Half-Life: Alyx

Exceptional VR game with masterful presentation and stellar character design. Transcends VR limitations.

The best VR shooter money can buy, taking familiar VR mechanics and refining them with enormous polish, excellent gunplay, and standout immersion, including a genuinely terrifying horror level. The gravity gloves are a delight and it runs great, though it is paced very slowly, leans heavily on meticulous looting, has unremarkable enemy AI, and is not Half-Life 3.

Exceptional VR narrative action that refines VR adventure with Half-Life atmosphere.

9/10 (Joe), 8/10 (others) as full game; 10/10 as VR — best VR game ever. Justifies buying a headset.

A monumental VR achievement that doesn't just add a new Half-Life game but reinterprets what being inside that world feels like. The genius gravity gloves make item-gathering kinetic and exploration thrilling, shootouts are intense thanks to weighty, deliberate weapon handling, and chapters constantly surprise with inventive scenarios. The only real blemish is the numerous repetitive minigames, but the immersion and attention to detail are captivating throughout.