I liked the ending to HL:A, and thought it was a clever way of getting themselves out of the utter creative dead end that Valve engineered themselves into.

I did too, tho i don't know i ever actually finished hl2 so i don't remember if there were any problems with the story. But Alyx was awesome and i've gotten tons of replay out of it and the mods.

I dunno if you've been keeping up with the lucastech haptic gloves but they've gotten them working with alyx. I'm thinking a 3d resin printer may be my next big non-van related purchase to make them.

The cliffhanger at the end of HL2:E2 was fine, but after fifteen years it's an industry joke. There was nowhere Valve could have taken the storyline, except by embracing and subverting it.

I haven't had much replay value out of Alyx because I find the experience too stressful. It's funny, I love the idea of VR because I desperately want something that will feel real. I want feel the cold desert wind on my face as I stare at the Clockwork Orrery. But Alyx is too real for me. I turned on the infinite-ammo cheat because fuck reloading when there's headcrabs.

I'd love to try making the VR gloves, but don't have the time. Plus, I'm just not a hardware person. It always breaks. I'm better at making decent software.

lol, I totally get ya on the too stressful thing. According to my fitbit ripoff, my heart rate is in the upper 80s during most of my gameplay with sudden spikes in the 120's... which were probably head crabs.😅 For me, while I'm not totally against it, what I tend to avoid is the horror stuff. Like I haven't played five nights at freddies, yet. Funnily enough, what really creeps me out is when I'm doing dev with human models or games that use them as placeholders, I get major 'alone in a room full of evil mannequin vibes'. Like I'm just waiting for the damn things to look at me and start talking.

Hmmm. I wonder if constant fear is actually good for our hearts. And Alyx is all about the constant sense of dread. Even during the puzzle solving sections, I'm still looking over my shoulders and hurrying.

I avoid horror as well, but managed to get through Alien Isolation. That's mostly dread as well, instead of jump scares. I couldn't play FnaF.

The dressable mannequins in Skyrim are famously just NPC models. After you've spotted one move, out of the corner of your eye, you don't turn your back on those things again.

I mean, constant fear, probably not, but a little bit here and there surely isn't too bad. Maybe take more breaks? I've found that the music is a pretty reliable indicator of when to expect shit to go wrong.

Haven't done Alien Isolation yet, it's on the list. Have you tried Propagation VR? It's a zombie wave shooter that's really well done, and supports the bhaptics stuff. Little scary, but really good. Might be too much for you if you don't like the headcrabs though.

That sounds like a freaking nightmare. Maybe I'll pass on that.😅