HALF-LIFE: ALYX Revealed, New Behind Closed Doors Footage

Saddle up, keyboard cowboys. It’s finally here. This is not a drill. After over a decade of waiting, a new Half-Life is finally coming. And man, is it coming in style. Revealed today was our first look at Valve’s newest title, Half-Life: Alyx. Coming March 2020, it just might be the reason you have to buy a headset.

Valve has a long-standing reputation for creating games that instantly become frontrunners of their respective genres. No game better embodies this than the legendary Half-Life. An innovative horror-shooter, the franchise has done as much to evolve the genre as it has to evolve the gaming landscape. Without Half-Life, it’s impossible to tell what shooters might look like today. Without the Source engine, dozens of fresh new ideas might never have seen creation. Without Steam, the digital landscape wouldn’t be nearly as robust and ubiquitous. When Valve blazes a trail, cities spring in its wake.

With Half-Life: Alyx, Valve is looking to once again shape the countryside of a new field of gaming: Virtual Reality. Now VR is nothing new itself. Fans of VR have long touted the innovative quality of the technology. However, many still consider the technology to be speculative at best (and an overhyped fad at worst). Regardless of where you sit on the VR spectrum, it can be agreed that the platform has yet to have its killer app. Even the best VR games are ultimately gimmicks, far below the level of professional polish and quality you’d expect from a modern AAA game. With Half-Life: Alyx, Valve is looking to change that. It’s not just shooting to be a good VR game. It’s looking to be the next great Half-Life game.

I won’t waste your time opining on my feelings about Half-Life: Alyx. You can find all the current info on the game’s Steam store page. More information will be revealed at The Game Awards on December 12th. If you want to take a deeper dive, you can watch the now-released interview that started it all. Titled The Final Hours of Half-Life: Alyx, Geoff Keighley interviews the key figures behind Half-Life: Alyx in an intimate and incredibly insightful interview. Link to the full footage here:

Some other key details about Half-Life: Alyx. The game will be coming to SteamVR compatible devices, including the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Valve Index, and Windows Mixed Reality. Owners of the Valve Index will get the game for free, including some exclusive content. No word yet on potential console releases. The game will also take place between the events of Half-Life and Half-Life 2. So no, this isn’t Half-Life 3.

I’m not sure what else needs to be said. It’s a new Half-Life. It looks amazing. I will be buying it. Everyone will be buying it. Will you? Let me know if you’re excited for Half-Life: Alyx in the comments!