This chunky Half-Life: Alyx mod might sate your desire for more Half-Life
Out today after two years in the pipes
Half-Life Alyx: Levitation is the most compelling reason to dust off my VR goggles I've seen since Half-Life: Alyx. Out today after two years of development, the ambitious mod promises 3-4 hours of barrel-chucking, window-breaking, train-dodging, combine-blasting fun.
Perhaps the full package will pale in comparison to Valve's polish, but the bit in this trailer where the player scurries down a train while contorting around manhacks looks oh-so appetisingly transportative. I think it's time I dug out my lighthouses.
The mod takes place immediately after the main game, with Alyx returning to City-17 after a chinwag with the G-man. "A mysterious levitating building" has appeared above "the Sector X region", explains the mod's Steam workshop page, with Alyx off to find two missing resistance members who went to investigate.
Members of the mod team include level designer FMPONE, best known for working on Counter-Strike: Global Offensive maps, and Corey Laddo, who's known for his Source Filmaker animations.
In Graham's Half-Life: Alyx review, he called the original game "a masterclass of first-person shooter design that makes clear the company haven't forgotten anything about making these kinds of games in the nine years since Portal 2, or the 13 years since Half-Life 2: Episode 2". It's a tough act for a mod to follow, for sure. Here's hoping it lets Graham pretend he's got more Half-Life for a bit.
If you want a go, you'll need to own a VR headset and Half-Life: Alyx. Happily, Alyx is currently 60% off on Steam, going for £20/$24/€23.60.