What a year what a YEAR

2019 has been a helluva year for gaming. With Kingdom Hearts 3 releasing after a 12 year wait to Shenmue 3 dropping after nearly 2 decades, it seemed Christmas was celebrated year round by gamers and that nothing could be better.

And then Half-Life: Alyx happened.

The trailer, which released on November 21, 2019, showcases the newest edition to the Half-Life franchise (omg that’s a sentence I’m typing), a VR game played through the eyes of Alyx Vance, an NPC and close friend of main character Gordon Freeman from Half-Life 2.

According to IGN, Half-Life: Alyx “takes place between Half-Life and Half-Life 2 and will be playable on SteamVR compatible hardware: Valve Index, Vive, Oculus, and Windows MR (Mixed Reality).”

Gamers who have purchased the Valve Index will receive a copy of Half-Life: Alyx for free; everyone else can preorder their copy of the game for a 10% off discount.

Those interested in preparing for a conclusion to the most infamous cliffhanger in video game history should take note of Valve programmer David Speyrer’s words:

 “While it does take place before the events of Half-Life 2, we actually recommend that you play through Half-Life 2: Episode 2 before you play Half-Life: Alyx, for reasons that will become clear as you progress.”

Players can purchase the Half-Life Complete bundle on Steam, currently 40% off at the time of this publication.

Half-Life: Alyx has an anticipated release date of March 2020.