Every Custom Map Reviewed

This guide links to a Google Sheet in which I have rated almost every custom map/campaign made for Half-Life: Alyx across numerous categories. The list is mostly in chronological order of release date, though I am always playing the newest version of the map available at the time I create each video. As new maps are released, I will add them to the Sheet and record a fresh video. As of 1/1/2023, I am no longer providing ratings for test maps as I don't feel that it is fair to apply a low rating to something a new creator is working on. I often post unlisted video links in the description of those maps for the creator's benefit, but will not add them to the rating sheet as that is not in the spirit of what I am trying to accomplish. The Steam rating system is very limited and my goal is to help direct people to experiences in the workshop that they might have missed and/or help players find maps that meet more specific criteria. Each row in the Google Sheet contains the following:

The name of the map with a link to its workshop page or download location (if it was made pre-workshop with bootleg tools)

The overall rating on a scale of 1-10 that I gave each map

The current Steam Name of the author along with a link to their Steam page

My description of the map with highlights and feedback

The genre of the map - note that some maps span multiple genres but I do my best to pick the best fit

The initial release date and the date of the version that I played in each video. Each map is played on Merciless Hard difficulty with rare exceptions

The length of time the it typically takes to play

The replayability value

The combat difficulty - A rating of 0 indicates no combat

The level of optimization; how smooth and lag-free the gameplay is

Rating of 1-5 for the level design (layout, scripted sequences, combat)

Rating of 1-5 for the visual design (aesthetics, use of visual custom assets)

Rating of 1-5 for the sound design (use of repurposed or original music, dialogue, sound effects)

Advice for players new to custom maps

The first mistake a lot of people make is they jump into some really great but also really difficult maps right after playing the campaign. Whatever difficulty you are playing on, the campaign is extremely easy compared to much of the best custom content out there. With single-player VR maps, the first time you play them is typically the best experience. If you are dying a lot, you're probably not going to have a great time. Use the sheet, sort by difficulty, and stick to maps that are a 2 or 3 on the difficulty scale, plus some wave shooters. Once you get better skill-wise, you'll be ready for a far more challenging experience, which most of the best maps provide.

Link to Google Sheet

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1HefptbgP2pwxDCVITIH5ax8bJ0LFxn6NTVcoM8e6SQ4/edit?usp=sharing

Note that Valve is now throwing an External Site warning on all Google Drive links, so you'll have to click past that to access the doc. In some cases, it just loads up a generic Steam page, so you can try copying and pasting it into a browser as well.

If you have any questions or feedback, please post a comment.

I could definitely use some help categorizing the genres more accurately and would appreciate any feedback there. Also, please report any incorrect links, typos, etc. in either the Google Sheet or my video descriptions. Thank you all for helping me to make this guide better for everyone to use!

Special Thanks

First and foremost I want to thank Willhart for his assistance in creating the initial Google Sheet, and his inspiration with all of his excellent videos and feedback for the creators. You can find his channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrhggw2oKffq5y2MGkT9q9Q

I'd also like to thank Confederate in Blue for assisting me in extracting data from the workshop into an Excel document, making it easier to copy and paste key info into my Google Sheet. His application saved me an unbelievable amount of time and headaches when creating this.

Lastly I'd like to thank all of the creators and my friends in the HLA Modding Discord server, without whom none of this could be possible.

[Skummeh]

@edo9k Thanks and I'm glad you're making good use of it! I understand your thoughts on FHTH, which a lot of people share. I definitely have a higher tolerance for certain bugs, and I also didn't run into nearly as many as some others. It's really an incredible and unique experience which is why I rated it so highly, but I was hoping the creator would come back to finish/polish it as it's technically still in beta. Unfortunately, that looks like it's not gonna happen.

[edo9k]

Great job mate. I've been using your spreadsheet and blasting through the highest rated mods. Only rating I don't agree with so far is the one for "From here to there" which definitely has some great visuals and ideas, but I didn't find it much fun and it definitely lacked the polish that you say it has. I ran into multiple bugs that forced me to reload a previous save, and many minor bugs that I'd just consider inconveniences. I was expecting much more from something rated 11/10

[Skummeh]

@SaVage| Mr.Blond You are very welcome and thanks for the kind words. I've been on a break from VR for 2 months but I'll be adding all the recent maps soon.

[SaVage| Mr.Blond]

This is remarkable, exceptional and so appreciated. Thank you.

[Skummeh]

While holding the control key, highlight all of the columns that you'd like to include. You can then print out the highlighted cells only. If you want to make more changes, just make a copy of it into your own Google Drive and edit it there before printing. Either way it works almost exactly like Excel.

[Glockstr]

Hi, love all the enormous amount of work put into this spreadsheet, awesome, however, I cant print it in a way that I can read it? I have a google docs account but that's all i know how to do?

[cw4ogden]

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█▐█▓▀░░▀▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓██████▓▓▓▓▐█ Paste
▌▓▄▌▀░▀░▐▀█▄▓▓██████████▓▓▓▌█▌it
▌▓▓▓▄▄▀▀▓▓▓▀▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█▓█▓█▓▓▌█▌ DO IT.
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[Skummeh]

@panzer The most important part of the guide is the Google sheet which I'm hoping you find helpful. So that people can find it in the first place, I felt the best way to share it was in a guide.

[Panzer]

why u make a guide if its just yt links

[Skummeh]

@willkiel66 Awesome! I think you'll find even more than 50 hours of custom content goodness. Enjoy!