My full review ended up being too long for the Steam store, so I guess that's going up on Reddit or something. Here's the summary:

The Orange Box was the first 'game' I ever bought with my own money back in 2007, and Half-Life has been one of my favorite series ever since. I'm one of those people that was still arguing over whether or not Half-Life 3 would come right up to the announcement of Alyx, and after that announcement I felt like I was going crazy. I still might be, but let's assume I'm not.

Overall, this is the best VR game I’ve ever played. It does some things better than others and some things worse, but the complete package is just head and shoulders above anything that came before it, as far as what I’ve tried.

Like the rest of the series, this is not a Half-Life game that Valve decided to make VR exclusive. This is a VR game, intended to bring out and demonstrate the very best the technology currently has to offer, which Valve enlisted the Half-Life name and world to give form.

They didn’t make this game to hit revenue targets: It is a purely single-player, story-based, campaign shooter, with a suite of modding tools coming shortly after release. There is no recurring revenue stream, there are no leaderboards, no battle royale, no manipulative player engagement tactics, and no compromises for consoles. This game is a brand new, bleeding-edge relic of what many consider a golden age. VR or not, Combine or not, these are the games that get me excited.

[discussion of specific good and bad things is too long]

Everything taken together, this is an incredible game. It has its fair share of rough spots, but it’s impossible for something like this not to. The refinement and attention to detail it unlike anything we’ve ever gotten in a VR game prior (including Valve’s own demos), and everything about this game marks both a stark change and a return to form for Valve at the same time. This is what VR has been needing, and this is just the beginning. I look forward to everything that will follow, from Valve, from the community, and even from other companies and projects that will hopefully latch onto the ball that this game set rolling.

My full review ended up being too long for the Steam store, so I guess that's going up on Reddit or something. Here's the summary: The Orange Box was the first 'game' I ever bought with my own money back in 2007, and Half-Life has been one of my favorite series ever since. I'm one of those people that was still arguing over whether or not Half-Life 3 would come right up to the announcement of Alyx, and after that announcement I felt like I was going crazy. I still might be, but let's assume I'm not. Overall, this is the best VR game I’ve ever played. It does some things better than others and some things worse, but the complete package is just head and shoulders above anything that came before it, as far as what I’ve tried. Like the rest of the series, this is not a Half-Life game that Valve decided to make VR exclusive. This is a VR game, intended to bring out and demonstrate the very best the technology currently has to offer, which Valve enlisted the Half-Life name and world to give form. They didn’t make this game to hit revenue targets: It is a purely single-player, story-based, campaign shooter, with a suite of modding tools coming shortly after release. There is no recurring revenue stream, there are no leaderboards, no battle royale, no manipulative player engagement tactics, and no compromises for consoles. This game is a brand new, bleeding-edge relic of what many consider a golden age. VR or not, Combine or not, these are the games that get me excited. [discussion of specific good and bad things is too long] Everything taken together, this is an incredible game. It has its fair share of rough spots, but it’s impossible for something like this not to. The refinement and attention to detail it unlike anything we’ve ever gotten in a VR game prior (including Valve’s own demos), and everything about this game marks both a stark change and a return to form for Valve at the same time. This is what VR has been needing, and this is just the beginning. I look forward to everything that will follow, from Valve, from the community, and even from other companies and projects that will hopefully latch onto the ball that this game set rolling.