The critically acclaimed Half-Life series making a return nearly 13 years later as the virtual reality-exclusive Half-Life: Alyx was a shock to some fans. The VR medium is still a bit of a niche market in 2020, whereas Half-Life appeals to a wider audience. There are plenty of VR headsets available to buy now, but there’s still the issue of affordability, accessibility, and the type of open space requirements and commitment that only serious VR consumers may be willing to accommodate. And then there’s the issue that Valve level designer Dario Casali refers to as VR’s “chicken and egg” situation.
In an interview with GameSpot, Casali broke down some of Valve’s priorities when it comes to developing for VR, and how its choice to make Half-Life: Alyx a VR exclusive plays into that strategy.
“[When] we were working on the Vive and The Lab, we really believed in the VR platform,” Casali told GameSpot. “We looked around and noticed that a lot of the content that was available for [VR] was not as we would traditionally see as AAA, completely full games… how we would traditionally define a Half-Life product.”
For Casali, it comes down to two things: hardware and software. “We thought to push this platform, we need to have accessible hardware, but we also need to have the software that people want to buy the hardware for,” Casali explained. “And it’s this awkward chicken and egg situation.”
Before Half-Life: Alyx’s conception, Valve began experimenting with a few of its IPs to find what was the best fit for VR. Casali noted that Portal was more of an “academic exercise” in discovering VR’s limitations, such as motion sickness.
Portal 2 (2011) — According to Half-Life: Alyx’s developers, Portal + VR = motion sickness.
“Portal is fantastic for a third of the way, stepping through portals and stuff,” Casali said. “But as soon as you start flinging yourself through portals…”
Valve even prototyped a Left 4 Dead-themed “exhibition area” with some iconic enemies, like a Smoker and a Tank. (Though despite rumors, Valve is not currently working on a next-gen Left 4 Dead game.)
“I was on Left 4 Dead for eight years, and I couldn’t stand in the room with those things,” programmer Kerry Davis said. “It was horrifying!”
But it was ultimately a 20-minute demo developed with old Half-Life 2 assets that clicked.
“We knew we wanted to make something compelling, and that something compelling became Half-Life,” Casali said. “The theory is that we create something that people can experience and really, really enjoy and feel like, ‘You know what? If I go back to flatscreen games, I’m going to really miss this element. I really want to come back to VR and I really want to experience this in VR.'”
While the need for more high-quality “AAA” level experiences in VR is something Valve is striving for with Half-Life: Alyx, Casali still acknowledged the issue of hardware.
“The other part of the chicken and the egg is that the hardware has to become more accessible,” Casali said. “I think it’s a matter of time. It’ll become more accessible, and then it’s just about the software. So we’re trying to push that side of it at the moment.”
Developer Infinity Ward has opened up about everything new coming to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One this week. And one of the latest additions is a brand-new Operator who brings along a very good dog that will spice up your finishing move.
Talon is the new operator to join both Modern Warfare and the game’s standalone battle royale Call of Duty: Warzone. He brings along two legendary blueprints and two Battle Pass tier skips, as well as his dog buddy Indiana, which can be commanded via Talon’s Finishing Move. The Talon bundle hits the Call of Duty store on Tuesday, March 24 and Indiana is “one of [the] many items [available to Talon].”
But, um, what and where is Indiana?
Call of Duty’s free-to-play battle royale experience Warzone finally has a dedicated Solo mode for those lone wolves who want to test their mettle against 149 other players. Sometime in the future, according to Infinity Ward, Warzone’s player count could eventually jump up to 200 per match.
In other Call of Duty news, a leak has appeared allegedly confirming the existence of a Modern Warfare 2 remaster. The details seem murky at the moment, but a South Korean ratings board suggests a “campaign remaster” of the classic Call of Duty title is on the way for consoles and PC.
In an unprecedented move, the International Olympic Committee has revealed that this summer’s Olympic Games, which were set to take place in Tokyo, Japan, are being postponed. The move is the latest cancellation in the face of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.
Speaking to USA Today, IOC member Dick Pound said, “On the basis of the information the IOC has, postponement has been decided. The parameters going forward have not been determined, but the Games are not going to start on July 24, that much I know.”
As for when the games are postponed until, that has yet to be decided. “We will postpone this and begin to deal with all the ramifications of moving this, which are immense,” Pound explained.
While an official postponement has not been announced by the IOC, Thomas Bach, president of the organization, said Sunday that the fate of the games would be decided over the next four weeks. One thing was for sure, though. Bach said the games would not be canceled.
If they were, it would not be the first time the Olympics have been called off. The Olympics were canceled in 1916 due to World War I, while World War II prevented the games from taking place in 1940 and 1944.
Virtual reality isn’t the most accessible platform. It can be expensive, it’s unfamiliar to the majority of the game-playing market, and it’s more physically demanding than traditional games, with very few ways to accommodate. Half-Life: Alyx‘s developers are optimistic about the future of VR, but they’re also aware of the challenges the platform faces. They have their own ideas about the “chicken and egg” situation when it comes to VR’s financial investment, they took careful measures to make sure Alyx wasn’t an overwhelming experience for new players, and they’ve included some accessibility options for players with disabilities.
GameSpot had the chance to speak with Valve level designer Dario Casali and programmer Kerry Davis about Half-Life: Alyx, including some of the ways they’ve tried to make the game a more enjoyable experience for all types of players.
