VR game Half-Life: Alyx will be released in March next year

Valve has officially announced Half-Life: Alyx. The game will be released exclusively in virtual reality, with character Alyx Vance in the lead role. The game takes place between part 1 and part 2 of the iconic game series.

As expected, Half-Life: Alyx is a prequel set between the events of Half-Life 1 and 2. Alyx teams up with her father Eli to form a resistance group against the Combine aliens. Just like in the previous games, Alyx has a tool to influence gravity. These are special ‘Gravity Gloves’ with which she can solve puzzles and shoot in the trailer. Valve says that the virtual reality aspect of the game allows users to look around a corner or shoot, for example.

Developer David Spreyer tells The Verge that it will be a game that lasts about as long as Half-Life 2. He also says that players should play Half-Life 2 first if they want to understand the story better. Valve has created a special website that contains more details about the highly anticipated game. That’s not, as many fans had hoped, a sequel to the 2004 Half-Life 2 story.

Half-Life: Alyx will be released next March for Vive and Oculus glasses, as well as for Windows Mixed Reality headsets, and will be available for purchase on Steam. So players don’t necessarily need a Valve Index headset. Those who have, however, get the game for free, including ‘extra content’. It is not known what that additional content is. The game will not be available for normal screens or controllers, according to Valve. Valve says players will need at least a Windows 10 PC with a Core i5-7500 or Ryzen 5 1600 CPU, and a GTX 1060 or RX 580 graphics card. Players also need at least 12 gigabytes of RAM. The game costs 49.99 euros.