Developer Valve has taken a unique approach to publishing the official soundtrack for its hit VR title Half-Life: Alyx, released episodically, with new tracks releasing alongside their corresponding in-game chapters.

Set between the end of the original Half-Life and the beginning of Half-Life 2, the game casts the player in the role of fan-favorite Alyx Vance as she and her father join the rebellion against Earth’s militaristic oppressors, the Combine. Outside of several iconic tracks originating from Kelly Bailey’s Half-Life score, the Half-Life: Alyx soundtrack is composed by Mike Morasky.

As an in-house composer for Valve, Morasky has also created soundtracks for Portal (with Kelly Bailey), Team Fortress 2, Left 4 Dead, Left 4 Dead 2, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and Portal 2, credited as “Aperture Science Psychoacoustic Laboratories."

Music from "Chapter 1: Entanglement," "Chapter 2: The Quarantine Zone," "Chapter 3: Is Or Will Be," "Chapter 4: Superweapon," "Chapter 5: The Northern Star," "Chapter 6: Arms Race," "Chapter 7: Jeff," "Chapter 8: Captivity," "Chapter 9: Revelations," "Chapter 10: Breaking and Entering," and "Chapter 11: Point Extraction" are streaming on Spotify and Apple Music.


From the product page:

Following the story and locations of Half-Life: Alyx, the soundtrack evolves and combines industrial, electronic, experimental and orchestral cinematic pieces, alternating between abstract environmental, emotional soundscapes and direct action-oriented cues.

YouTube Music - Half-Life: Alyx (Chapter 11, "Point Extraction")

Shipping 3 days after Covid lockdown, it’s hard now to remember what that day felt like.

Surrounded largely by purposefully hybrid cues this little diegetic piano piece seemed to strike a nerve. IIRC, the harmonic progression is one of several palindromes in the 4 hr score. https://t.co/HqEwRtPO7z

— Mike Morasky (@MikeMorasky) March 25, 2024