Half-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.
Everyone who wanted this probably already has it.
I’m buying it in advance of getting the PSVR2 PC adapter in a couple of months when it launches because I’m impatient
This is the 'normal' price when on sale, which happens every few months so no hurry.
Playing it without VR is not worth it. If you want to do that just watch a video on youtube
Do not play this outside of VR
I did and it was okay, for the story if anything, the game felt simple without the VR immersion.
Oh my lord! I was ready to buy this at full price because of how highly rated it is. Thank you!
Is worth buying an occulus 2 second hand, replace the bits you touch then on sell after completion of the game.
Hmmm… cannot comment on this one because I dove headfirst into a Quest 3. I considered the discounted Quest 2 but after watching the reviews, I gathered that Quest 2 is more akin to an experimental device and the tech improvement in the latest iteration is insane
Nah basically the 3 is better resolution (not sure if HL Alyx is upscaled) and better pass though camera for AR. Otherwise the 2 is the way to go and at the price point it is second hand its worth it to experience the game properly.
Edit: I would go OC3 if looking to get into vr and keeping the headset beyond this game. My comment was more about playing the game properly in the cheapest way.
Experimental device? Wtf was "experimental" about the Quest 2? It's a pretty developed piece of hardware and is still a great piece of kit for those on a budget, I'd still recommend the Quest 2 if it weren't for the Quest 3s on the horizon soon to replace it as the budget option.
quest 2 is a solid vr headset in it's own right, if you're talking about experimental, as in black and white passthru MR, it wasn't meant for what we know is pass thru on the quest pro and quest 3. If anything, the quest pro felt more like an experimental headset compared to how good the quest 3 is right now.
all that being said, HF:Alyx on the quest 3 (via air or linkplay) is notably better than the quest 2. I've played it on both.
There are quite a few improvements in Quest 3, but some of them (much faster processor, much better passthrough for mixed reality) don't make much difference to PCVR/Alyx. Quest 2 is quite good for Alyx.
Don't feel bad about paying more, though — the lenses, resolution, audio, IPD adjustment, and weight position are all improved and if you're playing via wireless streaming, WiFi hardware is also improved. Controllers are better overall, although worse in a few specific circumstances (that probably don't apply to Alyx).
Isn't this cheaper on the high seas?
Is there a discount on PSVR2? Or full price even??? :(
Do you have a ps5? If so, Amazon has the Psvr2 cheapish still
Regardless I’d still recommend you look at meta quest 3 instead
I have a PSVR2… But I don't have Half Life Alyx! Haha! It looks extremely unlikely that valve will bring it to the PlayStation, but I can always dream!
It’s never coming to PS5, but Sony will release a PC adapter around August so you can play PC VR games using the headset, which is why I’ve bought this game
Get them off marketplace got mine for $400
When people play this. Do they play it standing up or sitting down?
Been on the fence about buying it for years. I fear ill suffer the repetition of other similar style games. Horizon Sunshine, after the fall etc.
I played sitting down most of the time, the game has an option to crouch and uncrouch to standing height so you won't miss out on anything if playing while seated.
I have relatively a large lounge and I played the entire thing standing up. It was so cool being able to walk around, duck to take cover and peek etc. It was exhausting but in a good way, the game gets very intense at times!
Only downsize is that every other VR games felt underwhelming after playing Alyx.
It supports both. I played standing.
It's probably the most polished VR game in existence and one of the highest-rated games of all time (all games, not just VR games), although a minority primarily looking for challenging moment-to-moment gameplay are disappointed with the gameplay.
I really want to play this but I have to buy VR just for this.
Will this play on a quest 2 natively or do I need to connect it to a PC?
You'll need to connect it to your PC. I played it through Virtual Desktop and it ran pretty well on my Quest 3.
I presume the you need a decent graphics card for that? Or can you run it using integrated or old gen stuff?
You’ll definitely need a good graphics card, something around 6700XT level would do well for medium settings.
@Jackson: SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
MINIMUM:
Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
OS: Windows 10
Processor: Core i5-7500 / Ryzen 5 1600
Memory: 12 GB RAM
Graphics: GTX 1060 / RX 580 - 6GB VRAM
RX580 can be had for $149
https://www.scorptec.com.au/product/graphics-cards/amd/10763…
@choofa: I bought my quest 2 for 120, not jumping over a RX580, but I will probably dig around to see if there's anything lying around I can use, hence no rush. I haven't yet platyed the 3 quest games I got for a couple of bucks each recently.
Is there much difference in quality between games that require a PC and those that run natively?
@Jackson: Huge. Vr graphics on the Quest 2 are a bit like like the Nintendo Wii. Alex still looks gorgeous for a 4 year old title and I've never come across anything that's even close to it yet in terms of awe and enjoyment.
I had an RX580 when i first got my Q2, it does struggle a bit. The problem is if the pc struggles you'll get jitter and frame drops with detract from the experience and can make you feel nauseous.
@depecid: without a doubt, Alyx is the best VR experience you can have right now (without using haptic suits, or walking platforms)
@Jackson: graphical difference, yes. you won't get dynamic lighting or high res polycount/textures natively on the quest HMDs, the processing limitations are akin to a Nintendo switch.
actual quality/diversity in VR games are comparable to PCVR, if you consider app labs and sidequest (sideloader), not just the meta app store
@retort: Agreed, although there are some things like Skyrim and various flight/racing/space sims that don't have much that compares on standalone.
@Jackson: @Sven Viking I completely forgot about VR mods, good call. I guess the benefit of having the quest is you can have both
*comp with good GPU not included
@Jackson a lot of rich modding communities have VR mods; Skyrim, RDR2, Subnautica, etc.
@retort: Do these mods require the original game or are they complete downloadable versions? If the former I guess I might have to start getting them on PC as I mainly play on xbox
@Jackson: Skyrim VR is a separate official game—there are a lot of mods for it but you need to own Skyrim VR to use them. https://store.steampowered.com/app/611670/The_Elder_Scrolls_…
Same situation with Fallout 4 VR.
A number of flight/racing/space sims have official VR support with no mods needed (e.g. MS Flight Simulator, DCS, War Thunder (janky?), Elite: Dangerous, Star Wars: Squadrons, Assetto Corsa, Euro Truck Simulator 2, Dirt Rally 2.0, Automobilista 2, City Car Driving).
VTOL VR is a good VR-only flight sim where you use VR controllers to manipulate virtual controls rather than using physical controls.
Whats the best / easiest way to play this on a Quest 3? any way to load it onto the headset or do i need an adapter / play through wifi / good graphics card?
best way is with a suped up computer, steam link, either a long usb c cable or a wifi 6 router.
Alyx was designed for PCVR only
![[PC, VR, Steam] Half Life Alyx $29.90 @ Steam](https://files.ozbargain.com.au/n/83/853783.jpg?h=218b05b8)
Advice on when I should buy it, without owning the hardware?
Is that mod worth it?