'Half-Life: Alyx' Is The Closest Gamers Will Get To 'Half-Life 3'

"Half-Life" is best remembered as one of those first-shooter video games that took the gaming world by storm. It has been almost 12 years now and some are still hoping to see a follow-up to the game developed and published by Valve. Right now, the closest to it is "Half-Life: Alyx" which is scheduled for release in March 2020.

It should be noted that "Half-Life: Alyx" is not necessarily the multiplayer game that most remember the game to be. It is a VR-only title featuring no multiplayer option. Additionally, Valve's description of the game is that this may be nothing more than a glorified tech demo aimed at pushing virtual reality headsets, The Verge reported.

This could be something for the people who are into virtual reality gaming. But for "Half-Life" fans, it is a chance to see some new footage of the said game. Focusing more on graphics, the whole thing was shown via the YouTube channel Tested.

According to Valve, "Half-Life: Alyx" is a prequel (of sorts). It tells the tale of Alyx Vance and her father Eli building a resistance against Combine's alien invasion of earth. Players will take on the role of Alyx, manipulating their way with the aid of "gravity gloves." From there, the game is pretty much similar to what first-person shooting games do but on a single-player mode basis.

Valve game designer Robin Walker explained in an interview at the 2019 Game Awards how "Half-Life 3" proved to be a daunting project. Instead, he felt that going the VR route would be a way to come close to that goal. But to do so, they needed to inject the virtual reality angle.

"I think to some extent, VR was a way we could fool ourselves into believing we had a way to do this," he said.

It should also be noted that there seem to be no plans for a non-VR release. The game was made with virtual reality in mind, meaning it may not necessarily translate into PC or game consoles. "Half-Life: Alyx" is slated to debut by the first quarter on the PC and will be compatible with several VR headsets. However, Business Insider points out that this does not necessarily mean that more "Half-Life" platforms coming in the future.

"We want to put this out and see how the world reacts to it before we make any concrete plans about what's next," said Valve game developer David Speyrer.