For me, the defining image of Half-Life 2 will always be those faded yellow tenement buildings being devoured by the violent, otherworldly architecture of the invading Combine. This anonymous Eastern European city, with its striking collision of faded Soviet modernism and jarring alien brutalism, is one of the most atmospheric, evocative settings in video game history.
Half-Life 2 is 17 years old, but this setting has lost none of its power—and it's even more impressive in Half-Life: Alyx. In Valve's sensational VR game, which more people should be able to play, we get to revisit it with a level of fidelity we could only dream of back in 2004. Visuals aren't everything, but the increased realism amplifies everything that makes City 17 so memorable.
We never find out what City 17 was called before the Combine swept in, made it their capital on Earth, and assigned it a number. You know you're in Eastern Europe, but you're never really sure where. This geographical ambiguity is intentional, but there are elements of real-world cities—particularly Sofia, the Bulgarian city where art director Viktor Antonov was born.
The choice of an Eastern European setting isn't an arbitrary one. It's implied, albeit in a suitably hands-off way, that City 17 was once under Communist rule. Grand Neoclassical government buildings sit uneasily alongside cheaply built, concrete-panelled Soviet tower blocks—a familiar sight in the Eastern Bloc, and a visual suggestion of the city's almost certainly Soviet past.
Now, with a Combine dictatorship in place, history is grimly repeating itself. There's a clear parallel between how the citizens of City 17 are oppressed by these alien invaders, and how their grandparents might have suffered at the hands of the Soviet Union. This is all part of the genius of the setting, and why it's still held up as a masterclass in subtly impactful world-building.
Half-Life games typically open with a scene-setting train ride, but Half-Life: Alyx takes a different approach. The first thing you see, standing on an old stone balcony, is a stunning view of the city. A sea of old buildings stretches out before you, periodically interrupted by jagged formations of Combine tech, cowering beneath the shadow of the colossal, monolithic Citadel.
As Alyx moves through the city she explores locations including the Quarantine Zone, an abandoned residential district invaded by bizarre alien flora, and the Northern Star, a dilapidated hotel. This is the highlight of the game's environment design, perfectly summing up that distinctive, melancholy City 17 feel of the past being systematically erased by the Combine.
Because Half-Life: Alyx is a VR game, the environments have been designed knowing that players will want to get up close to things. The result is a game with a staggering level of fine detail, from the cracked leather of a beaten-up old couch, to dust coating windows that you can wipe away with your hand. This helps bring City 17 to life in a way Half-Life 2 simply couldn't.
It's a real treat getting to revisit City 17. It's just a shame Alyx is VR exclusive, and only people with a lot of disposable income will be able to enjoy it. However, the fact that the game's incredible ending appears to tee up a new game means we might get a traditional Half-Life sequel that more people can easily play—and hopefully another chance to hang out in this peerless setting.
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