Half-Life: Alyx without VR now with better animations and maps

Source: Valve

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A few days ago, gamers' hopes were ignited by reports suggesting that Valve studio is working on a new installment of the Half-Life series. Fans of the brand are hungry for new content, as it's been almost 17 years since the release of HL2: Episode 2. Admittely, Half-Life: Alyx was released in 2020, but this game officially works only in VR mode.

We write “officially” because a group of fans has been developing the excellent Half-Life Alyx NoVR mod, which allows you to play this production without virtual reality goggles. The modification has just received a new update.

1. Half-Life Alyx NoVR – download the mod (the creators have given us permission to host the mirror)

What's new in Half-Life Alyx NoVR?

The summer update introduced many changes.

1. Toner Puzzles Complete - all toner puzzles are now complete and solvable from start to finish! These puzzles get very tricky by the end and offer a very fun way to progress through the levels.
2. All Steam Achievements are now obtainable! To get the achievement for disarming a trip-mine, use the mod branch for now, otherwise you can achieve 100% with Half-Life Alyx NoVR.
3. Explore City 17 with New Locomotion Changes and Map Edits - the authors have made substantial changes and map edits to make the players locomotion feel smoother and weapons feel better while moving. Players will no longer get caught on objects on the ground like train tracks etc and have proper smooth locomotion through the levels
4. Viewmodel Changes - there have been changes to how weapons sway, bob and overall move as you walk and run
5. Boundary Edits - players can no longer break level logic and proper edits have been made so players cannot break the map boundaries and other similar issues that could have arised before
6. The new low accuracy cross-hair pushes players to more carefully plan their shots and use their iron sight upgrades more often. These are some of the small steps always taken to take the gameplay into the same feeling of carefully placing your shots in VR.

For people new to this mod – this project allows you to play Half-Life: Alyx like a classic PC game, that is, on the monitor and with the mouse and keyboard controls. To achieve this, the authors had to thoroughly rework the entire control, modify all the challenges, as well as adjust the maps to the new movement system. The result is surprisingly good, and with the mod you can play this title like a normal, high-budget FPS.

How much demand there is for this project is best shown by the fact that more than 200,000 people have already played it.