Hey, good people! Cas here, and I’ve tried about 20 different Half-Life: Alyx mods these
past couple of months.
I think the mods are an incredible way to have more to do in Half-Life: Alyx.
Some can give the game a whole new experience, and some even feel like entirely new campaign
levels.
Mods are free, by the way, you only have to pay for the original game.
There are so many mods out there, though, so if you’re wondering which to try first.
This video is a list of 10 top ones that I like so far.
I tried to make this list as varied as possible because I didn’t want it to get repetitive
for those who might want to follow along with this list.
If you don’t know how to install a mod, then the good news is that it’s straightforward.
I added a short tutorial at the end of this video that explains how to do it.
The timestamps are in the description like always.
If you like to see more VR related videos like this one, subscribe if you haven’t
yet.
And now, join me beyond reality.
Number 10 – Northern Star Bowling
So, you’ve defeated the Combine, now its time to relax.
And the perfect place for that is in the Northern Star Bowling, where the G-Man is your barman.
Although, all he does is stare at you, whichever direction you move…
Which can get pretty creepy.
But if you want to stare back and get a closer look at him, you can do that here too.
As well as other leisurely activities, like pooling and bowling.
This bar has a 4-lane bowling alley, working scoreboards, and balls that feel as heavy
as bowling balls in real life.
This is probably a mod you’ll install-and-play once, but since it’s so different from other
mods, I wanted to include it as it is a nice mod to see what’s possible.
Number 9 – Minigolf by MarioWalrus, Kaesar
On number 9, is another mod that is different from the usual out there.
The name says it already, play Minigolf in Valve’s bleak, but beautiful world.
And it works really well!
It’s a short 7-hole course through an outdoor environment built from the ground up using
assets from the base game.
Whenever you complete one hole, the door to the next hole will open automatically.
And if you lose your ball?
Just press the reset button to get it back.
Don’t forget to look around every so often and enjoy the view sometimes too as it’s
pretty atmospheric.
Number 8 – Victory Mine - Map Labs One Room By photino1
Okay…
Time for a little less relaxing and more action.
Victory Mine is an episode 2 inspired mine where you have to fight your way up to the
surface.
It’s a beautiful, atmospheric map that uses lightning well.
This for sure motivates you to complete the level to see what’s upstairs.
This mod has intense battles with mostly various Antlions, and some Combine soldiers here and
there.
The high-paced combat in this mod can be pretty challenging.
This map is also one of the more dark levels, but it’s not scary and more about the action.
Victory Mine is also short but fun if you want to test out your skills against the four-legged.
Wait, do they have four or six legs?
Huh.
On number 7 is Glorious Gloves by Epic.
This is a mod that works with any map.
You turn it on, and in-game, the Half-Life: Alyx gloves are replaced with the original
Gravity Gloves.
This gives you the power of Half-Life 2’s Gravity Gun in the palm of your hands.
With it, you can levitate an object in front of you.
Punch with a closed fist to damage enemies, and pull objects towards you or push it away.
And that’s just so much fun.
Apparently, you can even complete 90% of the original game using only the Glorious Gloves,
so no guns.
I haven’t tried this, but that does seem entertaining.
Before we move on, leave this video a like if you found it helpful so far!
On number 6, we got Sandbox by Kot… kote?
Kote?
I think it’s Kote.
This mod adds a spawn menu, which allows you to spawn different items.
This can be NPCs, props, ragdolls, weapons, and entities.
You can even try and spawn the scary headcrab that was so scary, that Valve decided not
to include it in the original game.
Unfortunately, you can’t do much with that one, except be creeped out.
But overall, this mod is a great way to get a closer look at everything you are interested
in.
Maybe you’d like to become friends with Jeff?
Bit of a warning here.
The menu does take some time to get used to.
Number 5 – Overrun By paradoxlol
Overrun is an adventure map with high-paced action Combine combat.
I enjoyed my time with this one as it has gameplay elements of a dungeon game, where
you complete one room by defeating all enemies, and then you get some time to collect loot
and heal up, before you move on to the next.
The mod starts easy and gets challenging over time.
I’m calling these levels ‘rooms’ as the levels are small, but they are well-thought
out with props and items everywhere that you can use to duck and hide.
Overrun is a fun one for those looking for less exploring and more Combine action.
4 - Mine Break By SadlyItsBradley
Now, here’s a mod series that feels like a complete campaign.
