History VideoGame / HalfLifeAlyx

* ShotgunsAreJustBetter: Alyx acquires a handgun-style shotgun in the early parts of the game. Munitions are more scarce than for the pistol, but it can one-shot just about anything with a well-placed headshot.

* StealthSequel: [[spoiler:Though most of the game is indeed an {{Interquel}}, the very last segment of the game takes place during the events of ''Episode Two'' and shows what happened afterward...or more accurately, [[CosmicRetcon what has]] ''[[CosmicRetcon changed]]'' as a result of the events of ''Alyx''.]]

** Pistol: You cannot store magazines that are half-empty, so changing magazines will force you to drop the ejected magazine, and with it any rounds left in it - though in an emergency, it is possible to pick a half-used magazine back up and load it again. The game also simulates a round being in the chamber, so you will get an extra round in your weapon if you reload with at least one round remaining. There's even a distinct sound when the magazine itself is empty but the chamber still has a round in it, and the chamber light turns yellow in this case.

* PrisonShip: [[spoiler:The Vault]] is this in a nutshell. [[spoiler:It may also very well be TheAlcatraz, seeing as how its purpose is to seemingly keep the G-Man locked inside.]]

** The achievement "Near-Jeff Experience" involves staying close to Jeff for 10 seconds (but not too close).

* RedHerring: When Eli and Russell first learn of the Vault, they assume the Combine want something out of it, only to later learn that [[spoiler:it's actually a prison.]] As Alyx gets closer to the Vault, she happens to overhear a conversation between an unidentified human collaborator and an Combine Advisor regarding the Vault's contents, affirming that contained in the Vault is a "superweapon" [[spoiler:in the form of a person - more specifically, someone who caused untold mayhem at Black Mesa before vanishing into thin air. This leads Eli and Russell to believe that the prisoner inside the Vault is Gordon Freeman.]] When Alyx does reach the Vault, [[spoiler:the person she rescues isn't Gordon; it's the G-Man, the only ''other'' person to fit that description, being the one who orchestrated the resonance cascade in the first place.]]

''Half-Life: Alyx'' is a VR FirstPersonShooter developed and published by [[Creator/ValveCorporation Valve]], serving as an {{Interquel}} to ''[[VideoGame/HalfLife1 Half-Life]]'' and ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'', and the first installment of the ''VideoGame/HalfLife'' series since 2007's ''Half-Life 2: Episode Two''. It was released on March 23rd, 2020 on UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} for [=SteamVR=]-compatible systems (e.g. Valve Index, Platform/HTCVive, Platform/OculusRift and Oculus Quest, Windows Mixed Reality, and PIMAX).

''Half-Life: Alyx'' is a VR FirstPersonShooter developed and published by [[Creator/ValveCorporation Valve]], serving as an {{Interquel}} to ''[[VideoGame/HalfLife1 Half-Life]]'' and ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'', and the first installment of the ''VideoGame/HalfLife'' series since 2007's ''Half-Life 2: Episode Two''. It was released on March 23rd, 2020 on UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} for [=SteamVR=]-compatible systems (e.g. Valve Index, UsefulNotes/HTCVive, UsefulNotes/OculusRift and Oculus Quest, Windows Mixed Reality, and PIMAX).

* CompanyCrossReferences: Featured in the trailer and in-game during the Zoo level, a small figurine on a shelf can be found wearing the attire of [[VideoGame/TeamFortress2 a BLU Scout]]. An acompanying RED scout can also be found in Russel's office. There's also some graffiti art of [[VideoGame/{{Portal}} an Aperture Science turret]].

** Being shocked by a Reviver will cause not only the displays on your Russels to flicker but even the spectator HUD on the desktop will flicker as well.

** Also when Alyx tells Russell to suggest a song she would play on a piano, Russel wryly says "Flight of the Bumblebee", but Alyx doesn't react to Russel's obvious jest at all, meaning she has never heard of the song or of how intricate it is.

** The Citadel sequences from ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'' and ''Episode One'' is echoed in [[spoiler:the Vault, with Alyx losing all of her gear save the gravity gloves--which become instrumental in her mowing through the Combine guards. Instead of supercharging the Russels, they harness the remaining Vortal energy within the Vault to OneHitKill the guards.]]

* TheseusShipParadox: Alyx [[InvokedTrope Invokes]] this in her favor in regards to the pistol Russel gave her if you upgrade it enough; upgrade it all the way and she declares Russel's gun to be gone, and the the pistol she's holding is ''her'' gun now. Russell concedes the point.

** Pistol: You cannot store magazines that are half-empty, so changing magazines will force you to drop the ejected magazine, and with it any rounds left in it. The game does simulate a round being in the chamber however, so you will get an extra round in your weapon if you reload with rounds remaining or reload once the magazine itself is empty. There's even a distinct sound when the magazine itself is empty and the chamber light turns yellow in this case.

* SightedGunsAreLowTech: Zig-zagged. On the one hand, your basic weapons have crude iron sights, even the futuristic Combine [=SMG=]. Upgrades for the Pistol and [=SMG=] involve a holographic reflex sight, which allows for enhanced aiming down the sights. However, the Shotgun's LaserSight upgrade mounts on top of the weapon, making the original iron sights useless.

* TheseusShipParadox: Alyx [[InvokedTrope Invokes]] this in her favor as regards the pistol Russel gave her if you upgrade it enough; upgrade it all the way and she declares Russel's gun to be gone, and the the pistol she's holding is ''her'' gun now. Russell concedes the point.

--->[[spoiler:'''The G-Man:''']] [[spoiler:We are in the future. This is the moment where you watch your father die. ...unless... Unless you were willing to take matters into your ''own'' hands.]] [[spoiler:[[CosmicRetcon Release your father, Ms. Vance.]]]]

** Early on, the Vortigaunt Alyx meets says "Alyx Vance alone cannot prevent [Eli's] fate." [[spoiler:He's right. The two times Alyx tries to save her father, either someone else does it, or someone gives her the power to do it herself.]]

*** Considering [[WasOnceAMan what Jeff is like]] crushing him might be considered a MercyKill.

* SenseImpairedMonster: During Chapter 7, Alyx has to repeatedly avoid an [[InvincibleBoogeymen unkillable zombie-like humanoid]] named [[FluffyTheTerrible Jeff]] that wanders through the narrow corridors. Jeff's skull is split open like a Venus flytrap, rendering him blind, so he navigates by sound, necessitating that Alyx quietly sneak around. This is more difficult than it sounds, both because empty glass bottles litter the halls, alerting Jeff if she bumps into them, and because Jeff emits clouds of spores which will cause Alyx to cough if she walks through them without a gas mask or covering her mouth, again alerting Jeff. However, Alyx can also distract Jeff by ThrowingTheDistraction, to lead him away from her momentarily.

** ''Half-Life: Alyx'' is the first ''Half-Life'' game where the PlayerCharacter is fully voiced, rather than a HeroicMime for the duration of the player's control (like Barney Calhoun from ''Blue Shift'' being a fully-voice non-player character in ''Half-Life 2'').[[labelnote:note]]To be fair, Barney started as a HeroicMime and gained a voice afterwards. ''Alyx'', on the other hand, was always voiced from the start, and it would probably have been really jarring if she was suddenly mute. [[/labelnote]]

** ''Half-Life: Alyx'' is the first ''Half-Life'' game where the PlayerCharacter is fully voiced, rather than a HeroicMime for the duration of the player's control (like Barney Calhoun from ''Blue Shift'' being a fully-voice non-player character in ''Half-Life 2'').

[[quoteright:350:''Half-Life 3'' confirmed! For real this time!]]

''Half-Life: Alyx'' is a VR FirstPersonShooter developed and published by [[Creator/ValveCorporation Valve]], serving as an {{Interquel}} to ''[[VideoGame/HalfLife1 Half-Life]]'' and ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'', and the first installment of the series since 2007's ''Half-Life 2: Episode Two''. It was released on March 23rd, 2020 on UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} for [=SteamVR=]-compatible systems (e.g. Valve Index, UsefulNotes/HTCVive, UsefulNotes/OculusRift and Oculus Quest, Windows Mixed Reality, and PIMAX).

Set five years before the events of ''Half-Life 2'', the player takes control of Human Resistance member [[PromotedToPlayable Alyx Vance]] as she and her father Eli take the fight to the Combine. After Eli discovers a secret that the Combine have tried to keep hidden and is captured by them, she must venture into the Quarantine Zone to save him from imprisonment--or worse. Along the way she is assisted by Russell, who serves as Alyx's MissionControl, and the Gravity Gloves (or "Russells" as they're referred to) which serve as short-range prototype predecessors of the Gravity Gun.

Teased as a "flagship VR title," Valve wanted to develop a AAA VR title after working on VR technology with Vive, seeing it at as something players would desire. Following a prototype using ''Half-Life 2'''s assets, the game entered full production with a team of 80 people, using an updated Source 2 engine. The game was revealed with a trailer in November 2019. Marc Laidlaw and Kelly Bailey, the former writer and composer of the ''Half-Life'' games respectively, served as consultants for the game.

** [[FacelessGoons The Combine Soldiers]] in ''Alyx'' behave very differently from their ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'' counterparts. Unlike ''[=HL2=]'s'' soldiers with their very mechanical tone of voice, {{Newspeak}}-[=addled=] dialogue and general lack of humanity, ''Alyx''[='=]s soldiers are much more human-like, [[EnemyChatter having casual conversations while on duty,]] similar to [[VideoGame/HalfLife1 the first game's]] HECU Marines. They also panic more frequently during combat, and can occasionally try to convince Alyx to surrender mid-fight. This is {{justified}} because, as this is set before the events of ''Half-Life 2'', these troops have had relatively fewer augmentations with the elite variants (being the most heavily augmented) being more in line with ''[=HL2's=]'' Overwatch Soldiers.

* InventoryManagementPuzzle: You have your backpack and two wrist slots for storage, but your backpack only stores ammo. Medkit syringes, grenades, antlion grubs, and even random junk are either carried in the wrist slots or your hands, so carrying more than two things can require you to literally juggle items.
** Or you can just [[CuttingTheKnot toss everything into a bucket and carry that with you,]] though this can cause performance issues between levels.

* TookALevelInJerkass: [[spoiler:The G-Man in ''Alyx'' is a lot more cold-blooded and ruthless than before (or at least, less AmbiguouslyEvil). In this installment, the entire situation with "unforeseen consequences" and Eli's death was a [[ManipulativeBastard ruse to trick younger Alyx into striking a deal with him in exchange for her "employment"]], all because he was getting tired of Gordon and wanted to replace him. When Alyx retcons Eli's death by killing the Advisor, G-Man [[LackOfEmpathy disparagingly refers to both Eli and the Advisor as "entities"]], before locking Alyx inside the stasis indefinitely. Also, it is implied that G-Man and his employers ''could'' chase the Combine off Earth or even destroy them entirely, but choose not to for their own reasons, meaning that ''every'' action taken by G-Man and his employers has been done purely out of self-interest.]]

* IndyPloy: While Russell and Alyx lay out a pretty meticulous plan to stop a Combine train, the last step is [[{{Pun}} derailed]] as the control terminal they plan to use is broken. Alyx then has several seconds to think of an alternative way to stop the train. [[spoiler:She pulls a railroad switch that deviates the train into a dead end, making it crash.]]

** [[FacelessGoons The Combine Soldiers]] in ''Alyx'' behave very differently from their ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'' counterparts. Unlike ''[=HL2=]'s'' soldiers with their very mechanical tone of voice, {{Newspeak}}-[=addled=] dialogue and general lack of humanity, ''Alyx''[='=]s soldiers are much more human-like, [[EnemyChatter having casual conversations while on duty,]] similar to [[VideoGame/HalfLife1 the first game's]] HECU Marines. They also panic more frequently during combat, and can occasionally try to convince Alyx to surrender mid-fight. This is {{justified}} because, as this is set before the events of ''Half-Life 2'', these troops have had relatively fewer augmentations.

'''Alyx Vance:''' I'm here... so what's the plan?

''Half-Life: Alyx'' is a VR FirstPersonShooter developed and published by [[Creator/ValveCorporation Valve]], serving as an {{Interquel}} to ''[[VideoGame/HalfLife1 Half-Life]]'' and ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'', and the first installment of the series since 2007’s ''Half-Life 2: Episode Two''. It was released on March 23rd, 2020 on UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} for [=SteamVR=]-compatible systems (e.g. Valve Index, UsefulNotes/HTCVive, UsefulNotes/OculusRift and Oculus Quest, Windows Mixed Reality, and PIMAX).

** [[FacelessGoons The Combine Soldiers]] in ''Alyx'' behave very differently from their ''Videogame/HalfLife2'' counterparts. Unlike ''[=HL2=]'s'' soldiers with their very mechanical tone of voice, {{Newspeak}}-[=addled=] dialogue and general lack of humanity, ''Alyx''[='=]s soldiers are much more human-like, [[EnemyChatter having casual conversations while on duty,]] similar to [[VideoGame/HalfLife1 the first game's]] HECU Marines. They also panic more frequently during combat, and can occasionally try to convince Alyx to surrender mid-fight. This is {{justified}} because, as this is set before the events of ''Half-Life 2'', these troops have had relatively fewer augmentations.

'''Grunt 2:''' He's kicking it. Overwatch says stop kicking it.\\

* AirstripOne: The game returns to the same anonymous "City 17" that ''Half-Life 2'' took place in. The dev commentary mentions that the city's art direction was meant to emphasize the contempt and disregard that the Combine have for human architecture, with their brutal, utilitarian fixtures punching through pre-existing structures and murals with abandon.

* AlienKudzu: The majority of the game takes place within the Quarantine Zone, a section of City 17 that has a bad infestation of Xen wildlife and plant matter. The alien biomass grows at a fast rate, encasing entire rooms and buildings, spewing noxious spores and giving refuge to some species not seen outside the zone. The Combine have even set up a cleaning force to reclaim the district... to a questionable success.

* {{Antepiece}}: Two notable examples with "Jeff":
** Jeff's introduction confines him to a narrow hallway below the player and provides numerous objects to throw (and accidentally send falling below), allowing the player to practice baiting him around safely. There's also a "training alcove" in the hallway with the crusted-down roller door that separates Jeff and the player--it lets Jeff stand close to the player's position to threaten them, but cannot actually attack them as the player toys with the various triggers of the level (e.g. glass bottles of vodka, a locker whose lock has to be destroyed with a gunshot for its contents, another locker filled with noise-making Xen clams).
** In an early puzzle, you are required to lure and lock Jeff inside a walk-in refrigerator. The refrigerator door is relatively complex for its need of both hands: you must slide it closed and hold it shut with one hand, while you secure the latch with your other hand. Earlier in the chapter, you get to open an identical refrigerator door, giving you a chance to observe how it works without the pressure of being killed if you take too long fumbling with it.

** [[FacelessGoons The Combine Soldiers]] in ''Alyx'' behave very differently from their ''Videogame/HalfLife2'' counterparts. Unlike ''[=HL2=]'s'' soldiers with their very mechanical tone of voice, {{Newspeak}}-[=addled=] dialogue and general lack of humanity, ''Alyx''[='=]s soldiers are much more human-like, [[EnemyChatter having casual conversations while on duty,]] similar to [[VideoGame/HalfLife1 the first game's]] HECU Marines. They also panic more frequently during combat, and can occasionally try to convince Alyx to surrender mid-fight. Justified because they are a much earlier and less augmented version of the Overwatch troops.

** Their gameplay mechanics are also significantly altered, with them now seeking cover and using grenades and Manhacks to flush the player out of their own cover. This was explained in the developer commentary as necessary for the medium change, as their flat screen presentation --charging in with guns blazing-- was rejected as unsatisfying by playtesters.