Screenshots & trailers
What players say
Why the number is what it is: aspect mentions counted across 299 sampled Steam reviews (290 positive / 9 negative), recent and most-helpful. Plain keyword counting, fully reproducible; nothing here is written by a machine.
What positive reviews talk about
- Visuals & art11% mention it
- Story & writing10% mention it
- Performance6% mention it
- World & exploration6% mention it
- Combat4% mention it
What negative reviews complain about
Negative reviews don't converge on specific aspects.
Satisfaction by hours played
Same score, different games: see how sentiment holds up the longer people play.
Under 5h
89%
57 reviews
5-15h
98%
127 reviews
15-40h
99%
86 reviews
40-100h
100%
27 reviews
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 93 | 44 |
| Creator reviews (3 tracked) | – | 96 | 2 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 98% | 94 | 1022 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | 94 | 213 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 97% | 93 | 128 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 300 reviews sampled · 367 total reviews in window · weighted 237.6 up / 6.4 down · computed 1h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (100)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 100
“Half-Life: Alyx is one of the pinnacles of what VR has to offer right now. Every aspect of the game is carefully crafted to be comfortable and fun for both newcomers and VR elitists.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“If you were worried about the quality, you can calmly exhale - Valve has not forgotten how to make great games. Half-Life: Alyx is not just the best and most beautiful project for virtual reality to date, but also an excellent and very worthy addition to the Half-Life series. It is simply a "must have" in the collection of a fan of the genre and franchise. If you were looking for a reason to buy an expensive VR helmet for PC, then you have finally found it. And everyone else should at least play it at a friend's house. And, Valve, you are now obligated to release Half-Life 3!”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Simply the best VR-game for now. But nothing more than that.”
read full review ↗ - 95
“With Half-Life: Alyx, Valve has proved once again that they are the best. After a few underwhelming projects like Artifact or Dota Underlords, the developers went back to their roots and created a superb single-player game. Alyx has a great storyline with fun characters and offers unique gameplay utilizing a technology capable of delivering a new experience. This VR title is a true revelation.”
read full review ↗ - 90
- 100
“Half-Life: Alyx will go down as a watershed moment for VR gaming. Valve's years of work in VR are on full display here, featuring gameplay memories that will last a lifetime.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Half-Life: Alyx sets a new high standard for VR games, both in technical terms and gameplay itself. Visually impressive and customizable for accessibility, Alyx's 20-hour campaign strikes an enjoyable balance between action, horror, puzzle-solving, and humor. VR gamers shouldn't miss this one.”
read full review ↗ - 100
“It's a new generation of VR games and a whole new approach to fun. For this game it is worth buying glasses, because we have not experienced such a thing yet. Valve, fantastic job.”
read full review ↗ - 100
“Alyx leaves you with the lingering suspicion that there is yet more ground to cover, that there’s far more this series and this developer can do with this new set of tools and that this is only the first part of that story. Though you’ll find yourself hungry for more, there’s something comforting in the knowledge that, for Valve, this is the dawn of a new era. Half-Life: Alyx makes good on its second chance, it is as essential a VR game as you’ll find in 2020, but perhaps the most exciting thing about it is the message is that the best is yet to come.”
read full review ↗ - 98
“I'm not going to say that Half-Life: Alyx is the reason to get a VR headset, as that would be a disservice to the entertaining gameplay experiences that have been done well within VR. Rather, I will say that Half-Life: Alyx is perhaps the first VR game that gets close to making the player feel like they are a tangible part of the world. It represents some of the absolute best that VR technology can offer right now, and I would point to this particular game for anyone who wants to decide for themselves if VR is "worth it." This title couldn't have been done any other way; Alyx is a masterful addition to anyone's VR game library.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Half-Life: Alyx is the perfect example of the best Virtual Reality can be. After years of what felt like nothing more than tech demos or ports, this game has arrived to show everyone how it’s done.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“City 17 provides the setting for a VR adventure filled with brilliant detailing.”
read full review ↗
INDIANTVCZ
GameMAG
3DNews
GRYOnline.pl
The Angry Joe Show
Total Gaming Network
PC Invasion
PPE.pl
Worth Playing
Checkpoint Gaming
Eurogamer…and 88 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Half-Life: Alyx Update 1.5.4 releasedMay 6, 2022
- Half-Life: Alyx Update 1.5.3 releasedMay 5, 2022
- Half-Life: Alyx Update 1.5.2 releasedNov 19, 2020
- Half-Life: Alyx Update 1.5.1 releasedNov 18, 2020
- Commentary UpdateNov 12, 2020
- Half-Life: Alyx Update 1.4.1b releasedJul 15, 2020
- Half-Life: Alyx Update 1.4.1a releasedJun 16, 2020
- Half-Life: Alyx Update 1.4.1 releasedJun 15, 2020significant · resets scoring window
- Half-Life: Alyx Update 1.4 releasedMay 28, 2020significant · resets scoring window
- Half-Life: Alyx Update 1.3.1 releasedMay 19, 2020
- Half-Life: Alyx Update 1.2.1 releasedApr 9, 2020
- Half-Life: Alyx Update 1.2 releasedMar 28, 2020significant · resets scoring window
- Half-Life: Alyx Update 1.1 releasedMar 25, 2020