There was a lot riding on Half-Life: Alyx. Not only is it Valve’s first Half-Life game in more than a decade, it is also the studio’s first full fledged VR title. By the measurable reactions from critics and players alike, the game seems to have delivered against the odds.
There was so much pre-release hype surrounding Half-Life: Alyx that I was personally worried that expectations had become entirely unrealistic. But the results are in and there seems to be widespread agreement that it’s a damn great game. Not just a great VR game, but a great game among all games. At least, that’s what review data is showing.
Looking at aggregate scores of critical reviews of 2020 PC games on Metacritic, Half-Life: Alyx is the best rated so far. With an average score of 92 across 32 critic reviews, the game has beaten out major 2020 releases like Doom Eternal [90] and Ori and the Will of the Wisps [89].
When looking at the top rated PC titles of all time on Metacritic, Alyx holds the 31st position in the list, surrounded by PC gaming classics like The Sims (2000), Warcraft III (2002), Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007), and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2005), while far exceeding Half-Life 2: Episode One & Two.
Looking specifically at the best critically rated VR games of all time on Metacritic, Half-Life: Alyx sits at #2. Here’s the breakdown of the top five:
- 93 – Beat Saber (2019)
- 92 – Half-Life: Alyx (2020)
- 90 – Astro Bot: Rescue Mission (2018)
- 89 – Lone Echo (2017)
- 88 – Asgard’s Wrath (2019)
Half-Life: Alyx has also topped the list on Steam, where it now stands as the #1 rated VR game of all time according to Steam250, a review ranking site which weighs both user reviews and number of reviews to determine rankings.
Valve’s debut VR title has also broke records among VR games for concurrent players and concurrent Twitch viewers, and it’s starting to look like the game will have a lasting impact on VR going forward as ‘the game to beat’ when it comes to single-player narrative action in VR.
