL.

Do you find HL:A to be a good Half-Life game first and foremost? Do you feel it has the top-notch environmental storytelling and attention to detail that the series is known for? Does it make good use of VR's potential?

I'm considering upgrading my PC this year, largely for HL:A and Cyberpunk 2077. The last time I tried VR was with the Oculus Rift in 2016, and it felt underwhelming to me. Very cool for an evening, but then the novelty wore off and the actual gaming felt less satisfying than traditional non-VR.

[rgovostes]

> Does it make good use of VR's potential?

Of the handful of games I've played in VR, Alyx by far feels the most like I am physically present and able to interact with the world. The one time I've ever been tricked by the illusion was when I bent down to look under furniture in a room, and then I tried to push on said furniture to help me stand back up, oops.

Like other Half-Life games it has great physics. You can pick up a marker and write on a pane of glass; you can shake a bottle and see the liquid inside slosh around. The gravity gun concept returns and it is as much fun in VR as when you first picked it up in HL2.

I won't go too much into VR-centric game mechanics for spoiler reasons, but I'm impressed with how creative they got with hand tracking. As one example, reloading is combat is tense because I have to actually go through the motions of getting out a new clip, ejecting the spent one, chambering a round, etc. while a zombie lumbers toward me.

[ehsankia]

The other comment did a great job of explaining HL:A specifically, but I'll answer a few other parts of your comment.

> Do you find HL:A to be a good Half-Life game first and foremost

Absolutely, it's raw HL. The game itself is in the 12 hour range, which is very much in the HL1/HL2 range. It does feel a bit shorter (narratively), but it still is full of content switching between puzzles, combat and story telling.

> Do you feel it has the top-notch environmental storytelling and attention to detail that the series is known for?

Absolutely. It is a bit different, since this is a VR game, but if anything I would say it's even stronger here. The focus is different to fit the controls, but there are truly "WOW" moments. I still remember having my mind blown in HL2 when the huge tower falls as you ride the boat. This game similarly amazes, but in an even more immersive way.

> The last time I tried VR was with the Oculus Rift in 2016, and it felt underwhelming to me

As someone who has had the original Oculus prototype, then the HTC Vive, then the Valve Index. I will say that each iteration made an order of magnitude difference in almost every metric: immersion, comfort, motion sickness, etc. With the latest setup, I would easily spend 3-4 hours straight in Alyx, until the point where my legs started hurting (before my face/stomach, which was the case before).

> I regard as perfect

Unfortunately, I think this is why it ultimately took them so long. It was truly hard to follow up all those great games, and they wanted something they could really be happy with. HL:A does mostly deliver that, though partly sidestep the issue by switching to a different medium, where the standards of a perfect game have not yet been created.

At the end of the day, it does very much feel like a HL game, to a veteran who has played their games over and over.

[akhilcacharya]

> Do you find HL:A to be a good Half-Life game first and foremost? Do you feel it has the top-notch environmental storytelling and attention to detail that the series is known for? Does it make good use of VR's potential?

Yes, 100%. It's the best VR game I've played and I own ~30. Its the only VR game I've played for more than ~1.5 hours straight (I finished Alyx in 2 4 hour sessions and 1 3 hour session).

It's not a novelty. There's segments in the game (particularly at the end) that are incredibly engrossing as a result of VR.