Final week noticed the long-awaited launch of Levitation (opens in new tab), an expansion-style mod for Half-Life Alyx. Developed over the previous two years by solo mapper Shawn ‘FMPONE’ Snelling, Levitation goals to match Valve’s exceptionally detailed mapping type and ship round three hours of extra operating and gunning by Metropolis 17’s crumbling streets. Regardless of a pair tough edges, I believe it nails it, however nonetheless leaves me with some complicated emotions.
Levitation picks up with Alyx shortly after the principle recreation’s finish, pushing the younger freedom fighter again into the streets of Metropolis 17 on one other mission for the resistance, this time with a brand new extradimensional handler watching her progress. No expense has been spared in recreating Valve’s storytelling type, together with the return of Russell and the G-Man in talking roles. Russell specifically will get an awesome soundalike in Joey Bracken, and whereas his script is a bit more on-the-nose than within the unique recreation, I nonetheless obtained just a few good laughs out of his nervous banter.
This light familiarity carries over to the degrees, which really feel like an abridged, remixed encore of Alyx’s journey, stripping you of your gear however rapidly returning them, albeit un-upgraded. Whereas visually distinct from Valve’s maps, they share an identical eye for element and encounter design. The detailing is probably just a little lighter on the random object muddle, however these really feel like genuine Valve maps. The one flaws I observed had been a pair low-res textures on rubble and different particles, and a pair corners the place I might poke my head in and see unfinished geometry I wasn’t meant to have the ability to. General, it is gorgeous that one man can mimic the type of a AAA studio so properly.
Levitation’s imitation of Valve’s type is nearly its undoing. Whereas the environments are new, most of the setpieces really feel like reprises of Alyx’s high-points. There’s combating Mix troops within the streets and subways, a quick return of Jeff, an prolonged slugfest with the electrical body-snatching critters and a sequence the place you sprint between cowl as a stationary Strider fires at you.
Levitation even culminates with a finale in a spooky home hiding bizarre Mix know-how and one other likelihood to mess around with the particular weapon that capped off the principle recreation. It is a incredible imitation, however I did discover myself wishing for one thing new.
To not say that Levitation is not with out its personal concepts, however they’re largely within the type of the environments you may be visiting, together with a wonderful operating battle set round and inside a big earth-moving machine. Whereas subways and industrial tunnels have all the time been a Half-Life staple, Levitation options an awesome early setpiece gunfight, combating by a shifting subway practice whereas below fixed machine gun hearth from trains on adjoining tracks. These enjoying Levitation sitting down ought to arrange a crouch button, whereas these standing must maintain their heads down throughout this sequence. Fight is mostly just a little quicker and extra aggressive than the unique recreation, matching Levitation’s whirlwind pacing, however seldom asks you to take care of greater than three enemies directly, matching Valve’s strategy.
When you loved Half-Life Alyx, then you definately’ll have a good time with this.
One notable change from vanilla Alyx gameplay is that you will by no means be starved for shotgun ammo on this marketing campaign. There’s lots of close-quarters fight, and FMPONE would not need you plinking away at each enemy with the pistol. It is nonetheless immensely satisfying to jam a shotgun in a Mix trooper’s face for a one-hit kill, and the reloading afterwards remains to be deliciously tactile, so I am very joyful.
I additionally discovered myself utilizing the Mix SMG much more actively this marketing campaign, however that is probably because of me now understanding that you want to maintain it with two arms to manage its recoil. Two-handing turns it from a wild bullet hose to a pinpoint headshot machine, and I am embarrassed to confess I accomplished the bottom recreation on Exhausting mode with out realizing this element. Gameplay-wise, the one snag I hit had been a pair puzzles the place the answer was ‘search for’ or ‘look down’, which once more is extra a Me drawback than one inherent to the mod, however your mileage could range.
It is a horrible cliché, however in case you loved Half-Life Alyx, then you definately’ll have a good time with this. It is extra of the identical, and on condition that Alyx remains to be probably the greatest VR video games, that makes Levitation a direct, unguarded suggestion and it is best to obtain it now.
However as spectacular as it’s, it is from essentially the most inventive or technically spectacular neighborhood creation. If you would like one thing completely new, give the two-part John Wick-styled Gunman Contracts sequence a shot. If you would like Valve-style fight at its tightest and most replayable, attempt Incursion. And in case you do not thoughts some tough edges, the Bioshock-themed Return To Rapture (Chapter 1 & Chapter 2) is totally huge and consists of loads of new methods.
VR remains to be alive and kicking, nevertheless it feels prefer it’ll be some time till we see one thing like Alyx once more.
Unusual to say, however the remaining feeling that Levitation leaves me with is disappointment. Whereas there’s undoubtedly extra to return, it was the final main Alyx mod on the horizon, with the promising Alyx Bond – Runway being quietly canceled after a wonderful demo launch. Valve’s post-release help for the sport has been shockingly weak, seemingly solely remembering so as to add fundamental mod tagging options in a patch two years after launch. Till this 12 months, it was a battle to sift new maps and ranges from texture-packs, fashions and belongings. A restricted mod SDK has additionally made including new weapons, NPCs and UI parts an uphill battle.
Half-Life Alyx was a transparent, thrilling imaginative and prescient for AAA VR gaming that now feels largely forgotten by its creators and left to its dwindling, under-supported fanbase to help. VR remains to be alive and kicking, nevertheless it feels prefer it’ll be some time till we see one thing like Alyx once more, and it is laborious to shake the sensation that with out Valve’s intervention, there’s solely a lot its neighborhood can do to maintain it alive. Nice as my time with it was, Levitation left me with some far-from-uplifting vibes.
Addendum: On the time of writing, Levitation suffers from a gnarly bug that may disable AI in case you die and reload a save throughout sure ranges. This has been a problem with a number of Alyx mods, and prolific mapper CementStairs uploaded a small fix-mod for the problem. Obtain and activate it, plus this perennial mod compatibility tweak alongside Levitation. Ensure you’ve obtained each activated earlier than you begin enjoying.
