If you need more Half-Life 2 VR, you’re in luck. Following the incredible success of Valve’s own Half-Life: Alyx and the fantastic community-made Half-Life 2 VR mod, the creators behind the latter are back with more virtual reality adventures for the classic FPS game, with support for all SteamVR headsets including the Meta Quest 2, HTC Vive, and Valve Index. Half-Life 2 VR Mod Episode One is out now on Steam, and it looks spectacular.
Coming from the Source VR Mod Team behind the base Half-Life 2 VR Mod, this Episode One adaptation sees you once again in the shoes of everyone’s favourite silent protagonist, Gordon Freeman, as he returns to City 17 and teams up with Alyx Vance. With a fully integrated radial menu, functional iron sights, two-handed weapons, and manual reloading, along with optional laser sight and a quick reload accessibility setting, all the modern conveniences of virtual reality are right at your fingertips.
Perhaps the biggest draw of all, seen in the announcement trailer below, is just how fun the VR gravity gun can be. Perhaps one of the most iconic weapons in any first-person shooter, picking up everything from barrels to Combine soldiers with the Zero Point Energy Field manipulator and hurtling them around the environment is as pure a joy today as it was in 2004, made all the better when it’s in your hands for real (well, virtually).
The mod is playable on all headsets that are supported by SteamVR, which includes the Valve Index, Meta Quest 2, and HTC Vive – so if you’ve picked up one of the best VR headsets on PC you should be good to go. It even includes support for bHaptics vests, so if you really need to feel the immersion all over your body, the option is there.
Half-Life 2 VR Mod Episode One is out now on Steam. It’s free to play, but you’ll need to own the original Half-Life 2 Episode One on your account (not simply through family sharing). However, you don’t need to have the original game currently installed to play this VR conversion.
If you’re not in the mood for VR right now, perhaps this Half-Life 2 remake in the style of classic Resident Evil is more up your alley. Alternatively, take a look through more of the best old PC games that you can play in 2023.