“We definitely wanted to appeal to as many people as we could,” Casali tells GameSpot.
Beyond introducing VR mechanics in a slow, deliberate way so as to not overwhelm players, the team also tried to design with certain physical requirements in mind.
“We had to make sure you could play it seated,” says Davis, noting that it’s also playable standing or room-scale. “One of the later options that came in was single-controller mode. We thought–it seems like something we should be able to do, so why not? Why shouldn’t you be able to play the game with one hand?”
Alyx’s gravity gloves. Half-Life: Alyx is playable with one hand.
According to Davis, the team worked to modify interactions around those additional options so players using them “could have an equal experience.”
“Putting the grenade on the end of a shotgun is a two-handed interaction,” Davis explains. “So we had it so you could just touch the end of the gun to a grenade anywhere and it’ll attach itself.”
Davis recounts how testers actually started interacting with this option in unexpected ways.
“They’d equip the grenade in their hand, toss it up in the air, quickly pull out the shotgun, and catch the grenade on the way back down,” he says. “It was a real cool move to see.”
In addition to seated mode and one-handed mode, Half-Life: Alyx also has a light sensitivity option, height adjustment settings so players can avoid having to physically kneel and crouch, and four difficulty levels.
If you’re in need of an extra controller for your Nintendo Switch, then there are some great deals available right now. PowerA’s budget-minded controller line makes it easy to accrue controllers for Players 2, 3, and 4, and at the moment, Best Buy and Amazon have discounted a selection of its best. If you’re looking for solid, cheap controllers, Best Buy currently has a deal on three of PowerA’s wired Switch controllers. They’re discounted to $15, down from $25, and you have your choice between three different themes: Mario, Pikachu, and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
Some of PowerA’s controllers come with an extra pair of back buttons that you can remap to different inputs, though it’s important to note these wired controllers do not feature said buttons. Thankfully, if you’re interested in a pad that does come with them–or even a GameCube-inspired controller–PowerA has a bunch of different options.
PowerA’s controllers work well with most of the Switch’s games, and with the recent release of the latest Animal Crossing game, it’s the perfect time to get a new one. GameSpot’s Animal Crossing: New Horizons review-in-progress scores the game an 8/10, with reviews editor Kallie Plagge praising its expressive villagers, character customization, and impressive new Nook Miles system.
You can see a selection of PowerA’s best controllers at great prices below. A number of the controllers have different editions that you can view through a drop-down menu
Best Nintendo Switch controller deals
PowerA wired Nintendo Switch controllers
$15 ($25)
PowerA’s standard wired controllers are available at a discount right now. While these controllers are capable of playing most Switch games, it’s important to note they don’t feature rumble, motion controls, or NFC/Amiibo support.
PowerA Enhanced wireless Nintendo Switch controller
Starts at $33.74 ($50)
PowerA’s Enhanced line of controllers feature back buttons that can take on the function of any buttons you map them to. They’re remappable on the fly as well, so it’s easy to switch inputs depending on the game or situation you’re in. These controllers also feature motion controls, though they do not boast rumble or NFC/Amiibo support. On top of that, they are powered by two AA batteries, so you’ll need a pair of those if you want to use this pad.
PowerA wired GameCube-style controller for Nintendo Switch
$25
If you’re looking for a GameCube-style controller that can also double as a proper controller for most Switch games, then PowerA’s wired GameCube option is a good choice. The C-stick and D-pad are slightly bigger than the original GameCube’s controller. PowerA’s pad also features a left bumper button.
PowerA wireless GameCube-style controller for Nintendo Switch
$37 ($50)
PowerA’s wireless GameCube-style pad requires two AA batteries, but other than that, it features everything the wired controller does–with the addition of motion controls to boot. They’re regularly priced at $50, but Amazon has some good deals on a number of the different versions.
Click To Unmute
Size:
Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
Naturally, monumental expectations accompany the first Half-Life game in 13 years, and for the iconic franchise’s return to come in the form of a VR exclusive is undoubtedly bold. But at each step of the way, Half-Life: Alyx proves that almost everything the franchise did best is elevated by VR: the environmental puzzles that require a keen eye, the threat of a headcrab jumping for your face, the cryptic storytelling. The series’ staples are as great as ever here, and in its most powerful moments, Half-Life: Alyx confidently shows you why it couldn’t have been done any other way.
What’s a day in the life of Alyx Vance? In true Half-Life form, the entire game goes from morning to night in a single shot of first-person action in which you, as Alyx, trek through the undergrounds and abandoned zones of City 17. At first, it’s to save your dad Eli Vance from the clutches of the Combine. However, you’re subsequently led to uncover the nature of that massive floating structure that hovers over City 17, referred to as the Vault. With a cheeky sidekick Russell in your ear, and a trusty, prophetic Vortigaunt who comes in clutch, Alyx is more than prepared. A basic premise for sure, but the journey is thrilling, and the payoff is immense.
There’s a newfound intimacy captured in doing the things that Half-Life always asked of you. Because it’s a VR game, the way you look at and process your surroundings fundamentally changes, thus making the solutions to environmental puzzles more of a personal accomplishment than before. Simply finding the right objects to progress was fine with a keyboard and mouse, but when it’s your own hands turning valves, moving junk to find critical items, pulling levers, or hitting switches while turning your head to see the results of your actions, these become enticing gameplay mechanics rather than means for breaking up the pace. Without waypoints or objective markers to guide you, subtle visual cues and calculated level design lead you to the solutions, and progress feels earned because of that.
