Video Games
Developers Add Three Hours of Commentary For ‘Half-Life: Alyx’
Valve has updated Half-Life: Alyx with nearly three hours of insight by the developers. Announced on the title’s Steam page, the team originally intended for the commentary to be out with the game when it launched in March (read our review of it here), but the pandemic put a hold on that.
The update adds 147 “points of interest” to the title in the form of floating headsets, where developers talk about a variety of topics pertaining to the game, including design, art, animation, rendering, and audio. And because it’s a VR game, you’ll have to put on the virtual headset in order to listen, and take it off when you’re done.
To access the new commentary, you’ll have to start a new game. Also, it’s recommended that you finish the game completely before enabling the commentary, as “significant spoilers” are contained in the commentary. Also, given the circumstances, the audio quality might vary, due to the devs working from home and recording the commentary from there.
Along with the commentary, the update also added the ability to change the way ladders behave when climbing, in order to make them “more realistic.”
Half-Life: Alyx is currently available on Steam for Valve Index, HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Oculus Quest with PC and link cable, and Windows Mixed Reality devices.
Video Games
Explore a Mysterious Island for Lost Riches in Co-Op Horror Adventure ‘Treasure Cove’ [Trailer]
Not to be confused with the 1992 educational sidescroller, Team5 has revealed the Steam page for its upcoming co-op title, Treasure Cove. Launching later this fall, this survival horror title sees you and your friends set out to explore a mysterious island in search of lost treasures. Of course, it’s never than simple, as exploring the island reveals more than you or your friends were expecting.
Details are still to come on the gameplay loop, but the basics for Treasure Cove have you and your squad navigating the island with a map and proximity voice chat in classic treasure-hunting style, with various gadgets to assist you in your search. Once you think you’ve found the spot, you start digging, and if you’ve read the map correctly, you’re rewarded with riches.
But as you might expect, digging up the treasure, extracting it and making it back to your boat isn’t so simple. Creatures are lurking in the darkness, and once they spot you, you’re on the run. Your only way of defense is to use your light, but even then, when you’re lugging around cursed treasure, you’re not safe for long. You and your team will need to keep quiet in order to avoid detection and survive.
If you do make it out alive, you can sell your treasures and buy better equipment for the next hunt.
Currently, the devteam is planning to have a playtest in the future, for which you can head over to the official site to sign up for the mailing list for when it arrives.