Played this again for my review series and it's definitely an excellent and unique experience with numerous custom assets and nice sound design choices. My previous comments stand about the horror vibe not quite being there (some alternate sound design choices may have helped here at times), and the combat being a bit too easy, but it has great puzzles and great mechanics. Playthru and feedback here: https://youtu.be/8UQwzuTxDIo

Wow! the atmosphere in this map was stellar, and its stunning how many diverse environments you could fit into one house! My favorite was The cliff side with the car on it. The way you showed puzzles was pretty awesome too, but it took me a little to get the last one. I can't wait to see more!

Very fun puzzles and atmosphere! I do think that there are way too many batteries and ammo compared to how much you need to use them, and reloading the batteries is annoying cause you gotta take off the hat but overall this is one of the best maps out there!

Quite the unique & very enjoyable map - love the concept and looking very much forward to the next chapter!!! Thank you for your contribution to the community

best map ive played, only glitch is where when u use a battery in your pockets it takes the rest away, and left handed gun is broken at times but thats not your fault bc you didnt make the luger. otherwise only thing is make the flashlight brighter bc i could barely see with it even on

I didn't get a horror vibe from this map, surprisingly, even though the atmosphere and music was there. Even on Hard, the enemies never felt threatening. That said, the puzzle aspects were great, as was the battery mechanic and the Key mechanic. Nicely done!

Very cool, survival horror chapter. Well done, but the balance is off. It warns in the beginning that ammo is scarce and one should probably be stingy with it but there was a total of 3 enemies the entire chapter and I found plenty of clips.

Not bad, I liked the puzzles. Wasn't that scary IMO.
Picking things off the ground was super annoying. You realize why Valve included the gravity gloves. I'd say either add in gravity gloves or somehow mod the mod to make picking things up off the floor easier.

I really enjoyed this map! The horror was great, the puzzles were fun, and the lighting mechanics were cool. Also, I liked the Bioshock type vibe towards the end. Keep up the great work!

This was amazing! Having a full campaign of this would be a dream come true.

@iforgottoburrythebody69 You stick the batteries on the hat. If you're wearing the hat, just try putting the battery in your head, where the light is.

I found the batteries for the flashlight but I don't know how to use them

@puxorb I may do that, actually. I also plan to add an invisible barrier to the staircase so that if you don't use the first battery you cannot go any further. I'll also add a little bit of text saying "It might not be safe to continue before you put fresh batteries in your light."

@scarybunny92055 yes! I believe you can follow my account here. I also post on Twitter and Instagram quite often (@absrdst for both)

If its possible, perhaps adding a slight glow/outline to the batteries so they are easier to find in the darkness would help.

Okay, I have to apologize. On my third attempt I finally found the battery (It seems if you drop the first one, you're out of luck since you can't find it in the total darkness). This mod is incredible! The puzzles are clever and the headlamp is unique. I think the key needs to hang down lower because I just punched my ceiling to get it, hahaha. Wonderful work, looking forward to part 2.

I couldn't even see the batteries in order to charge the light though, that's what I meant by I couldn't even see an inch in front of my face. Not trying to hate, I really love the concept of this map but its unplayable at the moment.

Is it possible to follow you to see when the next part comes out?

Awesome job! Love the battery gimmick, and the puzzle with the pool balls is really clever

You can recharge the flashlight with batteries around the map. There's a hint text at the very beginning after you pick up the helmet.

This looks absolutely amazing and I really want to play, but the flashlight immediately dims and I can't see an inch in front of my face. I had no idea how to leave one of the first rooms because it was pitch black.

One of the few maps I've played that feels like it's own thing rather than just "more Half-Life: Alyx". I absolutely adore it.


..But the headlight is annoyingly dark. Please fix it if possible.

Would be fun to play but the headlight barely lights up anything making it very hard to see

I'm honestly blown away by how polished and well put together this map actually is.
The atmosphere is wonderful, and I liked the puzzles.
Can't wait for more!

