Valve's revolution in Virtual Reality analyzed at a technical level.
Digital Foundry, in charge of technically analyzing the best video games on the market, has taken the step to Half-Life: Alyx, Valve's new game for Virtual Reality. And if users and the press are already indicating that we are facing a revolution for VR, what we find on a technical level according to the portal is "a masterpiece" also on the technical side. And they are quite clear: "It is not usual to see games that advance the medium forward, but it is the case at hand, offering virtual reality in a way we have never seen before."
For DG, the game is "the first true AAA experience for the virtual reality medium, something not surprising: Half-Life has always focused on breaking barriers." According to the portal, visually we are facing something "impressive, but where the title really shines is in the interaction with everything around us." "In fact, the game is defined by its interaction and by actions that make it unique to play," they add. In this sense, the physics stand out, of which they say that "each environment is full of objects with all kinds of in-game physics that evolve the technology we saw in Half-Life 2." "Another key is the ability to pick up and manipulate all those objects (…) here we can physically – or virtually – pick up objects with our hands and examine them."
Specifications and performance
At the performance level, the portal explains that with an i5 7400 and a GTX 1060, which are the minimum specifications, they have achieved a more than decent experience with the settings in between. "The gameplay runs between 70 and 90 frames per second for most of the title." In any case, they recommend a team with a GTX 1070 better than the 1060, and an i5 8400 that, although not entirely consistent, is better than the i5 7400 with the minimum specifications.
Of course, they also report the cost of entering a game of these characteristics: "it is not only a VR headset, but also a good level PC to keep the FPS rate constant in all parts of the game." "Is it worth this expense for a title? Surely not," but they add that Valve has given the game that VR "needed."
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