This is Half-Life 2 in virtual reality. As good as Half-Life 3?

That ever-elusive unicorn Half-Life 3 is still nowhere to be seen, but YouTuber Goldfish has brought the series’ fan base what is arguably the next best thing: Half-Life 2 in fully motion-controlled virtual reality.

The setup seen here features Oculus’ Rift headset paired with the Razer Hydra, a proximity-based controller based on magnetic motion sensing. The result is a remarkably immersive experience. Grenades are physically thrown with a swing of your arm; guns, too, must be aimed manually via iron sights, reloaded with both hands, and have ammo counters emblazoned up on them in lieu of a traditional HUD. Weapons can also be fired behind you, while running, by simply bringing your hands backward.

Goldfish describes aiming as a natural experience, and even admits to closing one eye to better his focus when testing the revolver—which he reloads by physically tossing out and then replacing emptied shells. That such a detailed control scheme is possible already bodes well for the future of VR gaming.

Those of you already sporting a Rift of your own can download the mod here.

[via Polygon]