Valve's full-length return to Half-Life, built only for VR: fight the Combine in City 17 as Alyx Vance, with physics puzzles and gravity gloves.
Half-Life: Alyx is a story-driven VR game from Valve, released on SteamVR on March 23, 2020. Set between the events of Half-Life and Half-Life 2, it casts you as Alyx Vance, who joins the resistance against the alien Combine occupying City 17. It is a full campaign rather than a short demo, and it is widely seen as one of the benchmark games for what VR can do.
How it plays
The game blends shooting, exploration, light horror and puzzles. Weapons are reloaded by hand, ammunition is scarce, and almost every object can be picked up. The signature tool is a pair of gravity gloves that let you pull items toward you with a flick of the wrist. Puzzles include hacking devices by tracing patterns in 3D space and using the environment to get past barriers.
Comfort and options
Valve built several movement options into the game, including teleport, a short dash-style shift and continuous movement, plus seated and accessibility settings. Players who are sensitive to motion can stick to teleport, while experienced players often prefer smooth movement. Some sections are dark and tense, with enemies that are designed to startle.
Extras
- Steam Workshop support and Source 2 tools for community maps and mods, added in May 2020.
- A native standalone build for Valve's Steam Frame, released in September 2026, along with performance improvements on PC.
- Text and subtitles in 28 languages.
What to know before buying
Half-Life: Alyx is sold only on Steam and runs on PC VR headsets that work with SteamVR, such as the Valve Index, as well as Quest headsets connected to a PC. It is not available on the Meta Horizon Store or PlayStation. On PC it needs a VR-ready gaming computer. It sells for $59.99 and comes included with purchases of the Steam Frame. It won Best VR/AR at The Game Awards 2020.
