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Gamespot Game of the Year: Half Life Alyx

nemiroff

nemiroff

Gold Member
Yeah.. It is one of the most immersive entertainment experiences I've had in my life (especially since I played it on the new 4K G2 VR headset). There's nothing like it in my opinion. And the funny thing is that I COMPLETELY disregarded the game myself - Until I finally played it.
 
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Romulus

Romulus

Member
TintoConCasera said:
Really excited to play this when my new pc arrives.


Game is pretty innovative. If it's also fun, looks good and has a nice story then yeah, GOTY material for sure.
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Yeah, of course anyone can not like highly rated games, happens all the time. But with Alyx you can attribute most of the negativity to outright ignorance. It's a VR game, only 2-3 million played it
 
Hugare

Hugare

Member
Seems like a great choice

Havent played, dont have the setup for it.

But as a huge HL fan, I've watched a lot of gameplay videos and review about it, and it really looks great

The final scene alone is one of the best moments of the generation, and I havent even played it for myself. Got shivers from watching it.
 
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Romulus

Romulus

Member
Hugare said:
Seems like a great choice

Havent played, dont have the setup for it.

But as a huge HL fan, I've watched a lot of gameplay videos and review about it, and it really looks great

The final scene alone is one of the best moments of the generation, and I havent even played it for myself. Got shivers from watching it.
Click to expand...


Yeah, fans of the series absolutely have to experience it inside the headset. Totally different.
 
MatrixReloaded101

MatrixReloaded101

Member
How can this be game of the year when such a limited amount of people played it? Most people don’t even have the setup to play this game.

When I think of game of the year, I think of a game that received both critical praise from the media outlets and players which is Ghost of Tsushima imo.

Gamespot tries so hard to be “different” and it’s very annoying at times.
 
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GrayChild

GrayChild

Member
MatrixReloaded101 said:
How can this be game of the year when such a limited amount of people played it? Most people don’t even have the setup to play this game.

When I think of game of the year, I think of a game that received both critical praise from the media outlets and players which is Ghost of Tsushima imo.

Gamespot tries so hard to be “different” and it’s very annoying at times.
Click to expand...

Half-Life: Alyx got both of these in spades.

The GOTY awards should not be a popularity contest.
 
Oppoi

Oppoi

Member
MatrixReloaded101 said:
How can this be game of the year when such a limited amount of people played it? Most people don’t even have the setup to play this game.

When I think of game of the year, I think of a game that received both critical praise from the media outlets and players which is Ghost of Tsushima imo.

Gamespot tries so hard to be “different” and it’s very annoying at times.
Click to expand...

You think game of the year should be a mobile game? Just turning that logic on it's end.
 
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Buggy Loop

Buggy Loop

Member
I have not played it but I have no hard time believing it. If hardware components weren’t such fucking unicorns right now, I probably would have bought a VR headset too just for this game.
 
Romulus

Romulus

Member
MatrixReloaded101 said:
How can this be game of the year when such a limited amount of people played it? Most people don’t even have the setup to play this game.

When I think of game of the year, I think of a game that received both critical praise from the media outlets and players which is Ghost of Tsushima imo.

Gamespot tries so hard to be “different” and it’s very annoying at times.
Click to expand...

How often have they chosen games like this for GOTY? Never?

And those aren't their only parameters though for nomination. The game was good enough to overcome it.

Adding more legitimacy to popularity? Where do you draw the line? You could very easily argue that Ghosts wasn't playable on PC, Switch, or xbox. So only multiplatforms? Who decides the popularity aspect then? What if a 97 metacritic and available on all platforms but it sells below average? Not popular enough to be GOTY?

I say just let it be whatever they like. Their top 10 list last year was full of popular games, but suddenly a year later it's all about being "different?" Make the argument.
 
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Ribi

Ribi

Member
sjw site doesnt choose TLOU2?

but HL:A as GOTY is deserved


Oppoi said:
You think game of the year should be a mobile game? Just turning that logic on it's end.
Click to expand...


have you played among us or genshin impact?
 
