Half-Life: Alyx
Half-Life: Alyx is built for a virtual reality headset. You play as Alyx Vance, fighting the Combine in City 17 before the events of Half-Life 2, and your gloves pull objects toward you from a distance, much like the old gravity gun.
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It was the first Half-Life in 13 years, after Episode Two in 2007. Robin Walker said making Half-Life 3 felt terrifyingly daunting, and the team saw VR as a way back into the series. About 80 people worked on it, the largest team in Valve's history.
The headset changed the game itself. Every weapon is used one-handed, so the other hand stays free to touch the world. The crowbar was cut because melee combat didn't work in VR. Fast zombies and fast headcrabs went too, because in a headset they scared some players too much.
Valve said playtesters took about as long to finish it as they did Half-Life 2. Keep in mind the game was made for VR only, which disappointed some fans. In 2020 it won the VR/AR award at The Game Awards. Players give it 98% positive across 93,688 reviews, and critics 93 on Metacritic. On our Recommended Score it ranks 18 of 4,736 games.
Liked it? Try Half-Life 2, home of the original gravity gun, and BONEWORKS, where physics governs the objects and the hero's own body alike.
Major updates
Half-Life: Alyx Updated for Steam Frame · Sep 2026All 3
System requirements
Minimum GTX 1060 · 12 GB RAM✕Steam Deck UnsupportedMin & recommended
| Minimum | |
|---|---|
| OS | Windows 10 |
| Processor | Core i5-7500 / Ryzen 5 1600 |
| Memory | 12 GB |
| Graphics | GTX 1060 / RX 580 - 6GB VRAM |
From the game’s Steam store page.
