Half-Life: Alyx review — A great VR game for the wrong time

Reviewing Half-Life: Alyx has been a stressful endeavor. Part of that is the usual rigors of critiquing a game (trying to beat it before a deadline). But this VR experience is landing at a time when a pandemic is taking hold over the world. So, you know, I may already be a bit on edge. Bundle that with how playing VR can be uncomfortable and Alyx’s more survival-horror take on the franchise, and I often wished that I didn’t have to play this game at this particular moment in history.

This doesn’t mean that Half-Life: Alyx, which is available now for PC VR, is a bad game. It’s far from it. The expert Valve triple-A craftsmanship of old is back. Technically, this is the most impressive VR game I’ve ever played (thanks in part to the Valve Index I was playing it on). It’s an incredibly immersive experience.