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Oppoi

Oppoi

Member
Ribi said:
sjw site doesnt choose TLOU2?

but HL:A as GOTY is deserved





have you played among us or genshin impact?
Click to expand...

I haven't played either but I have seen some Among Us on twitch. If you're implying that game of the year could come to be like The New Yorkers person of the year now that would be something to talk about.
 
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Royal-Slime

Royal-Slime

Banned
Seems like an ok game but honestly, any tech Valve makes is bound to have zero to no support. Valve computers, controller and now VR with nothing but one story-heavy game. I assume they'll make Portal 3, Half-Life 3 and maybe Left 4 Dead 3 eventually and maybe that will cause the interest to rise? Who knows. I highly doubt anyone is going to risk developing primarily for VR anyway. People are making a huge fuss over 500$ gaming console, most never buy gaming computers because they require 1000$+ and you want to sell a gaming headset for 1000$ which may make people feel sick? Without any massive games? I don't know what Valve were thinking. Even Sony didn't achieve much with their Japanese support and the resources to make VR a thing.

Anyway, I'm not interested in Valve exclusives so it doesn't bother me. Portal is pretty fun but the puzzles do get very difficult quickly, Left 4 Dead is a little gross, Half-Life - played the second game and it was fun, sure, can't say I remember anything from it :p
 
MatrixReloaded101

MatrixReloaded101

Member
EldritchAbomination said:
Half-Life: Alyx got both of these in spades.

The GOTY awards should not be a popularity contest.
Click to expand...
Oppoi said:
You think game of the year should be a mobile game? Just turning that logic on it's end.
Click to expand...
Romulus said:
How often have they chosen games like this for GOTY? Never?

And those aren't their only parameters though for nomination. The game was good enough to overcome it.

Adding more legitimacy to popularity? Where do you draw the line? You could very easily argue that Ghosts wasn't playable on PC, Switch, or xbox. So only multiplatforms? Who decides the popularity aspect then? What if a 97 metacritic and available on all platforms but it sells below average? Not popular enough to be GOTY?

I say just let it be whatever they like. Their top 10 list last year was full of popular games, but suddenly a year later it's all about being "different?" Make the argument.
Click to expand...

If we are going to call a game "game of the year" it should have made a significant impact within that year IMO.

That's why I think TLOU2 won it at the game awards this year because when it came out that was all everyone was talking about for months and still now. Half Life Alyx was a great experience for a very small number of players and when it come out besides the reviews it didn't spark any interest because most people don't have the setup to even play the game.

So IMO, popularity, sales and acclaim should all be factors in picking a game for GOTY
 
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Oppoi

Oppoi

Member
MatrixReloaded101 said:
If we are going to call a game "game of the year" it should have made a significant impact within that year IMO.

That's why I think TLOU2 won it at the game awards this year because when it came out that was all everyone was talking about for months and still now. Half Life Alyx was a great experience for a very small number of players and when it come out besides the reviews it didn't spark any interest because most people don't have the setup to even play the game.

So IMO, popularity, sales and acclaim should all be factors in picking a game for GOTY
Click to expand...

So the impact it had on everyone is greater than the joy it gave those who wanted it.
 
O

oagboghi2

Member
MatrixReloaded101 said:
How can this be game of the year when such a limited amount of people played it? Most people don’t even have the setup to play this game.

When I think of game of the year, I think of a game that received both critical praise from the media outlets and players which is Ghost of Tsushima imo.

Gamespot tries so hard to be “different” and it’s very annoying at times.
Click to expand...
Why would this ever be a reason to not be GOTY?

This isn't a sales reward. It's what people thought was the best release of the year
 
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nemiroff

nemiroff

Gold Member
MatrixReloaded101 said:
If we are going to call a game "game of the year" it should have made a significant impact within that year IMO.
Click to expand...

Well, if that's your criteria then you're gonna love Alyx.

35,793 reviews resulting in an "Overwhelmingly Positive" score at Steam (doesn't happen often)
93 Metacritic score (even the urinalists loved it)
Two million sold (in a niche market that's a fuckton of "impact"..)
 
