Their dialogue is snappy and just funny enough to lighten the tone of a game about a doomed rescue mission in a version of Earth occupied by a brutal alien force. The two characters chatter at each other throughout the game the days of Half-Life with a silent protagonist are over. Russell, a friend in the resistance who invented the gravity gloves that Alyx wears throughout the game, is never shy about sharing his pessimism.
You are Alyx Vance, and your mission is simple: The Combine have your father, Eli Vance, and you must save him.Īlyx knows that doing so is a long shot. Half-Life: Alyx begins by reminding you that Vance is dead, and then starts the story - five years before the events in Episode 2. He died at the end of Episode 2, creating a cliffhanger that has remained unresolved since President Obama’s first term, some 12-plus years ago. Eli Vance, the leader of the resistance against the alien-like occupying force known as the Combine, is dead. It’s finally time to go back to City 17.Įxcept time can be a fluid thing in the Half-Life universe. The soundtrack begins to swell, and the logo appears. You stand among rubble, staring up at a giant wall that stretches up into the clouds, and it erases any doubt about the scale of what you’re about to experience. Half-Life: Alyx inspires awe from its opening seconds. This is the Half-Life game I’ve been waiting for since the end of Episode Two. Let’s take a breath before we discuss the story, and whether or not it moves the lore of Half-Life forward or attempts to retcon what we already know about the series.īecause the gameplay loop of Half-Life: Alyx is exquisite, which means the entire game works. Let’s strip away the conversation about whether or not that game should be in virtual reality, when Valve knows that decision will keep many fans from playing it, at least initially. So let’s take a moment to discard the hype of a new Half-Life game after a wait this long.
If you want to see the very best of the best for your platform(s) of choice, check out Polygon Essentials. When we award a game the Polygon Recommends badge, it’s because we believe the title is uniquely thought-provoking, entertaining, inventive, or fun - and worth fitting into your schedule. Polygon Recommends is our way of endorsing our favorite games. A good core loop can salvage an otherwise poor game. If the developers aren’t able to provide a rewarding core loop, one that you’ll want to repeat for hours - if not days or months, in certain cases - everything else is wasted time. The core loop in Gears of War involves running forward, taking cover, returning fire, nailing the active reload sequence, and then running forward again.Įvery game, no matter how complicated or narratively rich, can be boiled down to simple core loops, which means that the entire experience depends on those loops being good - satisfying, even. The core loop in Angry Birds involves pulling back on the catapult, aiming your shot, and watching to see how much of the structure of the level each bird is able to take down. You’ve waited 13 years for a new Half-Life game, so I know you can wait a few paragraphs for me to get into the review.Ī core loop is the thing you do, minute to minute, while playing a video game - the action, or actions, that you repeat throughout the entire experience.
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