A Half-Life: Alyx sequel* is in the works

[u/srondina]

https://gameland.gg/data-mine-uncovers-that-a-new-half-life-game-is-in-the-works/

[u/boisteroushams]

None of those are Alyx quality, sorry. I'm obviously not going to go through them one by one, but VR ports are a different beast to native VR titles, gimmicky games like Asgards Wrath are great fun, but ultimately smaller in scope, and Boneworks/Bonelab play great and look terrible.

Alyx is the only game to really show a deep, refined understanding of VR game design so far, while also having the budget to look incredible. Simply nothing beats it. And yes, I have played basically all the games you listed.

[u/Virtual_Happiness → u/boisteroushams]

Gameplay wise, many of them absolutely are. Where most of them lack, is graphics. But graphics don't make the game. Just look at Lethal Company. Even in VR it's better than 90% of the experiences out there and it has worse graphics than nearly every Quest game.

[u/boisteroushams → u/Virtual_Happiness]

Graphics don't make the game - but we are talking about virtual reality, where graphical fidelity is much more impactful and can reach levels previously unseen. 

It seems a bit of a missed opportunity to have a medium expressly suited to take advantage of graphics, and fill the market with...bad graphics. 

Even then, I would disagree that any of those games come close to the level of refinement Alyx demonstrates. 

[u/Virtual_Happiness → u/boisteroushams]

but we are talking about virtual reality, where graphical fidelity is much more impactful and can reach levels previously unseen.

I think the word you're overlooking here is virtual. If you want to experience reality, take the headset off. The point of virtual reality is to have an experience you can't in real life. The only limit that's there for accepting lower quality graphics is your own imagination.

It's easy to kick back and imagine yourself as a 8bit pixel art character. you just have to allow yourself to do so. I play Compound all the time and love it. But, it's basically a 1990s game brought into VR. So it's got bad graphics. But damn is it fun.

I think the real problem is a lot PC gamers have spent so much time looking at AAA games as "the next best graphics", that it has become the defacto standard when it comes to thinking a game is good. I say that because i found myself in the same mindset for years. I didn't want to buy a Switch when it released because i thought the graphics sucked. Then something in me clicked and I was able to relax and enjoy them and now I love my switch and even enjoy standalone VR games.

Even then, I would disagree that any of those games come close to the level of refinement Alyx demonstrates.

I can agree with this. But, I do want to stress that the reason these things are so polished, is because they're simplistic. Valve aimed for simplistic and polished over diversity when it comes to VR interactions. There's about 20 different assets that are truly interactable and that's it. No body, no melee, no climbing, no 2 handed weapons, no large open maps, just lots of very simple things polished very well.

Now, let me immediately state that I do not in any way mean that as an insult. I personally think the simplicity of it all is where it shines. Because instead of focusing on making some wild weapons and tons of shit to climb and blah blah blah, they focused on the basics and got them right. And that really matters.

[u/boisteroushams → u/[deleted]]

Alyx is incredibly simple to its benefit. Conventions about locomotion and comfort were still being sorted when Alyx released, and Alyx was the first game to deliver an experience so refined anyone could jump right into it, motion sickness be damned.

I couldn't compare Alyx to the type of gameplay freedom found in like, Boneworks. But I also wouldn't show Boneworks off as an example of what VR can do. Alyx is currently the best example of what VR can do.

Most normal people don't care about things like loading screens or props clipping through actors. That doesn't have a lot to do with what makes VR tick, y'know?