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Wonko_C

Wonko_C

Member
Royal-Slime said:
Seems like an ok game but honestly, any tech Valve makes is bound to have zero to no support. Valve computers, controller and now VR with nothing but one story-heavy game. I assume they'll make Portal 3, Half-Life 3 and maybe Left 4 Dead 3 eventually and maybe that will cause the interest to rise? Who knows. I highly doubt anyone is going to risk developing primarily for VR anyway. People are making a huge fuss over 500$ gaming console, most never buy gaming computers because they require 1000$+ and you want to sell a gaming headset for 1000$ which may make people feel sick? Without any massive games? I don't know what Valve were thinking. Even Sony didn't achieve much with their Japanese support and the resources to make VR a thing.

Anyway, I'm not interested in Valve exclusives so it doesn't bother me. Portal is pretty fun but the puzzles do get very difficult quickly, Left 4 Dead is a little gross, Half-Life - played the second game and it was fun, sure, can't say I remember anything from it :p
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You do know that you don't need a $1000 Valve Index to play this game, and can use ANY headset? The Oculus Quest 2 is even potentially cheaper than upgrading your PC monitor, so even if Valve decides to not make any more VR games , you can still play what the rest of the industry makes. Same thing with the Index itself, even if Valve abandons it you can still play VR games from all other game devs in existence.

MatrixReloaded101 said:
If we are going to call a game "game of the year" it should have made a significant impact within that year IMO.

That's why I think TLOU2 won it at the game awards this year because when it came out that was all everyone was talking about for months and still now. Half Life Alyx was a great experience for a very small number of players and when it come out besides the reviews it didn't spark any interest because most people don't have the setup to even play the game.

So IMO, popularity, sales and acclaim should all be factors in picking a game for GOTY
Click to expand...
No. A game should stand on its own and external factors such as "popularity" or "impact" have no business in what makes a game GOTY: Gameplay, innovation, and technical merits are what makes a good game. Not how many people played it. Half-Life: Alyx just happened to beat every other game released this year where it counts.


CloudNull said:
Hahaha all these people are jealous they can’t play it. Easily one of the best games of all time.
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Well I can't play it, LOL. My PC is 11 years old and I can't afford a new one, nor a VR headset. But I can't also afford a PS5/XSX/NSW right now so... :messenger_grinning_sweat:
(Seriously, though out of all the new consoles, the Oculus Quest 2 is the only one that gets me excited about it, and it's the more affordable of them all! PS5 and the others look like snorefests to me, just the same thing but prettier? I'll stick with my indies, retro and VR games, thanks.)
 
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MiguelItUp

MiguelItUp

Member
This kind of stuff is completely subjective, but man, if anyone tries to downplay this they're being absolutely ridiculous, lol. I got my VR headset FOR this game, and it was filled with so many moments that felt new and refreshing. I honestly can't remember the last time a video game made me feel that way. TLOU2's rope physics came close.
 
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nemiroff

nemiroff

Gold Member
Wonko_C said:
You do know that you don't need a $1000 Valve Index to play this game
Click to expand...

Yeah that's also a good point. Alyx is a very optimized game (while having eye-opening production value). I ran it in flawlessly at 4K and 90HZ with my humble GTX 1080. Pretty good stuff..
 
Oppoi

Oppoi

Member
CloudNull said:
One of the funnest levels ever. I almost shit myself a few times.
Click to expand...

I have seen the clips of people completely freaking out in VR but brother I tell you. I someone would have grabbed me IRL as Jeff attacked me I would not only run into but through walls.
 
Romulus

Romulus

Member
MatrixReloaded101 said:
If we are going to call a game "game of the year" it should have made a significant impact within that year IMO.

That's why I think TLOU2 won it at the game awards this year because when it came out that was all everyone was talking about for months and still now. Half Life Alyx was a great experience for a very small number of players and when it come out besides the reviews it didn't spark any interest because most people don't have the setup to even play the game.

So IMO, popularity, sales and acclaim should all be factors in picking a game for GOTY
Click to expand...

Well in that case, COD could have won for years in a row, despite being a cookie-cutter experience.
 
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