Half-Life: Alyx new liquid physics can make some really good looking Baja Blast

Half-Life: Alyx now supports the tropical lime crispness of Mountain Dew Baja Blast.

The new development is the work of a modder who put Half-Life: Alyx's eye-catching liquid shader to use on something far more appealing than musty bottles of wine (which have probably gone to vinegar since the whole alien apocalypse thing anyway): a lovingly recreated bottle of the Taco Bell/seasonal exclusive soft drink. 3D artist Kosan uploaded a pair of videos showing off their handiwork on Twitter. 

The first video shows Alyx discovering an entire cooler of Baja Blast, which must be a welcome sight for somebody who was still a kid when the last Taco Bell fell in the Seven Hour War. The second video shows that barnacles - those things that dangle down their sticky tongues then eat stuff that catches on them - also enjoy the official taste of summer. The only problem, and it's admittedly a big one, is that you can't taste things in virtual reality. Yet.

You can see the specific values Kosan used to create the shader effect in a followup Tweet. Matthew Wilde, the Valve visual effects developer who created the shader, shared his admiration for the project.

The same update that added liquid effects to Half-Life: Alyx also refreshed the game with a bunch of quality of life fixes and UI improvements - you can crack open the full patch notes right here.

If you can't start shaking up bottles of real-life soda in virtual reality right now, at least you can enjoy all the Half-Life soundtracks on Spotify.