Over 12 years after Half-Life 2: Episode 2 released, Valve has released a new entry to the revered franchise. The completely VR-based experience, Half-Life: Alyx, is now available on Steam. Those who pre-loaded the game will now see it unlocked and be ready to play as well.
Half-Life: Alyx is set between the events of Half-Life and Half-Life 2, following a new adventure surrounding the Vance family and the start of a revolution. Valve has said the campaign playtime will be comparable to the length of Half-Life 2. Here"s a brief overview of the setting:
Playing as Alyx Vance, you are humanity’s only chance for survival. The Combine’s control of the planet since the Black Mesa incident has only strengthened as they corral the remaining population in cities. Among them are some of Earth’s greatest scientists: you and your father, Dr. Eli Vance.
Both AMD and Nvidia have released new graphics drivers with support for the title, which are recommended to those who will be heading into the streets of City 17. Here are the minimum system requirements listed by Valve:
- OS: Windows 10
- Processor: Core i5-7500 / Ryzen 5 1600
- Memory: 12 GB RAM
- Graphics: GTX 1060 / RX 580 - 6GB VRAM
Being a PC VR title, Alyx supports essentially every headset and controller available on the market right now with SteamVR compatibility, including Index, Vive, Rift, and Mixed Reality. Multiple locomotion methods (teleport, shift, smooth) and room setups (roomscale, sitting, standing) are supported as well for maximum accessibility.
Half-Life: Alyx comes in at $59.99 on Steam. Note that those who purchase a Valve Index or a Vive Cosmos Elite VR system will get the game for free.