Day one reviews for Valve's first AAA game in over a decade, Half-Life: Alyx, have begun to roll in, and the results are almost unanimous: Half-Life: Alyx is fantastic. Although there were some reserves over its VR exclusivity, Valve's long-awaited return to the Half-Life universe, and whether the company could even make a trendsetting game anymore, after a string of failures and lacklustre debuts in recent years. Half-Life: Alyx has blown away all expectations and often surpassed them.
UploadVR gave it 5/5 and said that, "for Valve, this is the dawn of a new era. Half-Life: Alyx makes good on its second chance, it is as essential a VR game as you’ll find in 2020." Its only criticism was the length of the game, but suggested that this should herald the beginning of a new age of VR at Valve, and how its best is only yet to come.
IGN gave the game 10/10, saying that "Half-Life: Alyx has set a new bar for VR in interactivity, detail, and level design." Game Informer gave it 9/10, suggesting that it was a "must play" game from this generation of virtual reality titles, and though it does have some filler segments, is a largely unique and innovative virtual reality experience.
Gamespot too gave it 9/10, stating that it was a fantastic use of VR and showed that the Half-Life universe was perfect for this sort of medium. "It may not be as bombastic as previous games," it said, "but the intimacy of VR brings you closer to a world you might have thought you knew over the past 22 years."
US Gamer compared it to Half-Life 2 in its 4.5/5 review, stating that, "It does what Half-Life has historically done well, and without the clouding of nostalgia or unhelpful notions of what constitutes "revolutionary" design, it ranks alongside Half-Life 2. "
High praise indeed, with no doubt more still to come. Have you enjoyed Half-Life: Alyx just yet?