Half-Life: Alyx marks the end of the series’ “narrative limbo”

Half-Life fans have been stuck in "narrative limbo for a long time now", Valve has acknowledged.

In an interview with The Gamer, project lead Robin Walker talked about the ending to Half-Life: Alyx, the critically acclaimed VR prequel to Half-Life 2. “The story couldn’t be something you could just ignore and move onto whatever we build next,” explained Walker, referencing the game's final act.

“We wanted to be excited about possibility again,” Walker explained. “We gave [the player] a red herring where you think you know how it’s going to end with a fully plausible ending and we then subverted that.” While this is by no means a confirmation that more Half-Life is coming, the franchise certainly has a much rosier outlook than it used to.

We adored Half-Life: Alyx when we played it launch, with our Half-Life Alyx review describing it as “a love letter to Half-Life.” It has great mechanics, devilish puzzles, and some exceptional story beats – three cornerstones of classic Valve games that clearly haven’t gone anywhere.

Prior to Alyx, there hadn’t been a release in the Half-Life series for over a decade, and that last game to come out - Half-Life 2 Episode 2 - ended on a massive cliffhanger that left fans clamoring for more. It really did seem like more would never come too, until the shock announcement of Half-Life Alyx in late 2019.

Half-Life: Alyx is available on Steam, but bear in mind that you’ll need a VR headset to play it. There has been no official word of the game coming to other consoles, but with Sony’s recent confirmation that a new PSVR is in development, it’s not impossible that we might see Half-Life Alyx make its way to the PS5 in the future.

If you’ve finished Half-Life: Alyx, check out our best VR games lineup to see what else is out there waiting for you.