Mine Break even has a mission story; it’s about exploring an abandoned warehouse that’s
full of valuable resources that could aid in fighting the Combine oppression.
The first in the series has you exploring a big underground mineshaft, so it’s a dark
map probably not for the faint-hearted.
You’ll encounter various enemies, zombies, Antlions, Combine.
It’s a well-paced campaign with exploration and also combats that can challenge you.
You can tell that the creator spent a lot of time on this as it has scripted scenes,
and puzzles that make creative use of the environment.
It’s an impressive map.
There are currently two chapters, I only played the first one so far, which has a playtime
of around 30 minutes.
On number 3 is Crash Course by SadlyItsBradley, this is from the same creator as Mine Break
and was one of the first mods to come out when the workshop tools were released.
It’s another excellent map that feels like a full level; this one also almost feels like
one made by Valve themselves.
You’ll explore large open areas that make this map feel big.
Like the previous mod, this one also has scripted scenes, puzzles, and a few surprises here
and there.
I like how SadlyItsBradly makes creative use of the assets he got, like in the beginning;
you get to use the crowbar to destroy a glass box for a weapon.
Great couple of seconds of my life.
This custom map has you exploring and will engage you with combat from time to time with
all kinds of different enemies.
Crash Course is less dark than Mine Break, so probably more suitable for everyone looking
to extend their playtime with a standalone campaign.
On number 2, I got something a little different: Alyx Plays Minecraft by Exe.
I thought this one was very cool because it has all of the Minecraft assets loaded in.
Unlike many other mods, this is the first one I played that looks like a completely
different game.
You’ll be spawned in a Minecraft world where the Combine has stolen your diamonds, and
you must fight them to get them back.
You’ll start outside in the forest, but soon you’ll enter the dark dungeons, which
can get a bit scary, just like in Minecraft but I like how they did that.
I also like how even the soundtracks are added in this mod.
And I mean the soundtracks of Minecraft by that.
All of this makes Alyx Plays Minecraft enjoyable to explore and look around while you try to
survive.
On number 1 stands GoldenEye Alyx 007 by Eagle One, Jacob Hertz Da Deer, Taek.
Here, you jump into the role of Alyx Bond (lol).
There are four parts of this mod; one is called Dam and has three parts, so three mods to
subscribe to.
Then we got one more mod in the series, which is called Facility.
Dam and Facility are maps based on the classic Nintendo 64 GoldenEye maps.
What’s interesting is that the devs of these mods decided to use the assets from the base
game instead of importing their own ones.
This gives GoldenEye a new feel, almost like it’s a remake of the game.
You can see what I mean in their trailer here, and I feel like they did an incredible job
here.
The gameplay is fun, too; they feel like complete, standalone campaigns with challenging combat
that will force you to act strategically.
Overall, just impressive work, and I would recommend everyone to check it out.
How To Install Mods
All right, so those were the mods!
But for those who don’t know how to install and play mods, here’s a short tutorial.
Don’t worry; it’s super easy, I guess we gotta thanks Valve for that.
What you need, of course, is Half-Life: Alyx installed.
After that, you just need to head over to the workshop where all the mods are.
You can do that inside the game, so just launch the game.
Wait for the main menu to pop up, then click on “Addons”, now click on “Browse Workshop”.
A SteamVR tab will open, and here, you can browse the mods using this submenu.
Click on the mod here and to install it, click this subscribe button.
The mod will automatically download and install in Half-Life: Alyx.
Now go back to the “Addons” menu in-game, find the mod that you just added.
Turn it on by clicking the toggle at the left.
Then go back to the main menu, start a new game.
Choose a free save slot or overwrite an existing one.
Choose ‘Addon Maps’, then choose the mod that you want to play.
Choose the settings you want to use and start the game.
The mod will start straight away.
Before starting your game, you can also browse the workshop from within the Steam app.
Here, you can click on the game Half-Life: Alyx.
Then navigate to the workshop from there.
The rest of the steps are the same.
And… that’s that.
Do you have any other mod suggestions that you think should have been on this list?
Put them in the comments below so we can all get some more tips, and I might try it out
next, if... it’s not too scary looking 😉
Now I hope you’ll watch another video of us if you got some time left and if not, hope
to see you in the next.
Thanks for supporting us by watching.
A special thanks go to all our Champions, which are our Patrons and YouTube Sponsors.
And as always, VR on!