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Half-Life: Alyx’s only melon can’t be eaten without cheatsIllegal lunch
Illegal lunch
Hard to imagine worse things to eat while in VR. Do you really want sticky fingers clutching your index controllers, melon juice splashing over your expensive electronics? It’s probably for the best, then, that the one watermelon inHalf-Life: Alyxis impossible to find in normal play - a sweet, tantalising snack tucked away only for those brave enough to break out the cheats.
Watch on YouTube
Watch on YouTube
But when compared to fruit of Half-Life past, Alyx' melon disappoints. While it flaunts a higher-res texture, it doesn’t create satisfying melon gibs - simply vanishing in a puff of smoke when shot. Most criminal of all, though, is that secrecy. Scarce as they were, watermelons were apparently a recurring secret inHalf-Life 2andHL2: Deathmatch. Huh.
If you wanted to, you could probably run a melon-centric speedrun ofHalf-Life 2- making sure to hit every detour in pursuit of a sweet fruity snack. Actually, looking at the game’sextended categories on speedrun.com, it doesn’t look like that’s even been attempted.
That’ll be me setting some world records after work.
Watch on YouTube
Watch on YouTube
I’m shocked that I didn’t know this was a thing. I’ve poured hundreds - if not thousands - of hours into Half-Life 2’s map files. Can you even call a smattering of props a trend? Is this simply a strange obsession from a HL2 fan? Most important of all, though, where are the starved, oppressed citizens of City 17 finding all this fruit - and why have they grown so popular in the time betweenHalf-Life: Alyxand Gordon Freeman’s arrival five years later?
Sadly, there are no melons in Half-Life 2’s episodes, nor in short tech demo HL2: Lost Coast.
Of course, it’s hard to tell how deliberate a homage Alyx' elusive melon even is. This could quite easily be a level artist mucking about, putting groceries in the grocery bag even as out-of-bounds walls, floors and items turn invisible to optimise. Odd priorities, for sure.
But if you do find yourself needing a lunch break during your VR experience - well, it’s an option.
