The week of March 2, 2020, the first bonuses for those who bought a Valve Index helmet (and therefore get the game for free) and for those who pre-ordered Half-Life: Alyx, have been promised. Well, it's now done since two Steam VR Home environments are now available. Here is a great opportunity to take your first steps in Half-Life: Alyx. However, these are only SteamVR Home environments with a few possible interactions, but this is already a first glimpse of what Valve offers us in this prequel.
If you don't own a Valve Index helmet, they will be back in stock from March 9th, and you haven't pre-ordered Half-Life: Alyx, you can still join a public lounge with these environments and then save it in your own selection and visit the proposed places as you wish. In the meantime, we already offer you the opportunity to view the videos put online by our colleagues at Road to VR below.
The first proposed location is an alley inside City 17, the metropolis we discovered in Half-Life 2. The imposing Citadel, still under construction, can be seen since Half-Life: Alyx is located between Half-Life and Half-Life 2 where it will be completed.
The second environment is the laboratory of Russell, a brand new character member of the Resistance. A makeshift one that's hidden inside his apartment. We can notably see the machine that will allow us to equip ourselves with the famous Gravity Gloves that will replace the Gravity Gun of Half-Life 2.
Finally, Valve reminds us that "The rendering technology available in SteamVR's native environments is different from that of Half-Life: Alyx, and the interactivity is far less than what the game itself provides. So while these scenes may not have the fidelity that they have in the real game, we think they are a faithful enough translation to provide a fun VR preview of the game's setting."
Half-Life: Alyx will be released March 23rd, 2020 on Valve Index, HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and WMR.
As Half-Life: Alyx re-launches the franchise, the long-awaited sequel to Valve's success may finally be released.
