Fan-made mod turns 'Half-Life 2' into a fully playable VR game

If Half-Life: Alyx made you want to revisit its seminal 2004 predecessor, now you can do it in virtual reality. On Friday, a group of fans known as the Source VR Mod Team released Half-Life 2: VR Mod. As long as you own the original, you can download and play the mod for free via Steam.

Although currently in public beta, the mod allows you to play through Half-Life 2's single-player story from start to finish. The Source VR Mod team incorporated a handful of features found in Half-Life: Alyx to modernize the experience and make it playable in VR. For example, you switch between weapons using the same selection grid as in the Valve 2020 game.

Other VR-focused tweaks include the addition of optional laser sights, shoulder ammo storage, manual reloading, and two-handed weapon handling. There's even support for room-scale movement. The Source VR Mod team says the project isn't finished, but that hasn't stopped people from enjoying the experience, with the mod currently holding an overwhelmingly positive rating out of 732 reviews.

Like Black Mesa before it, Half-Life 2: VR Mod was a long time coming. As Eurogamer notes, the project was first announced in 2017 and went through development hell before resurfacing in 2021. The fact that you can play it today is due to a recent influx of new team members who have "revitalized" development. .

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