Half-Life: Alyx Leviathan, an upcoming fan-made mod for Valve’s acclaimed VR FPS, has received its first full gameplay reveal – giving us a glimpse at its ambitious scope and gunplay.
Revealed as part of the PC Gaming Show (opens in new tab) after the Xbox and Bethesda Showcase, the 7-minute gameplay clip follows Alyx as she explores what looks to be an abandoned skyscraper and mining facility. Of course, she’s not alone, with plenty of Combine soldiers and headcrab zombies lunging at her.
Pitched as an expansion to Half-Life: Alyx rather than a total overhaul, Levitation will include all the staples of the original game – which we reckon is one of the best VR games around. You’ll be unloading magazines against Combine in cover-based shootouts, evading the pincers of jumping headcrabs in more horror-focused level segments, and playing around with the physics of your environment to get an edge in firefights.
It all looks rather slick, mixing intricately planned open combat areas with moments of suspenseful downtime. Production value alone sets Levitation apart from other mods, with its verticality and scope looking right at home alongside Valve’s original. See for yourself in the gameplay trailer below.
Levitation’s announcement trailer (opens in new tab) suggested Russell will be returning, and G-Man can be spotted in this latest gameplay reveal silently surveilling your actions. According to that first trailer, Levitation will send you on a hunt for two resistance fighters who went missing after investigating a mysterious floating building in Sector-X of City 17.
Half-Life: Alyx Levitation is being developed by animator Corey Laddo and level designer Shawn Snelling, who’s previously contributed to several Counter-Strike: Global Offensive maps. The game will be four to five hours long and is expected to release in the third quarter of 2023 – July, August, September – for free on Steam Workshop.
Levitation has already caused a stir within the Half-Life community, with many hoping it will be as impressive as Black Mesa – a third-party remake of the original Half-Life. That game eventually received Valve’s blessing and was released commercially to much fanfare in 2020. Levitation’s creators will likely be hoping to achieve similar success.