New mod allows Half-Life: Alyx to be played without a VR headset

While Half-Life: Alyx scratched the itch of many Half-Life 3-starved gamers, many could not experience it due to it requiring a VR headset. Those looking to explore Valve's masterpiece without dropping hundreds of dollars on a niche piece of hardware can now do so, thanks to the hard work of a dedicated team of modders.

The Half-Life: Alyx No VR mod has been in development for a while. However, one couldn't finish the campaign entirely, which has now been resolved via its latest patch. Detailed instructions on how to download, install and play the mod can be found on the dedicated FAQ page. Refer to the attached video to check out 46 minutes of spoiler-laden gameplay.

While the developers have done a stellar job porting a VR game to a non-environment, some gameplay features are still broken. The Combine Fabricators, in particular, don't work, effectively disallowing players from upgrading their weapons. Thankfully, some of the weapons' damage values have been adjusted to make up for the discrepancy. The game isn't nearly as challenging, though, because a good chunk of its difficulty is balanced around clunky VR object interactions, which the mod effectively eliminates. 

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