95
Half-Life Alyx is proof that Valve is still at its best creatively. This emblematic franchise has been brought to virtual reality; in Alyx we enjoy an immersion never seen before, with comfortable and intuitive mechanics as well as excellent visuals and atmosphere that accompany this interesting adventure within the iconic saga.
92
It’s a good thing that Valve didn’t add a digit to the title: from Half-Life 3 we expect nothing short of revolution, while Alyx is “merely” an amazing game. [Issue#245, p.50]
100
A special mention should be made of the game's dialog, mainly consisting of Alyx herself and Russel, a scientist who Alex remains in constant communication with throughout the game. Their relationship feels genuine, the conversations between them are enjoyable, and almost all of the intended comedic moments land perfectly, which is something most video games seem to have trouble with.
8
Very good. Such an experience. The best VR game ever. EVER. Very nice. Gonna play it again soon.
7
this is a really cool game, but these 10/10 ratings are delusional and/or bots. there is a huge cost barrier required to get this going, plus troubleshooting vr which includes unique issues with each and every part of each device. i see basically nothing in this game that genuinely requires vr, so it's quite ridiculous that we still do not have a basic novr version available on steam. i really can't think of many titles that released in such a fashion. once you get the game working, the movement is nonsensically set to teleport only and refuses to allow the conventional stick controls everyone expected. to use regular controls, you need to select "continuous movement" which makes it sound like i will be playing house of the dead. even once you set the sticks to conventional settings, the right stick is unable to look up or down, since down on the stick is jump and up does literally nothing. this is pointless convolution, the control scheme is not so unique that we would require the wheel to be reinvented. yes, i like looking around with the headset, but why would i want decades of muscle memory for control schemes to be replaced? the controllers have buttons and touch pads, they just choose to use the stick to jump instead? it makes for a very unintuitive cherry on top of an already unintuitive hardware setup, regardless of which model you have chosen. besides this, there is no excuse whatsoever to not allow full control remapping, especially in a pc game. i'm sitting here with a literal handful of unused buttons, but down has to be jump? the game is excellent once it gets going, but there are so many barriers just to getting the game running that it feels insulting for the controls to be so bad out of the box. they work pretty well after you change the settings, but the defaults are psychopathic and the settings menu is threadbare 6 years after release and nonsensically organized. for how much this costs, i would expect the ui to be finished at the very least.
10
With this game Valve raised again the bar,its the VR game with the most quality,probably one of the best Games ever
Half-Life: Alyx
Released On:
Mar 23, 2020
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
93
User score
Universal Acclaim
9.1
My Score
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All Platforms
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
97% Positive
67 Reviews
67 Reviews
3% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
May 15, 2020
100
A special mention should be made of the game's dialog, mainly consisting of Alyx herself and Russel, a scientist who Alex remains in constant communication with throughout the game. Their relationship feels genuine, the conversations between them are enjoyable, and almost all of the intended comedic moments land perfectly, which is something most video games seem to have trouble with.
Mar 27, 2020
100
Half-life 3 this ain’t, then. But Alyx might actually be something better: an awe-inspiring amalgamation of atmospherics and immersion which does for VR gaming what its forebears did for the first person shooter genre all those years ago. And while it’s a shame the steep price of entry will prevent a significant number of fans from experiencing its majesty, those who do will likely emerge from this most sensational form of self-isolation with their view of the world altered forever.
User score
Universal Acclaim
91% Positive
2740 Ratings
2740 Ratings
3% Mixed
76 Ratings
76 Ratings
6% Negative
190 Ratings
190 Ratings
Jan 5, 2026
10
With this game Valve raised again the bar,its the VR game with the most quality,probably one of the best Games ever
Dec 25, 2025
10
Favorite VR game of all time, perfect idea to make Alyx the lead since she carried her segments the second game with her charm.
Mar 28, 2020
98
Valve selects the best features of VR action games and takes them to another level. Half-Life: Alyx is not innovative in choosing what is needed for the perfect virtual reality experience – between interactivity of the environment, gestural use of firearms or environmental puzzles – but it is in putting together everything in the style of Half-Life. The kind of first person game that made the series famous, and forever changed the action adventure into a "before and after Gordon Freeman", returns to linear origins without genres contamination, becoming an immersive sim only for what falls within our view, or what we can physically accomplish in a crazy City 17. Masterful.
Mar 28, 2020
95
This is a triumph in almost every way. This is the most detailed, deepest and most elaborate VR game yet. No other VR game has so much variety and depth at the same time, combined with such a perfect tempo.
