Warned my cousin that VR gaming was a gimmick for 3 years, then I played Half-Life Alyx at his place in Portland

Hugo Ellis · 2026-10-03T22:50:02.872852+00:00

I spent three years telling anyone who would listen that VR was a $400 paperweight and that nobody actually used the headset after a week. My cousin kept pushing me to try it, so last month I drove up to Portland and put on his Quest 3 for about two hours of Half-Life Alyx. The thing that got me was leaning around a corner and reaching under a shelf for ammo with my actual hand, not a button prompt. I was sweaty and my neck hurt after, but I stayed up until 1am wanting one more room. Now I'm torn because the good games are still like five titles and everything else looks like a tech demo from 2016. Part of me thinks the whole thing is still a rich guy's toy that never went mainstream for a reason. So is VR actually cooking now or did I just get tricked by one really good game? Anyone here own a headset and still use it six months later?

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Warned my cousin that VR gaming was a gimmick for 3 years, then I played Half-Life Alyx at his place in Portland | Bad Take Tuesday - HW Forums