Modding communities continue to be some of the greatest forces combining popular video game franchises, and thisHalf-Life: Alyxfan exemplifies this with an interestingBioShockmod. The project is calledReturn to Rapture, and it’s an intriguing addition to the creativeHalf-Lifemoddingcommunity.
Return to RapturecombinesHalf-Life: AlyxwithBioShockby taking one of the most powerful antagonistic forces in theHalf-Lifeuniverse, the Combine, and having it set its sights onBioShock’s city of Rapture.Half-Life: Alyxis a VR experience where players guide the titular character Alyx to steal an incredibly powerful weapon that the Combine owns, the Combine being a sinister conglomeration that wants to absorb all of the multiverse into itself.
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InReturn to Rapture, the Combine has pinpointed the location ofRapture,BioShock’s underwater citythat served as the primary setting in the series' first two games. The mod’s creator, Wim Buytaert, posted the mod to the Steam Workshop with the taglines “No gods or kings, only Alyx” and “Where the great will not be constrained by the small.” That second tagline is in reference to the libertarian ideals of Rapture, while the first tagline is obviously in reference to Alyx herself.
The mod’s description paints Andrew Ryan, founder of Rapture, as supposedly holding a suitcase with the key to ADAM (a genetics-manipulating chemical) andBioShock’s iconic plasmids(serums that can mutate “superpowers” into the ingestor’s genetic code). In the mod, the Combine wants access to these, so Alyx has to go in and get it first, similar to the original set-up ofHalf-Life Alyx.The structure of the game is the same, but the “flavor” is what’s different, plus the incorporation of another popular sci-fi franchise.
The mod creator provided their own voice as original voiceover to guide the player through the events ofReturn to Rapture. Also,BioShock’s Vita-Chambers are present and repurposed as save points for Alyx. The mod is still pretty short, running just under half an hour, but the creator may develop the mod later.
Rumors thatBioShock 4will be in a new settingother than Rapture (or Columbia) mean that players may not get to return to Rapture outside of replayingBioShock 1and2.Of course, replaying old favorites can still be fun, but as usual, the modding community makes a big effort in keeping franchises fresh and providing new spins on old content.
Half-Life: Alyxis available for PC.
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