Apr 8, 2020
90
A truly triple-A game for VR that could very well exist on its own, without the immersion provided by virtual reality. This is a must-have title for everybody who owns a VR headset and a strong reason to buy one for everybody else.
Mar 23, 2020
90
This is hands-down the best virtual reality money can buy right now, and feels like a tantalizing promise of just what the big game studios could achieve if they were willing to put their time and money into creating a AAA experience for VR platforms.
Apr 1, 2020
60
Too often Half-Life: Alyx feels like baby's first VR shooter and for many — especially those who purchased VR hardware to play it — this isn't a dealbreaker. But trading off the Half-Life name for an introductory course to VR relegates HL: Alyx to spin-off territory when the characters involved and the story it tells could be so much more. Alyx Vance deserves better, and so too do VR gamers.
Dec 4, 2025
10
VR essential. Stunning immersion, physics, and graphics. PURE masterpiece. Best game ever.
Feb 9, 2026
7
this is a really cool game, but these 10/10 ratings are delusional and/or bots. there is a huge cost barrier required to get this going, plus troubleshooting vr which includes unique issues with each and every part of each device. i see basically nothing in this game that genuinely requires vr, so it's quite ridiculous that we still do not have a basic novr version available on steam. i really can't think of many titles that released in such a fashion. once you get the game working, the movement is nonsensically set to teleport only and refuses to allow the conventional stick controls everyone expected. to use regular controls, you need to select "continuous movement" which makes it sound like i will be playing house of the dead. even once you set the sticks to conventional settings, the right stick is unable to look up or down, since down on the stick is jump and up does literally nothing. this is pointless convolution, the control scheme is not so unique that we would require the wheel to be reinvented. yes, i like looking around with the headset, but why would i want decades of muscle memory for control schemes to be replaced? the controllers have buttons and touch pads, they just choose to use the stick to jump instead? it makes for a very unintuitive cherry on top of an already unintuitive hardware setup, regardless of which model you have chosen. besides this, there is no excuse whatsoever to not allow full control remapping, especially in a pc game. i'm sitting here with a literal handful of unused buttons, but down has to be jump? the game is excellent once it gets going, but there are so many barriers just to getting the game running that it feels insulting for the controls to be so bad out of the box. they work pretty well after you change the settings, but the defaults are psychopathic and the settings menu is threadbare 6 years after release and nonsensically organized. for how much this costs, i would expect the ui to be finished at the very least.
Sep 29, 2023
7
Alyx is an OK game praised for being the first and probably the only AAA game developed specially for VR. The graphics are very nice and the use of the gravity gloves is a nice touch, but the genious gameplay design which made Half-Life and specially Half-Life 2 masterpieces is just not there. The story is bland and the weaponry and enemy variety is scarce, there are barely any physics based puzzles (which would have been just perfect for a VR game) and the foes behavior is beyond dumb to make it an easy going experience even in the hardest difficulty. Some physics interactions are cool, like protecting yourself with car doors or any big item to stop headcrabs jumping at you (which once they hit any object they just become ragdolls for a while). I can understand how it is a good experience or how the ending (the only point where actually anything happens) is a great treat for the fans showing a possible future for the franchise. But other than that it has a very basic gameplay with an overly simplistic level design bringing pretty much nothing new to the table while also falling far away from the standards Half-Life 2 set back in the day.
Apr 20, 2025
4
It’s a cool game and all, but this is probably the most overrated game I’ve EVER seen in my life.
May 17, 2021
4
No amount of polish can make a fundamentally flawed game good, this is the case with HL:A. No amount of stunning visuals can mask antiquated movement systems, utterly odd physics choices, obviously flawed AI, or simply strange inventory and weapons. There's a sprinkle of humor here and there, but the characters are mostly forgettable. Overall, there's a gimmicky feel that's baked into the core of the game that stays for the duration of the game. The only thing it's worth playing for is the "A gnome vault of my own" achievement which very few people seem to have, and you get the bragging rights that go along with it.
SummaryHalf-Life: Alyx is Valve's VR return to the Half-Life series. It's the story of an impossible fight against a vicious alien race known as the Combine, set between the events of Half-Life and Half-Life 2. Playing as Alyx Vance, you are humanity's only chance for survival. The Combine's control of the planet since the Black Mesa incident h... Read More
Platforms:
- PC
Initial Release Date:Mar 23, 2020
Developer:
Publisher:
