Alyx for gamers who can’t afford headsets

After all Half-life: alyx is a phenomenal game. However, since it is all VR, many gamers simply cannot play it due to the high cost of VR hardware and the computers that support it. To fix this, modders have been working on No VR Mods for Alyxwith varying degrees of success.

Recently, SoMNst, a modder from Argentina, posted a video on YouTube highlighting the progress of their own No VR mod.

So far it looks good. The camera does not jerk with every movement as we saw it other mods

and Alyx’s hands are controlled with the mouse and keyboard. Your fingers move as one instead of the incoherent one-finger movements associated with a gamer’s hand on a VR controller. The nearly nine-minute video mostly features fights, while other videos on SoMNst’s channel show how Alyx works with her omni tool, which now moves more naturally as it’s controlled with a mouse and keyboard instead of someone’s hands.

SoMNst’s goal is to get the mod as close as possible Half-life 2 as possible. It looks like no VR Half-life: alyx looks like a typical source engine first person shooter.

While gamers who don’t own VR might be curious about these mods, others say they distort the original vision of the game’s developers. SoMNst is very aware that a no-VR mod dilutes some of that Half-life: alyx Special.

“I’ve played the game in VR and I think the game is a masterpiece. Valve did a great job, ”said SoMNst Kotaku by email. However, the high cost of VR hardware has created such a barrier to entry that most people cannot experience this magic. SoMNst would like to lower this barrier.

“In the current situation in my country (Argentina), it is almost impossible to get a VR headset even if you try to get the cheapest one,” wrote SoMNst. “That’s why I’m developing this mod and because I think it’s a nice challenge to get to work HLA without VR. “

Currently, only two of the game’s 11 chapters can be played with the mod. SoMNst and two other modders, Optimus97 and Nicklaus, are working together to create no-VR-friendly versions of the game’s core features like crafting and main menu navigation. SoMNst says they’ll prioritize that before working on making the rest of the game playable.

A no VR mod is exactly what I’m personally waiting for Half-life: alyx. I love the Half a life Games and was excited to see that Valve had secretly revived the series. But my excitement waned a lot when I knew the game was VR only. VR games interest me, but I can’t justify buying an expensive headset that will no doubt land in my closet for use with a game or two. (Although the Oculus Quest is much cheaper, I can’t stand the idea of ​​mandatory Facebook integration.) SoMNsts Half-life: alyx no-VR mod isn’t available yet, but if so I’ll be the first in line to try.