A new Half Life game is coming from Valve. Unfortunately it’s VR only for now. Maybe this will be the killer app that VR needs to finally get off the ground, but I doubt it. My guess would be that this doesn’t do well in the beginning due to the VR requirement and that it quickly gets a non-VR release. Also I do worry that the moment has passed for a new HL game. Has the younger Fortnite crowd ever even heard of HL? https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2019...ow-about-valves-upcoming-full-length-vr-game/
It's one of my favorite series starring one of my all-time favorite characters, but I don't have any VR gear. I hope it does well and encourages them to make more HL games.
Should be interesting. Valve tends to push the boundaries of gaming technology. I wouldn't expect them to release something mediocre.
I think this is a way for them to test the waters for a modern HL game in an environment where the stakes are lower. If they released a full blown HL3 or HL2 Ep3 it could kill the franchise because the expectations would be impossible. But VR is a really niche thing. This game could flop and hardly anyone would notice or care. It also wouldn't surprise me if this ends with a flash forward that resolves the cliffhanger from Ep2. If this does well we could see a HL3. If not, HL might go back to being a dormant franchise. Which is fine. I don't really want HL3 unless it's a mind-blowing experience like the other two games.
looks really good but still probably won’t be enough to get me to buy a VR headset. I have a feeling this is going to end up on one of those “greatest games that no one played” lists.
I decided to buy the PSVR headset today after learning third party software can get it working on PC and the PSVR allows you to watch 3D movies, including 3D Blu-rays. My TV doesn't support 3D nor do any of the newer OLEDs from what I've read. I was already curious to discover a way to play this HL game. I investigated reviews and got the impression some of the VR games are pretty solid now. I will be getting Astro Bot, Skyrim VR, and Resident Evil 7 included with the headset. I'm probably going to get burned by a superior version of PSVR being released for PS5 in a year or two, but if nothing else I'll know for myself if I'm into VR enough to spend more on it.
Looks ok. I'm not a fan of the teleporting, but I guess it's to prevent motion sickness. I'm not really seeing much of anything that you couldn't do with a keyboard, mouse, and monitor, so wouldn't surprise me if this gets a non-VR release at some point.
I think there is a very strong chance this is going to be ported to PS5. http://www.pushsquare.com/news/2020/03/half-life_alyx_on_psvr_heres_what_valve_told_us Valve could have very easily just flatly denied it even if they did plan to do a Playstation version later and just didn't want to be bothered with any of that right now. Their comments suggested pretty strongly to me they want in on the PSVR market. Sony has also confirmed PSVR (the PS4 version) is compatible with PS5 without any ambiguity whatsoever unlike other things they've only teased. I've been wondering if Half-Life: Alyx for PS5 could be part of their console reveal given they've got a pretty decent chunk of the VR gaming market and pretty solid software support. That would be huge for the +5 million who have bought the PSVR headset. VR fans are typically fortunate to get good VR ports of popular franchises let alone exclusivity of a friggin' Half-Life game to PS5 and PSVR. It would look very good for Sony in terms of marketing their new upcoming console and VR division of gaming.
Reviews are excellent. Lots of 9s and 10s. Player count is really low on Steam. There are like 2-4 times as many people playing Doom Eternal at any given time. Going VR only has made this game very niche it seems.
It would be very interesting if it ends up being a Game of the Year contender, not something you see with many VR games. http://www.criticalhit.net/review/critics-are-hailing-half-life-alyx-as-the-best-that-vr-gaming-has-to-offer/
I'm considering getting the Oculus Quest 2. It of course has access to the Oculus library but what I think is more important is how it can use a PC to work with the Steam library. For $20 you can get a virtual desktop app and all the games will stream wirelessly to the headset. There is also a cable that will do a slightly better job than wifi, but it does tether you to the desktop. It seems like a good deal for around $320. On the negative side it's owned by Facebook and has cameras. The Valve Index is $999. It's superior in some regards but it's also corded. This guy is playing Alyx on the Quest 2.
I'm probably going to wait a year or two to see what the PSVR2 looks like. If it is disappointing, I would consider what is available for PC VR. The Valve headset and controls look great but aren't cheap. I really don't want anything to do with Facebook.
VR hasn't arrived yet and I'm not going to be an early adopter. If it catches on in a big way I will get a headset.
I think PSVR2 is the most likely to be a good value for the price. I think I paid $300 for the PSVR1 headset with 5 games and bought some more games for incredibly low sale prices on PSN, some of which were Steam sale low, like $10 to $15. I really can't complain what I've got out of the small financial investment I put into it. The only think I spent too much on was the controllers, which are only required for certain games but I just wanted to try it. Games like Astro Bot were really exceptional, and what I really wanted was to just experience VR for myself. If PSVR2 disappoints, I may look and see what is happening on PC. But I am feeling optimistic about PSVR2 given the PS5 has basically adopted the PSVR headset's color scheme and Sony has heavily pushed the theme of greater immersion with the haptic feedback and 3D audio chip in their marketing of the PS5. From what I've read, they have delivered on this in games like the 2D Astro Bot and Demon's Souls; the immersion stuff wasn't just marketing fluff like you often see with new console releases. It was also interesting they were just giving vague hints about early specs and features but confirmed without hesitation that PSVR would be compatible with PS5 and stated that VR was definitely still part of their plan. It gives me the impression their next VR headset is going to be pretty solid, so I'm going to wait and see. VR is about as immersive of an approach as you can get in gaming currently.
I got myself a Oculus Quest 2 a while back mostly because I'm tech-curious. I finally got around to playing Alyx and I'm pretty impressed. I purchased the game on Steam and stream it wirelessly to my headset. So far, wireless streaming has worked perfectly for me and I try to buy most my games on Steam as opposed to the Oculus store. Alyx looks amazing and it does a pretty good job of making you feel like your in the world of HL. Movement is full motion or teleport but I'm only able to handle the teleport method for any period of time. It's a shame because the game plays better with full motion. Alyx just feels leaps and bounds better than anything before it, but I don't think it was a breakout app because other big developers haven't followed. Looking back, most the HL games were also tech demo. I think Alyx is the same. Valve pushed the limits of what could be done, but I wonder if they made a profit from it. For me the breakout game might be Moss. It's not for everyone but I feel like this was the type of VR game I've been waiting for. It seems like there is lots of potential for other games of this type. I also enjoyed Vader Immortal because Lightsabers. I bought this through Oculus and it's probably one of the best looking game in their library, but it's still limited by the hardware.
I have Moss on PSVR, and it's very impressive. I was not expecting it to look so detailed and well animated. HL Alyx is one of the games I want to play most on any platform. I'm still holding out to see how good PSVR2 is.
I just got the oculus 2 as a gift. It’s honestly pretty sweet even if it’s a zuckerfuck spy device. Started with beatsaber which is fun and may even get a pc/laptop later this year for stuff like Skyrim and Elite Dangerous.
Yeah, it's a solid technology product that's obviously being sold at a loss with the hopes of getting a foothold in the gaming market and recouping cost through data collection. The Valve Index is probably the better product but it cost way more. I only dabble in VR so I wont invest that much yet.