Gaming
Games
8 tips for playing Half-Life: Alyx, the amazing new VR game
It feels like it took a lifetime coming, but we finally have a new Half-Life game – and it’s in virtual reality. Master the game with our handy guide before donning your headset.
Look, let’s be clear from the start. Half-Life: Alyx isn’t Half-Life 3, the first-person shooter we’ve been waiting 13 years for now. But you know what? Having played it, maybe that’s OK. Instead, it’s something new, something more than a numbered sequel.
When it comes to games that have shaped the way we play today, Valve’s Half-Life series is always at the forefront of our thoughts. Pushing physics-based gameplay in a way we’d never seen before, Half-Life 2 even launched on Steam, creating history yet again with a (then) new digital storefront for PC gamers that's still the market leader today.
Publisher Valve is turning to new technology again for the first Half-Life game in well over a decade. Half-Life: Alyx is a VR-only title, and in some minds the first true “system seller” of an idea that, until now, had been reserved for the well-off and the early adopters of the gaming world. Once again, Half-Life and Valve are changing the game.
We’ve played it and are already hooked, so we’re here to give you the advice to help you get the most out of it. Whether this is your first foray into the world of VR or you're looking to get the most out of this decade-in-the-making experience, we’ve got your back with our Half-Life: Alyx tips.
1. Locomotion and taking breaks
Looking at your hands can help ground you in VR
© Valve
There's a tendency for VR to be too much for some, and that means if this is your first VR-rodeo you may encounter some motion sickness. Firstly you should experiment with all the different movement settings in the game. Valve have been keen to stress all play styles are being catered for, meaning you can choose between instantly warping from place to place, or having full control over your movement. If you’re inexperienced you might want to go for the teleport warp method, but hardcore VR players can jump into the full motion controls with the “continuous” setting. Crucially though, if you start to feel even slightly poorly: take a break immediately. Don’t power through thinking it will pass, because it won’t, and the longer you stay “in the matrix” feeling rough, the longer it’ll take to recover later. Don’t be brave when it comes to this, be sensible. Take breaks and savour every minute of this once-in-a-lifetime game. It’s not going anywhere and you don’t get any prizes for rushing through it.
2. What’s the best way to play it?
Let’s get into the nitty gritty for a moment: despite Valve wanting you to play with their latest (and most expensive) tech, the Valve Index, Half-Life: Alyx also works just fine on HTC Vive, Oculus Rift (and Quest), as well as Samsung Odyssey and other Windows Mixed Reality headsets. If you’re not using the Index, you'll lose some fidelity as that uses Valve‘s custom controllers for some fancy finger tracking, but the developers have also included support for multiple methods of play, so you can even play sat down or stood up. If you want the ultimate version of the game, sure, you may need to go and spend a lot of money, but if you have a VR set-up already (PSVR aside), you’re going to have a fine time with Alyx.
3. Every gun is one-handed, use that to your advantage
Keep on your toes and don’t mix up which hand your gun's in
© Valve
A lot of VR games involve shooting, but Valve’s Half-Life series has always been story-focused as well as combat and physics-based. Every gun in Alyx is single-handed, meaning you can always concentrate on one hand for taking out enemies and the other for movement. Getting this stuck firmly in your head early on will allow you to play in a more relaxed way because you won’t be worrying about juggling weapons in a hostile world where headcrabs are jumping at you and Combine soldiers are raining fire upon you to stop your revolutionary ways.
4. Movement is key and in VR you can see everywhere
Newcomers to VR are going to get attacked from all around because existing in a truly immersive 3D world is a genuinely new and exciting thing to perceive. Get used to physically moving your head to look round corners, actually check behind you to be sure the enemies have gone down and, crucially, stayed down. Physically crouching to avoid gunfire takes some getting used to, but once you master it and pop out of cover with a well timed and well aimed shot to save your bacon, it really does feel amazing.
On top of that, something Half-Life: Alyx does better than any game in its genre is the physicality of its world. Is a tin can obscuring your view of an enemy? Move it. What about that debris on the floor, is it hiding some resources? See that headcrab about to attach itself to your face? Why not fend it off with an office chair? Think laterally, and try not to be constrained by what you know about games: VR changes everything.
5. Be quiet until you have to go loud
You exist physically in VR, so use light and shadow to stay safe
© Valve
Half-Life is, of course, famous for its headcrab enemy, reminding us of the facehuggers from the incredible Alien movies, and boy do you not want them leaping at your face in virtual reality. Don’t let them get you, so be quiet. If they haven’t been spooked and are already on an enemy that’s become zombified, consider letting them slowly pass and sneaking by them without causing alarm.
Furthermore, it’s all well and good being able to smash cans around to get a better view (as we mentioned above) but do you need to, or would you be better served being silent for a moment and surveying the scene? It’s about understanding the realistic world you’re playing in and deciding whether you can move carefully through an environment and if that works for you in the moment. In the middle of a fight, however, you are totally off the hook for barrelling through the room leaving it looking like a skip has been overturned inside. Choose your moments to go loud carefully.
6. The audio and visual cues are helpful, so pay attention
Your gun has a little heads-up display on it so you know how much ammo you’ve got left. On top of that, because you need to load every new magazine individually, sometimes you have to hit an additional button to finish loading it. Luckily, even when aiming down the iron sights you’ll see a red glowing light indicating you haven’t turned the safety off. Glowing things are generally a good indication that something isn’t right or that you need to pay attention elsewhere. Once you’ve gotten an upgrade for your gun, aiming will be easier, and again, look for the colour to help you out.
Pay attention to the visual cues and you’ll stay alive a lot longer. Stuck on a puzzle? Look around, because you’ve almost certainly missed the clue or solution. Perhaps it’s in graffiti on the wall, or some strange alien hieroglyphics that you had previously thought was just a pretty decoration. On top of this, your friend Russell will talk to you over the radio, so if you get stuck just hang around for a little while and he’ll try to prod you in the right direction.
7. The puzzles are varied, but usually blue is win
You won’t get much downtime, but always use your environment well
© Valve
There are puzzles in the game that Alyx has to use her multi-tool on. Most of the time these involve thrusting your tool into the electronic slot, then solving one of a few different types of puzzle. The key to almost all of them is “blue = win”. Use your physical ability to move around a puzzle to get a better view of it, then solve it. Because so many are thrown at you early on, it’s easy to feel the game isn’t teaching you a lesson, but once again this is a case of thinking differently because you’re in VR and can get a different angle on things.
8. Take your time, stay in cover
Use the environment to your advantage
© Valve
Due to this being a VR game, it’s not quite as fast-paced as something like Titanfall 2 or Doom Eternal. The progression of the game eases you in slowly, but try to stay calm when multiple zombies are approaching and remember you have the tools to get distance between you and your foes. If you run out of ammo and need space to reload, give yourself space, but be aware that your enemy can throw things at you.
There are nooks and crannies everywhere that will give you valuable time to shield from gunfire, so be sure to take your time, stay in cover, and play your way. You’ll want to take on the combine in a one-on-one fight most of the time anyway, so why not use cover and do that? Valve took their sweet time with Half-Life: Alyx, so you’d do well to as well.
