Half-Life: Alyx Release Window Officially Announced Alongside First Look

Half-Life: Alyx, the newest addition to Valve’s beloved franchise, officially has a release window of March 2020.

Half-Life: Alyx will be a VR-exclusive title that serves a prequel set between the first two games. Players will take control of Alyx, who possesses the “Gravity Gloves” to manipulate gravity.

Valve describes the gameplay thusly: “Lean to aim around a broken wall and under a Barnacle to make an impossible shot. Rummage through shelves to find a healing syringe and some shotgun shells. Manipulate tools to hack alien interfaces. Toss a bottle through a window to distract an enemy. Rip a Headcrab off your face and throw it at a Combine soldier.”

In addition, in an interview with The Verge, David Speyrer—a Valve programmer—answered some questions regarding the technical aspirations of Half-Life: Alyx to ease gamers’ apprehensions that the game will be “another glorified tech demo for VR.” His answers are provided below as well as on The Verge’s website.

1) “It’s not a side story, nor an episodic one — it’s the next part of the Half-Life story, in a game around the same length as Half-Life 2.”

2) “While it does take place before the events of Half-Life 2, we actually recommend that you play through Half-Life 2: Episode 2 before you play Half-Life: Alyx, for reasons that will become clear as you progress.”

3) “Of course, we’ll have to wait and see how people react to Half-Life: Alyx once it’s out, but we’d love to continue pushing forward.”

In addition, Valve released a trailer for the game.

If the trailer, press release, and the interview with The Verge are any indication, the newest installment will offer fans some closure regarding some of their favorite characters and stories.

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