You may not have the Gravity Gun here, but the spirit of its physics-based interaction lives through the Gravity Gloves, both as a sensible thematic fit and tool for proper VR gameplay. They allow you to magnetically pull in key objects from afar, and catching them midair is always satisfying–especially when snatching a grenade off a Combine soldier to throw it back in their face.
Not only has Half-Life: Alyx made good on its shift to VR, it has elevated many of the aspects we’ve come to love about Half-Life games.
What’s just as important is Alyx’s multitool, which serves as a way to engage in the game’s simple yet enjoyable spatial puzzles. Rewiring circuitry to unlock paths forward is the multitool’s most crucial function, though, so you’ll need a sharp eye for tracing where wires and circuits lead and use the multitool’s capability of exposing the flow of currents. Trying to find solutions can be frustrating at times, but once you understand the rules, how they grow more complex and incorporate the environment as the game goes on, it then gives way to a sense of accomplishment.
Once you get the hang of its mechanics, combat ramps up the intensity.
Half-Life: Alyx revolves around the balance of the aforementioned puzzle elements and its suspenseful combat scenarios. It may not have many of the bombastic firefights, helicopter chases, or seemingly insurmountable enemies from the series’ past–most of that’s been exchanged for close encounters, sometimes tapping into a horror element that Half-Life had only previously toyed with.
Headcrabs aren’t the annoying pests they were before; at times, they’re terrifying because they will literally latch onto your head or cause the occasional jump scare. The same goes for Barnacles; trust me when I say that you do not want your own virtual body dragged up toward the ceiling by its disgusting slimy tongue. Other scenarios play on navigating pitch-black darkness with your wrist-mounted flashlight as Xen creatures lurk about. There’s also an entire chapter dedicated to “Jeff,” an invincible mutant with sharp hearing who can’t see, and he must be dealt with through clever environmental manipulation. A genuine dread you might not expect from Half-Life lingers throughout.
Combine soldiers may still be knobheads, but when they’re chasing you down in VR and your sick headshot skills aren’t there to save you, their threat becomes imminent and sometimes nerve-wracking. You’ll hear the familiar radio chatter of the Combine, and feel relieved at the sound of the recognizable flatlining ring of a fallen Combine soldier. It’s also nostalgic and oddly comforting to hear those signature old-school techno beats during most of these heated firefights, and then heal up on a health charger that uses the same sound effect since Half-Life 1. There aren’t many types of Combine soldiers or styles of encounters, but I was always eager to face them head-on in each scenario.
Alyx herself packs light when it comes to weapons, with only a pistol, shotgun, and SMG. However, all three have a few upgrades to make them more effective, which must be done at Combine Fabricator stations at certain points in the game. The only real collectible is Resin, and pieces are scattered about each level. With ammo often scarce and Resin tucked away in corners, scavenging is a core element, further emphasizing Alyx’s scrappy nature. And honestly, the slim arsenal fits the types of combat sequences throughout the game.
It’s as satisfying to take your punchy shotgun to a Combine heavy as it is to ignite conveniently placed explode-y red barrels or clip weak points off Antlions with well-placed pistol shots when four or five of them are fast approaching. That’s plenty to juggle in VR and strikes a balance between being simple enough to handle and complex enough to take advantage of VR’s unique aspects. You’ll physically duck in and out of cover and peek around corners ready to bust shots, and frantically string together the fun reload gestures as enemies barrel down on you–these are the qualities of any good VR shooter, though here, in its distinctly Half-Life form.
When looking at gameplay as a whole, Half-Life: Alyx takes many of the concepts we’ve seen evolve since VR’s inception and distills them to their fundamentals. It executes most of them to a T, thus creating a VR experience that’s a full, cohesive whole. A number of accessibility options are available as well; different movement and turning styles can help mitigate motion sickness, and there’s a single-controller mode that allows you to performing all the game’s necessary actions on one hand. You can also have crouching and standing actions mapped to buttons for height adjustment, making the seated VR experience better.
Fighting the Combine will bring back memories of Half-Life 2 with their radio chatter and flatline ring.
That said, environmental interaction isn’t perfect. Doors and mechanisms you need to grip don’t always react to your movements the way you’d expect, and sometimes there are just too many unimportant objects scattered about that obscure the thing you’re actually trying to pull in with your Gravity Gloves. Thankfully, these instances are rare enough as to not drag down otherwise intuitive mechanics.
For as well-executed as its various elements are, the front half of the game does settle into a bit of routine. You may start to see through some of the trite aspects of the combat challenges, scripted sequences, and reliance on narrow corridors for stretches. At one point, I wondered where the game was going or why I was putting in this effort to get to this mysterious floating vault. But there comes a turning point, and the practiced routines pay off as you begin to feel the game’s increasingly dangerous atmosphere.
The very concept of VR becomes the core narrative device–your hands, and by extension, Alyx’s actions, are fundamental to the delivery of its best moments.
You’ll be struck by the awe-inspiring sights throughout the journey across City 17, the thrill of firefights that ramp up in intensity while performing the VR-specific mechanics, and the unbearable suspense of some levels. Yet all those pale in comparison to the final hour, when Half-Life: Alyx solidifies itself as the boldest the series has ever been.
