Half-Life: Alyx is singlehandedly creating a VR rush

Since the announcement of Half-Life: Alyx, Valve’s Index VR headset has sold out entirely. It seems the return of the famous gaming franchise has brought about an unprecedented level of VR excitement. 

Half-Life: Alyx is the first installment in the series since Half Life 2: Episode Two, a game that came out way back in 2007. A VR-exclusive, this might just be the most exciting virtual reality game yet.

The announcement trailer gave us a flavour of what to expect from the game. Take a look below.

Related: Valve Index headset

While Half-Life’s developer Valve has sold out of its own headset, it has promised that you’ll be able to play Alyx with any VR headset. That said, there will be some “fun but not required” extra interactions for those with Valve’s Index controllers, Valve’s Bronwen Grimes told UploadVR.

Here is what Valve is offering players that purchase its VR equipment:

“Customers who have purchased Valve Index hardware by the end of 2019 will have access to unique bonuses starting early next year:

• Explore environments from Half-Life: Alyx in your SteamVR Home space
• Alternate gun skins to embellish Alyx’s arsenal
• Special Half-Life: Alyx-themed content for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive”

Half-Life: Alyx is available for pre-order on Steam now for £41.84. Getting hold of Valve’s VR kit requires a much bigger investment though, a full Valve Index VR Kit will set you back £919.

Meanwhile, the Valve Index Headset, which the company says will be “back in stock soon”, will cost you £459. Valve has seemingly been caught off guard by the huge demand generated by Half-Life’s announcement, considering both the headset and its ‘Valve Index Base Station’ hardware are out of stock for now.

Trusted Reviews’ Jake Tucker was impressed when he examined the headset. All expenses aside, the kit is set to be the perfect way to experience Half-Life: Alyx. He said:

“The focus here is on best-in-class quality at the expense of everything else. The headset’s dual 1440 x 1600 RGB LCDs will, according to Valve, provide 50% more subpixels than OLED. This, mostly, should improve sharpness, but also greatly reduce the infamous “screen door” effect. Pack in a lightning fast refresh rate and some quality lenses, and it could offer

“Looking at the design, it all seems fairly standard, although higher quality. Dont’ expect too many surprises, though: its a headset you can plonk on your head to immerse yourself in a different world. The only real thing to notice is that the Index has open-back integrated headphones, which will likely mean you have a vague idea of the noise going on around you while you play. This could be useful for those trying to avoid tripping over a cat/dog/spouse/child, but it’s definitely an unusual design”.