Just finished Half-Life Alyx and looking for an endings recap to check you caught everything? If you’re reading this already then there’s every chance you romped through your return to City 17 all in one mad, virtual blur, so a recap is probably necessary. Of course, there are also plenty of Half-Life fans out there who are yet to make the leap over to VR but are every bit as desperate to see how Alyx’s story plays out, or just to learn as much about the next instalment of Half-Life as possible. Nope, we can’t believe we’re finally getting to write this either.
We’ve been reviewing Half-Life: Alyx and definitely not getting motion sick, but if you’re like us then it may have been quite some time since you last ventured into the world of Half-Life 2. So to catch you up, link the stories together, and tell you all about what happens in the Half-Life: Alyx ending, we’ve assembled a quick endings recap below.
Obviously, there are some major, major Half-Life: Alyx spoilers in the endings discussion below. So, in case you’ve arrived on this page by mistake, this is your chance to click away. If not, here’s everything you need to know about the Half-Life: Alyx ending.
Just one more time: there are massive Half-Life: Alyx spoilers ahead. Got that? Good.
Half-Life: Alyx ending explained
As fans know, Half-Life 2: Episode Two concluded as Eli Vance was killed by an alien Advisor. Half-Life: Alyx is a prequel that takes place between Half-Life 1 and its sequel, but a Vortigaunt mystic makes reference to Eli’s fate during the game’s second chapter – and while Alyx thinks this means her father’s life is in immediate danger, it’s clear early on that the Vortigaunt is talking about Eli’s death in the distant future.
For most of Half-Life: Alyx, you’re trying to take down a floating ship known as the Vault. At first, the characters believe this is a Combine super-weapon, but later they come to believe that it’s where Gordon Freeman has been imprisoned after disappearing at the end of Half-Life 1. Half-Life: Alyx’s ending sees you infiltrating the Vault and opening Freeman’s holding cell – but it’s not Gordon that you find there.
Instead, it’s Half-Life’s notorious G-Man. As always, the mysterious agent has been watching Alyx’s actions, and wants to recruit her to his side. The G-Man hints that Gordon has been unwilling to comply with his requests, and suggests that Alyx could be a replacement. Then he asks what Alyx wants.
Alyx says to kick the Combine off Earth, but the G-Man says that’s too big a task. Instead, he offers “something you don’t know you want.” Alyx is then teleported and time-traveled to the conclusion of Episode Two, where she sees her future self holding her father’s dying body. The G-Man gives her the power to kill the Advisor before it kills Eli – and she does. But in the process, she becomes an agent of the G-Man and his mysterious employers.
After the credits, we get a new scene after the end of Episode Two in the now-changed timeline. You’re Gordon Freeman, watching Eli – who is now very much alive – curse the G-Man’s “unforeseen consequences.” Alyx is gone, and Eli wants revenge. The robot Dog shows up to deliver Gordon’s crowbar, and the game fades to black as you grab the iconic weapon.
It’s a heck of a setup for a sequel, there’s no denying that. And ending with one of the most iconic weapons in PC gaming history in the hands of one of the most iconic characters in PC gaming history may well bring a tear to your eye. We’ve just let the credits roll for ourselves, so we’ll wait until fan speculation is rampant before updating this with some potential theories on where this leaves the Half-Life series.
Don’t go getting excited about a Half-Life 3 release date any time soon, but it looks like Valve has left the door wide open for more entries in the series.
Additional reporting by Jordan Forward