https://www.overclock3d.net/news/software/half-life_alyx_s_no_vr_mod_is_looking_great/1
 
When Valve revealed Half-Life Alyx, many fans of the series were disappointed that the game would be unplayable outside of a VR headset. Because of this, the newest Half-Life experience was limited to a small subset of PC gamers, but soon, Half-Life Alyx may be playable for a larger number of gamers. 
A developer called SoMNst is working on a No VR mod for Half-Life Alyx, making the game playable on normal gaming PCs. The current version of the mod allows players to interact with objects, participate in the game's combat, and move freely across the game. That said, the mod is not ready for a general release, and no preview versions of the mod are available to download. 
 
In time, Half-Life Alyx's No VR mod will become fully playable and will be made available to the public. Once this happens, Half-Life Alyx will no longer be a VR exclusive. Even so, the game will still play best in VR, as the game is designed to be played on a VR headset with motion controls.
 
In the gameplay video, you can see object interaction, combat, and environmental traversal. Currently, the mod is a work in progress and has no firm release date, so don't expect Half-Life Alyx to be playable outside of VR on your PC anytime soon. 
 
I still don't understand why Valve didn't release a non-VR version of the game. 
 

rjohnson11
I still don't understand why Valve didn't release a non-VR version of the game. 

If you've played the game, you would know why a non VR version wasn't released. That game was the best new gaming experience I've had in I don't know how long. But playing it with no VR? It wouldn't be the same at all. It's still the only true VR game I think. The attention to detail on the VR aspects was amazing. Seriously, don't play this game without VR. Like reloading your gun felt sooo good since you had to do all the motions like in real life. It's what made that game so good and would be lost in translation to non VR.

The people that are crying to play this game without VR are missing the ENTIRE point of this game. Playing this game without VR is like taking a fish out of water and expecting it to still be able to swim. The game is an EXPERIENCE and without the interactivity that VR allows 99% of this game is going to be lost. Everything from having to manually reload your gun and insert new magazines to manipulating objects with your hands to solve puzzles will be lost with this "mod". It won't be the same experience  by simply "pressing" a reload button as it was in the game because having to actually perform those actions in real life under duress and having the manual dexterity to do so repeatedly is what this experience was about. Having to actually duck in real life, or rummage through a shelf of random objects to find ammo or a possible  health syringe will be lost. 
 
Truth be told this games moments and suspense are driven by you the player and translated into a simple first person shooter with simplified reload buttons and mouse and keyboard aim anyone even moderately competent at FPS games will tear through this game. But again that's not the point of this game. This is a VR experience first and foremost set in the Half Life universe. You are all missing the point if you play this without VR. 
 
I can see it now with posts like "wow this game sucks, now I see why they made this crap VR only" nonsense after people play this outside of VR. That'll be a sad day for VR because this game was never intended to be played like a regular Half Life game.