There’s been a slew of Half-Life: Alyx mods since the game’s release, and we’ve even seen one that lets you play as Gordon Freeman in a sandbox and wield his crowbar against enemies. In those mods, the crowbar doesn’t properly work as a melee weapon – it’s more for a show. But a different map by modder Nick implements basic melee crowbar mechanics in a room full of zombies.
Warning: Major spoilers for Half-Life: Alyx below.
One big omission from Half-Life: Alyx was significant melee combat. Instead, the game focuses on shooting and gunplay. While it does that very well, it’s fair to say that some players were hopeful for more complex melee interactions.
Although Gordon Freeman’s iconic crowbar is present at the very end of Half-Life: Alyx, you don’t get to do much with it. Nick’s crowbar mods aims to change that.
It’s a very simplistic and somewhat unpolished implementation of the weapon, but it’s still a cool for a fan-made mod. You can deliver a one hit kill to a zombie with a swing of your crowbar, but it’s doesn’t feel overly satisfying or consistent. That being said, this is more than understandable given the limited nature of the current Alyx modding process. While waiting for the promised official support from Valve, the community has found limited methods to make do in the meantime.
A SteamDB listing suggests the official tools from Valve might not be far off, but if you’re looking to try out some custom maps before then, check out our how-to guide. You’ll be able to find Nick’s crowbar mod and many others in the Half-Life: Alyx Modding Hub Discord server.