@QuixOtix' there's a pop up tutorial for the battery as soon as you put on the helmet

Maybe you need a pop up tutorial for the battery mechanic.

cool looking map but its impossible to see with how weak this flashlight is

Would it be possible to get a version with a better flashlight? I really wanna explore this map, loved what I saw and it seemed really polished, but it's way too dark, especially with limited batteries. That lightning effect or whatever also doesn't work well in VR imo, makes sense as a screen effect but in VR just makes it feel like my eyes are randomly blurring

This was really awesome. Just didn't really like the visual throbbing effect. It was kinda disorienting in VR. Other than that, I can't wait for more.

Hey Absrdst, finally got around to playing it.

Loved the fact that I felt anxious hoping to not run out of batteries and the low ammo count on top of it - perfectly balanced amount through-out the map that kept me on my toes. Amount of enemies was a good number as well, first time in a custom map where I had to actually count my shots and make them count.

Puzzles *did* leave a little bit to be desired, but I do appreciate the level design that didn't leave me too confused on where to go which is a plus.

One issue that I constantly kept having though was the positioning of the helmet. Struggled constantly trying to put it back on my head and dropping it constantly, it's so dark that I can't tell which side is up!

Apart from that, really well done map and hope to see it finished. :)

Very unique and fun map! I enjoyed the puzzle mechanics and I loved the atmosphere of the map! Some feedback that I like to give is to make the key less "hidden." I thought that I needed to backtrack several rooms to find it, but then I realized it was near me the whole time (which I won't spoil). While it didn't take too long for me to find it, I imagined other players taking longer to do so. Still, the map was quite interesting and it's one of them that I recommend anyone to play!

I enjoyed this one! Im impressed by the flashlight but i think id rather just have It on the whole time without the need for the batteries lol If it was a whole mod of puzzles like this id be very pleased other than that I kind of wish it was even more scary.. maybe screams or strange noises and maybe some... creepy things to see like ghosts and what not but regardless I loved this map and I look forward to playing the campaign! great job!

Very nice. I found the key, which was good, Was not able to figure out the pool table puzzle even after bringing up the other pool balls I found around the place. I was frustrated to find that the batteries I stored in my wrists would vanish and not be there when I needed them. also in the room with the four chairs, the column vanished when I tried to pick it up. The car in the whole in the floor, provides the impression you can jump onto it, but when you do you die. I am sure I am only half way through this and would love some hints...

Certainly excellent presentation and yet... I couldn't find a single key. I ended up running out of batteries in my search and jumping to my death after feeling like I'd exhausted every option looking for a key. (I did open the clock door).

easily the most polished Alyx mod map there is, absolutely give this a try

the best hl alyx map i have ever played

My thanks to the sparse use of corpses; it provided more psychological scares than the typical jump scares. And what was up with the corpse disappearing off the bed the 2nd time I was in the room?
The most disappointing part of the level was its shortness. Just as I was starting to settle into a groove, the game was over, and all I could say was 'Son of a Mother Duck! It's over?!'
Thanks for the fun, and tense time. Don't take too long for Chapter 2.

I can't say I was a fan of the music, as it gave me a feeling of the 30s and 40s, but yet there were TVs that made me think of the 50s. Probably just got my decades screwed up.
The traveling back and forth between rooms was done just right, so it never felt like you were doing it excessively. I only wish I would've realized sooner not to try shooting at the locks (good way to waste ammo), efore realizing what the key was for (just so used to shooting locks in every other level).
My compliments to the logical implementation on one of the puzzles involving the pool table.

What a pleasant mixture of suspense, creeping horror, and a slight touch of Escape Room antics. You create an effective errie mood with the lighting, and the lightning coming through the windows was nicely done. It would've been even cooler if, while standing in front of the window, the lightning cast Alyx's shadow on the wall.
My compliments to the effective use of 3D audio, to where you know danger was in the background, and you had a vague idea of where it lurked. It was a nice touch to use the 9 volts to keep your 'headlight' fully bright, although there were always enough around to where you were never in the dark for too long.

This is an absolute must have. The quality of work that has been crafted into creating an environment that strikes trepidation in each step you take. You will be challenged and forced to use your wits to solve puzzles under pressure. There are at least three different parts to this that I have not seen yet implemented in this engine, and the final result is brilliant. You owe it to yourself to try the new standard of horror in the Alyx engine.

It should work now. Forgot to tick that "playable maps" box.

Map doesn't appear in the addons list for some reason. :(