After almost eight years of development, an ambitious VR mod for Valve’s shooter Half-Life 2 has been released as a public beta on Steam. Half-Life 2: VR Mod was developed by a group of modders called the Source VR Mod Team. But it was a bumpy and long road to the release.
Half-Life 2: VR Mod started as an extension of an earlier mod released for Razer Hydra in 2013. After that, the mod got lost in its own “development hell,” as the team recently put it. It was almost abandoned and eventually reappeared in 2021. The wait then continued until last month, when the Source VR Mod team announced that thanks to a “new influx of team members who have revived development,” the Half-Life 2: VR project is close to release.
Half-Life 2: Mod provides a mirrored gaming experience
Half-Life 2: VR Mod is one of several attempts to bring the shooter sequel to VR headsets. It offers a range of features, including room-filling VR with tracked motion controls, allowing players to manipulate objects and weapons, and climb ladders directly with their hands. Players can also roam freely, there is a weapon selection menu inspired by Valve’s Half-Life: Alyx, dual-wielding weapons, manual reloading, as well as various convenience features such as motion vignettes and a third-person camera for vehicle sections. Other options include full left-handed support, a laser sight, and arcade-style “fast reload”.
Half-Life 2: VR is free – but of course you need the original game from Valve. However, the development is not yet complete. According to the team, the game is fully playable from start to finish. According to the roadmap, there is still a lot to do. Therefore, it will first be released as a public beta on Steam. We wish you a lot of fun trying it out!