The very concept of VR becomes the core narrative device–your hands, and by extension, Alyx’s actions, are fundamental to the delivery of its best moments. In its finality, you’ll truly understand why VR was the only way this game could have even existed–it’s something surreal, revelatory, and incredibly empowering. Half-Life: Alyx has far-reaching implications for the future of the franchise, both in where it goes next and what forms future games can even take. And in true Half-Life fashion, more questions than answers linger, but for good reason and not without a reminder of why you love the series to begin with.
Some views across City 17 are breathtaking, especially in VR.
Yes, this game is somewhat of a companion piece to mainline Half-Life games, taking place five years before Half-Life 2, but that doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things. Disappointment you may have felt in its 13-year hiatus will feel like water under the bridge, and in a way, have played into just how powerful Half-Life: Alyx turned out to be. The names, the faces, the iconic objects that have become synonymous with Half-Life have their specific place. And if you weren’t aware previously, you’ll see just how important Alyx Vance–the series’ most infallible personality–has been the entire time.
Not only has Half-Life: Alyx made good on its shift to VR, it has elevated many of the aspects we’ve come to love about Half-Life games. It may not be as bombastic as previous games, but the intimacy of VR brings you closer to a world you might have thought you knew over the past 22 years. Even when familiarity starts to settle in, its gameplay systems still shine as a cohesive whole. And as it concludes, Half-Life: Alyx hits you with something unforgettable, transcending VR tropes for one of gaming’s greatest moments.
Click To Unmute
Size:
Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
Half-Life: Alyx has a number of accessibility options for players with disabilities, players who are prone to motion sickness, and players who are new to virtual reality. One of the most useful options is the ability to play Half-Life: Alyx seated.
Many mainstream VR games allow you to do this, but since Half-Life: Alyx is a full-length VR game and a VR-exclusive–meaning there will be no other way to play it except with a VR headset and PC–we thought it was particularly important to highlight how to do it.
Below you’ll find a quick guide on playing Half-Life: Alyx seated. For more on difficulty options, how to adjust for motion sickness, how to play in one-handed mode, and more, see our full Half-Life: Alyx accessibility guide.
Enabling Seated Mode In SteamVR
Before you play Half-Life: Alyx, you’ll need to go through SteamVR’s room setup. One of the first thing it prompts you to select is to set up for Room-Scale or Standing Only. Don’t let the wording mislead you!
The Room Setup window in SteamVR.
The Room-Scale option still lets you play Standing and Seated in VR–you’ll just choose that if you have at least a 6.5 x 5 feet space in your space to play. If not, select Standing Only, which also allows for Seated experiences in VR. It’s also for people who have limited space to play, regardless of whether they’re sitting or standing. Choose the one that works for you, but take note that you’ll have to recalibrate your setup if you or someone else you share a VR station with will be switching between standing and seated play.
If you’ve set up VR before, you’re probably already aware of what settings work for you. If not, you’ll probably need to play around with room setup a few times to get things right. One step to note in particular is floor calibration.
Height calibration in SteamVR setup.
If you’re playing seated, one way to do it is to have the headset on your head and calibrate your seated height instead of the floor.
Once you load up the game, there are more options to help you play in seated mode.
Enabling Seated Options In Half-Life: Alyx
Once you’re in Half-Life: Alyx, navigate to the accessibility options in the main menu screen. You can also access these options mid-game. You’re looking for the Height Adjustment options, of which there are four. Find them listed below, along with their in-game descriptions:
Height Adjust: Crouch – Crouch action only. Stand is disabled. When the crouch action is enabled, toggle to quickly duck or adjust to a lowered position.
Height Adjust: Stand – Stand action only. Crouch is disabled. When the stand action is enabled, toggle to raise your position to help with reach. Recommended during seated play.
Height Adjust: Crouch And Stand – When the crouch and stand actions are enabled, use them to lower or to raise your position on two separate inputs.
Height Adjust: Hybrid – Hybrid uses a single input for both crouch and stand actions. To crouch, click to lower your position. To stand, press and hold to raise your position.
The in-game options note Height Adjust: Stand as the recommended option for seated play, but that will depend on how you calibrated your height and seated height in SteamVR setup. It may very well work for you, but another option to consider is Height Adjust: Crouch And Stand. This maps crouch to the left controller’s joystick button and raised height to your right controller’s joystick button. Press down on the joysticks to lower or raise your height in the game. You can rebind inputs in SteamVR settings as well.
Height Adjustment With Single-Controller Mode
Alyx’s gravity gloves. It is possible to play Half-Life: Alyx with one hand.
If you’re using single-controller mode, things may get tricky. We have not tested height adjustment options combined with single-controller mode yet, but we will update this guide if we learn more about how it works.
Other Tips For Playing Seated
If you’re playing Half-Life: Alyx seated, you may have a more limited range of motion than players who play standing, but there are ways to hopefully improve your experience.
One thing you can do is experiment with different walk mode options, which you can learn more about in our more general accessibility guide. Learn the nuances of each one and find the one that best suits your own range of motion.
For instance, Half-Life: Alyx may require you to lean in and out of cover. The default Blink motion is great for people with motion sickness, but it also places more emphasis on your own body to execute some of the more precise in-game positioning. Using one of the continuous motion options will let you slide in and out of cover with just the controller. Again, this is something each individual player should experiment with in the early game, before encountering enemies.
Also, even though you’re playing seated, you will still need some room around you to reach out with the controller. If you’re playing at your desk, make sure to have some room between you and your actual desk–especially your monitor–to prevent any accidents!
