Community Download is a weekly discussion-focused articles series published (usually) every Monday in which we pose a single, core question to you all, our readers, in the spirit of fostering discussion and debate. For today’s Community Download, we want to hear whether or not you think Half-Life: Alyx has any chance of living up to the astronomical hype?
After years and years of speculation, memes, and anticipation, Valve is finally releasing a brand new Half-Life game this month. Not only is it a VR-only title that was designed from the ground up to be played with a VR headset, it’s also the first title in the series to put players in the shoes of Half-Life 2’s Alyx Vance rather than the usual protagonist, Gordon Freeman.
We broke down everything you need to know about Alyx the character back when the game was first announced, which you can read and/or watch here.
The Half-Life series has earned the reputation of always marking major shifts in the way video games are made. When the original released it redefined the first-person shooter genre and its sequel brought the medium to new heights of gameplay interactivity. With Alyx’s impending release, Valve likely aims to do the same thing once again, but this time for VR.
Expectations couldn’t be much higher, save for perhaps if they had decided to make this the next numbered entry in the series. Instead, the events in Half-Life: Alyx take place between the first and second main entries to fill in some gaps and build the universe more.
With all of that said, the question at hand is: Will Half-Life: Alyx live up to the hype? Is it even possible for a game to meet those expectations? Will it maybe even surpass them?
What do you think? Let us know down in the comments below! Half-Life: Alyx releases on Steam for all major PC VR headsets on March 23.
