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Plenty of fans haven't been able to play Half-Life: Alyx due to its VR exclusivity, but a new mod aimed to fix that bottleneck makes the entire game playable without a VR headset.
Watching the mod in action, I'm impressed by how playable the action looks on a mouse and keyboard - truly, I can't imagine the work and know-how that surely went into adapting a VR-exclusive game for regular PC controls. That said, it's apparent Half-Life: Alyx was built from the ground up for VR play. You can still see a stiff pair of hands separated from their wrists in a first-person perspective, HTC Vive controllers during loading screens, and some occasional jank. Regardless, for the moment it's probably your best bet at experiencing the entirety of Half-Life: Alyx without shelling out for a VR kit.
You can get your hands on the Half-Life: Alyx no-VR mod, as well as detailed setup instructions, here. Having personally decided to wait until I have a VR setup at home, I'm interested to hear player perspectives on how it feels to play Half-Life: Alyx without a VR headset.
Half-Life: Alyx has seen mostly glowing reviews since its release last month. GamesRadar's own Rachel Weber called it "a love letter to Half-Life" and "a truly immersive experience that will impress Half-Life hardliners and newcomers alike." While I'm refraining from giving it a go without VR, I can't blame Half-Life fans too excited about Alyx to resist the new mod.
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