Half-Life: Alyx doesn’t have a lot of weapons to choose from, but it does have the essentials: a pistol, shotgun, and SMG. Between these three, some grenades, and Alyx’s handy gravity gloves, you’ll be perfectly suited to take on enemies, Combine and Xen alike.
For the first time in the Half-Life series, you’ll also be able to upgrade your weapons using a collectible resource called resin and a machine called a Combine Fabricator. In this guide, we’ve mapped out each weapon’s upgrades and resin requirements, so you can save up and plan accordingly.
We’ve also broken down a few other essential items in Half-Life: Alyx, from important tech like Alyx’s multitool to collectibles you should key an eye out for around the world.
How To Use The Combine Fabricator
A Combine fabricator is a large piece of machinery you’ll come across a few times on Alyx’s journey, which allows her to upgrade weapons. It costs resin to buy each individual upgrade.
An inactive Combine fabricator.
Before you can use a fabricator, you have to solve a multitool puzzle or two to unlock it. There might even be occasions where you have to solve an environmental puzzle to power it on first. But once you boot them up, you just need to insert your weapon of your choice, select your desired upgrade, and deposit the required amount of resin to get the process started.
For help finding and storing resin, scroll to the consumable items section of this guide.
Half-Life: Alyx Weapons
Pistol
The pistol is the first weapon Alyx gets, a gift from friendly resistance member and Alyx’s guide throughout her journey, Russell. It’s a modified M1911 with HUD elements on the grip that let you check how many rounds are left in the magazine.
Alyx’s pistol.
To reload the pistol, press the button on your controller mapped to release the current magazine, physically retrieve a new magazine (either from Alyx’s backpack or somewhere in the environment), and then physically load it in. The pistol holds 10 rounds at the start of the game, with an additional 10 added with the bullet reservoir upgrade. Before you can fire, you need to pull the slide back to chamber a round. You can do this physically, by grabbing the slide, or pressing a button on your controller to automatically activate the slide release.
Fun fact: You can actually rack the slide multiple times to eject fresh rounds. Be warned though, this will empty the magazine and Alyx sadly can’t pick up the individual bullets and manually load them back into the mag. Half-Life: Alyx has fun with some of its manual firearm operations, but it doesn’t get overly technical with it.
Find the list of pistol upgrades possible using the Combine Fabricator below.
Upgrade
Description
Cost
Reflex Sight
Adds a display that highlights tactical targets
10
Burst Fire
Adds a toggle between three-shot burst and single-fire
20
Bullet Reservoir
Adds a reservoir that holds 10 additional bullets
30
Laser Sight
Adds a reservoir that holds 10 additional bullets
35
Tip: You might be tempted to buy the reflex sights right away, since it’ll be the first upgrade you can afford for the pistol. But Half-Life: Alyx is not like typical first-person shooters. You won’t be able to lock into an “aim down sights” mode–you’ll have to do this manually. That’s all well and good, but the reflex sights don’t add much more of an advantage than just aiming down the iron sights anyway–highlighting weak spots is a nice touch, but not essential. If you really want precision, save up for that laser sight and get it as early as possible. Then do the bullet reservoir after that.
Shotgun
The shotgun is great for killing headcrabs in a pinch because it doesn’t require the same precision as the pistol. It’s also extremely effective against the more heavily armored Combine soldiers.
Alyx’s shotgun.
Shells can be more scarce than handgun ammo, but can take some enemies out in a single well-placed shot. If you can afford it, the grenade launcher add-on gives the shotgun a powerful long-distance option, making it much more versatile in larger, more crowded combat arenas.
To reload the shotgun, you have to press the release button on your controller to expose the tube magazine. Shells must be loaded manually and just like any other ammo in the game, you can load in shells you’ve retrieved from Alyx’s backpack or picked up in the world.
Closing the shotgun.
The shotgun can hold six shells, plus one in the chamber. After you’ve loaded in your shells, you have to physically whip the shotgun up with a flick of your wrist to lock the hinge back in place. You can also use your other hand to manually bring the barrel back up. Then, pull the slide back to chamber a round if there isn’t one already.
Tip: After loading six shells, chamber one, then open up the shotgun again to load that extra one in.
If you want to load a grenade with the grenade launcher add-on, simply touch a grenade to the end of your shotgun to attach it, or place one on with your other hand.
Find the full list of shotgun upgrades possible using the Combine Fabricator below.
Upgrade
Description
Cost
Laser Sight
Adds a laser projection for better targeting
10
Double Shot
Adds the option to fire a second shot immediately after the first
25
Autoloader
Adds a mechanical shell feeder to quickly load the shotgun
30
Grenade Launcher
Adds the ability to attach and launch grenades
40
Tip: The laser sight is a nice thing to have, but shotgun blasts are so wide and you’ll probably be using it in close proximities anyway that it isn’t entirely necessary. Save up for one of the more advanced upgrades!
SMG
The Combine SMG is a powerful firearm that utilizes power cells.
The Combine SMG.
There are 30 rounds in each power cell. It’s probably the simplest weapon to reload as it’s mostly automatic–just pull out a power cell and attach it to the side.
Loading the SMG without the extended magazine attachment.
If you have the extended magazine, you can push the same button used to eject a pistol magazine to open up the SMG and load multiple power cells through the side. Use a whipping motion or close the side to ready the weapon.
