The Half-Life franchise has always been well-known for blending the FPS genre with a touch of horror. The same holds to be true for the series's newest installment, Half-Life: Alyx, which puts players in the perspective of beloved character Alyx Vance. It's recently come to light, however, that the series's first foray into VR could have leaned much further into its horror roots.
Half-Life: Alyx takes the player through events occurring between Half-Life and Half-Life 2. The game also takes players out of the shoes of Gordon Freeman for the first time and puts them in control of Alyx Vance. Longtime fans of the series are more than familiar with the terror of fighting off headcrabs in the dark. Still, the VR installment takes a much scarier approach while managing to cut down on the shock of these infamous enemies.
Valve level designer Dario Casali and programmer Kerry Davis have recently spoken about what Half-Life: Alyx was like in development, and how much scarier it could have been. Originally, the game included the fast headcrab and fast zombie enemies from Half-Life 2, but they were cut early on to make the game more accessible. As Casali said about another developer encountering a headcrab in-game, "He'd just pull off the headset and say, 'I'm not going anywhere in there!'" They wanted to avoid creating situations in which players felt they were too scared to continue, so in addition to cutting some scarier enemies, they also focused on reducing the number of jump scares in the game, "Because jump scares are terrible in VR."
It comes as no surprise that developers would be especially cautious about accessibility in a VR horror game, as both of these elements can create huge roadblocks for potential players. Casali went on to speak more about the importance of pacing and the gradual introduction of mechanics in the game, all to help the player feel more safe when those scary moments do come.
"We deliberately played with the pacing of introduction of elements that could feel overwhelming or anxiety-ridden, like being approached by an enemy for the first time and shooting a gun and reloading for the first time. You get the gun and you get the ammo before you have any kind of threat to you whatsoever. We really did recognize that we didn't want to overwhelm people from the very beginning"
This push for accessibility can come as both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, making sure as many people are able to play the game as possible allows for the community surrounding it to expand. However, some longtime fans and purists may be upset at the prospect of "missing out" on a horror experience more accurate to the series's other games.
Though some enemies and elements were removed to make the game less scary, fans have no need to fret. There are still plenty of headcrabs in Half-Life: Alyx. Whether or not Half-Life: Alyx is as horrific as it could possibly be, it's more than worth it to get a headcrab to the face in VR.
Half-Life: Alyx is available now for PC.
Source: Gamespot