Upgrade
Description
Cost
Reflex Sight
Adds a display that highlights tactical targets
15
Laser Sight
Adds a laser sight for better targeting
25
Extended Magazine
Allows multiple power cells to be loaded into the weapon
30
Tip: Just like the pistol, the reflex sight isn’t the most important upgrade you can get for the SMG. Go for the laser sight first.
Grenades
There are two types of grenades in Half-Life: Alyx. Both require just one hand to use, but be extra cautious about your surroundings (in real life) when throwing them.
Unlike ammo, grenades cannot be stored in Alyx’s backpack–only in her wrist pockets, meaning you can only carry up to two at a time.
Combine Grenade
This is the standard grenade you’ll find in the game, and also the type that is compatible with the shotgun’s grenade launcher. Just press a button to active it and manually throw once it’s armed. If an enemy throws one at you and you’re quick enough, you can even pull it in with the gravity gloves and toss it back before it blows.
Xen Grenade
These are explosive orbs you can find on tentacle-like Xen creatures in certain overgrown parts of City 17. You’ll have to be quick to snatch it from the tentacle’s grip. Once you do manage to grab one, activate it, and throw. (If you’re using the Index, you can squeeze your controller to activate it.)
Half-Life: Alyx Tools
Gravity Gloves
Alyx’s gravity gloves (or the “Russells”) will be your most powerful tool in Half-Life: Alyx. They aren’t as strong as Gordon Freeman’s gravity gun, but they are far more wieldy. You’ll use them primarily to pick up items (near or far) with just a flick of your wrist, like telekinesis. HUD elements on one glove display your health and resin. Alyx also has wrist pockets that let her store a single item in each one, which is great for setting aside grenades, healing syringes, and key items for solving environmental puzzles.
Alyx’s gravity gloves, or the “Russells.”
Even without the power of the gravity gloves, Alyx’s hands are an important tool. This is a VR game, so everything you do is built around using your hands (or hand, if you’re playing single-handed mode) to manipulate the world. Scavenging through a messy locker to find ammo, picking up barrels, opening doors, plugging in wires, depositing or retrieving items into your backpack, pulling levers, crushing supply crates, throwing explosives–all of these actions will be done manually.
Multitool
Alyx’s multitool, as the name suggests, is a tool with multiple uses. It is probably meant to be an early prototype of the EMP tool she’s seen using in Half-Life 2. In Half-Life: Alyx, you’ll use it to bypass Combine security measures like forcefields, rewire electronics, and solve puzzles to access locked equipment like storage lockers and Combine fabricators.
Alyx’s multitool, or the “Alyx.”
You can press the trigger button to use the end of the multitool to interact with the environment, but everything else is motion-based. You might need to press it into a port to power a piece of equipment up or trace along the walls to rewire and reroute electricity. There are a number of different multitool puzzle types that are randomly generated too, requiring you to manipulate objects in 3D space.
Half-Life: Alyx Consumable Items
Ammo
Ammo for your weapons is probably the #1 item you’ll be on the lookout for in the environment. This includes:
Handgun magazines
Shotgun shells (individual or in packs)
SMG power cells
Luckily, you can find ammo pretty much anywhere: on shelves, in lockers, drawers, cabinets, and boxes, etc. Be on the lookout for supply crates (light wooden boxes with a yellow “supply” label on them (you’ll recognize these from previous Half-Life games), which can be shot, smashed, or broken open. They often contain ammo and other important items. You can also sometimes loot ammo from bodies.
All ammo can be stored in Alyx’s backpack. Just be careful when doing so–the specific gesture might take some getting used to and it’s possible to drop things on the floor if you’re not very deliberate.
Resin
Resin looks like little glowing hockey pucks. It’s a Combine material used to upgrade your weapons using Combine fabricators. Just like ammo, resin is a common item in the game and can be found pretty much anywhere.
A piece of resin on a shelf.
Be sure to be extra observant when scavenging for resin, because you can often stumble on some hidden in the far corners of levels and in hard-to-reach places. You will only encounter a few Combine fabricators in the game, and there’s no backtracking once you progress to the next chapter, so make sure you collect as much as you can and save up for the upgrades you want. That way you can make the most out of every opportunity.
Resin can be stored in Alyx’s backpack–again, be careful when doing so and make sure it actually ends up in the backpack and not on the floor!
Healing Syringe
There are two ways to heal yourself in Half-Life: Alyx. You can use the wall-mounted health chargers when you find them, or keep a healing syringe or two on hand (or in your wrist pockets–though you can definitely carry them around by hand too, if you want.)
Readying a healing syringe.
To use a health syringe, just press the action button to activate it and then physically stick it into your arm or body. Everything but Alyx’s hands are invisible, but it will still work. You don’t have to hold it in either–the healing effect will occur instantly, and then you can discard it.
Unlike ammo and resin, healing syringes cannot be stored in bulk in Alyx’s backpack. You can only store one in each wrist pocket, which means two is the maximum amount you can stash away for later use. Be mindful to use the wall-mounted health chargers (if possible) before syringes you have stashed.
For more, check out our Half-Life: Alyx puzzle guide, accessibility options guide, and read our full review.
Half-Life: Alyx is primarily an action game, but like other games in the Half-Life series, there are some light puzzles to solve along the way. In more standard Half-Life fashion, there are environmental “puzzles” that require you to pull levers, push buttons, and operate machinery–since you’re playing as Alyx, you’re also a hacking whiz who can rewire electronics using her handy multitool. But Half-Life: Alyx has even more uses for the multitool, including solving some traditional spatial puzzles.
You’ll encounter a number of multitool puzzles while playing Half-Life: Alyx. They come in many forms and are often used to lock access to important devices, like Combine fabricators and supply lockers. There’s also a special one for disarming laser tripmines.
These puzzles are randomly generated each time you encounter one, but the logic to solve them is always the same. Below we’ve broken down the common multitool puzzle types and explained how to solve each one. Again, the exact solutions won’t be the same, but the method of solving them will be. Some puzzles have “lose” conditions, but there is no consequence for failing a multitool puzzle–if you do fail, you just need to start it over.
Please note, these puzzles were all solved using both hands. Half-Life: Alyx offers a number of accessibility options, including a one-handed mode. We haven’t tested the multitool puzzles in one-handed mode proper, but they can all be solved one-handed regardless.
Electricity And Rewiring Puzzles
Rewiring electronics is one of the main things Alyx’s multitool comes in handy for, and it’s one of the major environmental puzzles you’ll encounter. If something is powered off, just locate the electrical panel, button, or mechanism that needs connecting and hover your multitool over the wall. The wires will start glowing.
Rerouting electricity using Alyx’s multitool.
Trace your multitool along the wall to follow it (you may need to walk or move to fully follow along), and if you come across any wiring intersections, you may be able to rotate them by pressing trigger on your multitool. You can do this to reroute power along the path you need.
Laser Web Puzzle
Repositioning an orb with Alyx’s multitool.
This is one of the more complicated puzzles you’ll come across. You have to use your multitool to grab the glowing white orbs and reposition them so that the red lasers shooting out of them align with the red orbs.
Solving the laser web puzzle with Alyx’s multitool.
Every single red orb must intersect with the red laser to fully solve the puzzle–when the lasers are touching a red orb, that path will turn blue. Once the web of lasers is all blue, you’ve solved the puzzle.
Orb Laser Tube Puzzle
If you were wondering, no, these are not the official names. I’m trying my best.
Redirecting a laser through an orb.
This puzzle requires you to guide a laser through a tube so that it perfectly aligns with a red orb on another axis. To do this, you have to use a free hand to grab and rotate the floating orb until the laser crosses through it, then slowly tweak the orientation until the laser shoots out the other end in a way that intersects with the red orb. This one’s all about positioning and being able to make very slight adjustments.
Bullet Hell Puzzle
To solve this puzzle, you have to bring the lock and key points together by picking either one up with the multitool and guiding it through a dynamic maze of “enemies,” like a bullet hell. You do this by activating the multitool above the point you want to control, then tracing it along the face of the globe. You also need to use your other hand to rotate the globe.
Enemies with red tails in the “bullet hell” puzzle.
There are a couple varieties of this particular puzzle and they ramp up in difficulty. They start with static “enemies,” which requires only your own precision. You’ll eventually encounter ones with moving “enemies,” which require a bit more dexterity; and in the late-game they have moving “enemies” that also leave a deadly trail behind them. Touching any of these obstacles mid-puzzle is an instant fail and you will need to start the puzzle over.
Tip: You can drop the lock or key at any point if your arms or wrists get twisted up. The red “enemies” won’t terminate the puzzle if your multitool is detached, giving you a chance to rest and take your time. But be careful when re-engaging the multitool and make sure you’re clear of where the bullets are moving!
Laser Tripmine Puzzle
There are a few ways to get past a laser tripmine in Half-Life: Alyx. You can shoot them so they explode. You can throw something in their path so they explode. You can walk into one, I guess? (Not recommended.) Or you can disarm them using Alyx’s multitool.
Attempting to disarm a laser tripmine.
You’ll find yourself in situations where having a tripmine explode is not ideal. To disarm it, carefully approach one without intersecting its laser and use the multitool on it to activate the puzzle. The puzzle requires you to guide a tiny orb through a series of hoops, sometimes while being chased by dangerous red particles. If you don’t solve this puzzle correctly or get caught by the red particles, don’t worry–the tripmine will not explode. The only way to set off a tripmine is to cross the path of its laser, so be extra careful of your arm and hand placement when trying to disarm it.
If you’re having trouble with crouching down for long periods or are unable to, check out our accessibility options guide and a guide to playing Half-Life: Alyx seated for a list of height adjustment options.
Don’t forget to check out our weapons guide, Easter eggs guide, and of course, our full review of Half-Life: Alyx.
Half-Life: Alyx is a full-length Half-Life game built exclusively for virtual reality. While it works with most of the mainstream VR headsets available, it requires a VR-ready PC to run. These are already more barriers than your average game has–VR can be expensive, it can require a dedicated space to play in, and it can be a chore to set up if you’re new to it. But even outside of that, VR has an accessibility issue. It can be physically demanding to play and it still gives many people motion sickness.
There will be some people who can’t play Half-Life: Alyx at all due to some of the movement-based gameplay and more precise motor skills it requires. There are ways around some of its more complex gestures, but you’ll still need to be able to reach out with at least one hand, bring your arm back over your shoulder, hold and press buttons on a VR controller, and whip your arm back to use the Gravity Gloves. Luckily, Half-Life: Alyx does have a set of accessibility options designed to make it more playable for players with disabilities or who have other special needs that must be met to have a comfortable and fun experience.
Find an extensive breakdown of Half-Life: Alyx’s accessibility options below. We’ll expand this list out if we learn any more. If you’ve found your own workaround or see something we’re missing, let us know in the comments!
Difficulty Settings
Half-Life: Alyx comes with four difficulty settings, which adjusts combat.
Story – The simplest of combat.
Easy – Moderately challenging combat.
Normal – Challenging combat.
Hard – Very challenging combat.
Right And Left-Handed Modes
At the start of the game, you’ll be able to assign your weapon hand to your right or left hand.
Movement Types
To combat motion sickness and give players a more flexible range of options to suit their tastes, Half-Life: Alyx offers four different movement types. We’ve listed them below, along with the in-game descriptions.
Blink (default) – Teleport to destinations with a brief screen fade. The most comfortable movement type.
Shift – Teleport to destinations with a fast linear movement.
Continuous – Move continuously based on your head orientation.
Continuous Hand – Move continuously based on hand orientation.
Let’s dive into each one with a bit more detail.
Blink
The default Blink movement type is recommended for players who get motion sickness from VR. It works by having you use the controller to point at where you want to “teleport” to, and blinking you there with a brief, but not jarring fade-out and fade-in. The “blinking” is what reduces the motion sickness, by removing the element of “motion” from traversal. This is becoming standard in a lot of VR adventure games.
With the Blink movement option, you can also rotate your orientation before you skip to a new destination, meaning you can quickly warp behind an enemy and turn to face them in a single move that doesn’t actually simulate or depict the motion of turning. You can also make small adjustments to your position with the flick of a joystick, which you can customize via your in-game preferences.
Quick turn angle options are in 15 degree increments:
15 degrees
30 degrees
45 degrees
60 degrees
75 degrees
90 degrees
Quick turning is great if you need to rotate just slightly and can’t or don’t want to physically do so. You can also do small backward and forward steps just to get slightly closer or farther from something without making a big jump.
This is the mode we recommend for the average player just starting out, those who are new to VR, and those who are prone to motion sickness.
Shift
Shift is similar to Blink, only instead of teleporting with a fade, it zooms you over to your destination. The rapid simulated motion may be jarring and create a sense of vertigo for inexperienced players or those with a sensitivity to it, so be careful.
Continuous
Continuous and Continuous Hand are both the closest movement type to conventional first-person video games. Rather than a teleport, it’s a continuous motion. You push your controller’s joystick forward to move and turn your head in the direction you want to move. This might be the most jarring for players who are prone to motion sickness or not accustomed to VR, but experienced VR players sometimes refer to this type as the most “immersive.”
Continuous Hand
Like Continuous motion, Continuous Hand is a smooth, continuous motion controlled by one of your controller’s joysticks. What makes it different from the standard Continuous mode is you use your hand instead of your head to point in the direction you want to move. That means you can push forward on the joystick to move forward, and still look around without changing direction.
If you play around with controls, you can combine and use the Blink and Continuous movement styles at any time.
Accessibility Options
Half-Life: Alyx also has a set of accessibility options to account for disability and other impairments.
Single Controller
Using single controller mode maps all actions to a single controller, so you can play Half-Life: Alyx with one hand.
Height Adjust
Certain segments of Half-Life: Alyx require you to duck behind cover, crouch to get through small passageways, and otherwise kneel or bend your body in ways that won’t be feasible for some players.
Height adjust mode lets you use the controller to toggle crouching or standing. There are a few hybrid options too that you can experiment with.
Here’s the full list, with in-game descriptions, below.
Height Adjust: Crouch – Crouch action only. Stand is disabled. When the crouch action is enabled, toggle to quickly duck or adjust to a lowered position.
Height Adjust: Stand – Stand action only. Crouch is disabled. When the stand action is enabled, toggle to raise your position to help with reach. Recommended during seated play.
Height Adjust: Crouch And Stand – When the crouch and stand actions are enabled, use them to lower or to raise your position on two separate inputs.
Height Adjust: Hybrid – Hybrid uses a single input for both crouch and stand actions. To crouch, click to lower your position. To stand, press and hold to raise your position.
All actions must be manually bound to inputs in SteamVR settings.
Seated Mode
You can play Half-Life: Alyx seated, but you’ll want to adjust some options when setting up SteamVR to make sure it’s tuned correctly. Check out our full guide on how to play Half-Life: Alyx seated for more details.
Weapon Select Orient
This option in the interface menu allows you to change the orientation type for selecting weapons from the in-game context menu. Find the available options below with our descriptions.
Hand – Use your hand to point to the weapon you want to select.
Head – Use your head to point to the weapon you want to select.
Hybrid – Utilize both methods.
Light Sensitivity
You can turn light sensitivity mode on to reduce the strength and flickering of lights in-game.
Subtitles and Closed Captions
Half-Life: Alyx offers subtitles and closed captions for dialogue and in-game sound effects. You can adjust the size and width of the text and reading speed.
Additional Accessibility Options
There are other ways to adjust the game to suit your specific needs, including reducing motion sickness.
Barnacle Lift
If you’re prone to motion sickness, this is an easy one to overlook. Barnacles are those pesky ceiling-dwellers in Half-Life that will pull you up if you cross their path. If you turn Barnacle Lift off in preferences, they won’t be able to grab and pull you off the ground. You’ll still take damage, but at least you won’t get sick!
If there’s something we missed or more options you think Valve should add, let us know in the comments! For more, check out our review of Half-Life: Alyx, our weapons and upgrades guide, and our puzzle guide.
