>doesn't make single game for a decade >spends four years and millions of dollars creating a critically acclaimed AAA VR game in a dormant, widely beloved franchise >refuses to elaborate >leaves
He’s not saying the game is bad. In fact he says the game is so good no other developer could reach that level. They did something amazing but then dipped afterwards
But that's now how you rate a game. You don't put it in a low tier or say it's a failed experiment. If it was amazing. Put it in A or S tier. Makes zero sense.
@@dextergrif1052 PCVR at least. The Quest, on the other hand, seems to be growing in popularity. I think the pandemic also played a part in HLA not having as big an impact as it could have. Imagine the kind of live demonstrations they could have done to promote it.
@@kilimenjiro3753 popularity doesnt equal quality,the xr 2 chip is obviously incapable of running anything decent,it is so extremely weak its basically 7 times weaker than a 2016 low end gtx 1060 as tested,thats the minimum required for alyx to run,best game on that platform being a 18 year old resident evil,thats crazy dated compared to alyx the entire quest library is 15 to 20 years in the past compared to PC even tough they are way more popular the only reason they are is because they have zero computing power and is sold at a severe loss by facebook,psvr 2 on the other hand will be on par with a PC and what games they can and proly will achieve can be close to alyx.
@@rdablock Why are so many people forgetting that Valve doesn't just make video games? They run Steam, they make hardware, and they organize e-sports competitions. Valve clearly wants to have its finger on the pulse of the industry.
@ a new half life game has been leaked for quite a while now! we don’t know if it’s half life 3 but it’s definitely a new half life game! And a new VR headset has also been leaked so maybe there’ll be an accompanying game!
@@henrycgs Let's see, out for 2 years now, continuously getting updated with Valve adding tons of new features, opening the door to Linux Gaming and continuously working on the Proton compatibility layer, it's still the most talked about handheld gaming PC even after the release of competitors like the Lenovo Legion Go and the ROG Ally...yeah I'd say Tyler's steam deck take aged like milk.
I mean, if you look into the history of Valve handling hardware releases, that's not a bad take. He himself already changed his mind after using the Steam Deck.
It's crazy how much Valve has seemingly changed since he said this. Expected 6 months of support for Deck. Here we are nearly 2 years later getting updates and support. We've gotten SteamVR 2.0 which is in meant to make all steam platforms similar. Has Deck like UI. Also seems as if they are using this to get the kinks out of 2.0 before Their new headset releases. We've gotten CS2 which has been constantly updated. Neon Prime is very close to announcement.
Valve is the jesus of gaming. They come, make a couple miracles like it’s no big thing only to disappear and leave people waiting for decades for them to return. The old gaben memes hit different now
The only thing Valve can dedicate to is Linux it seems, not only enjoying Deck support, I'm also enjoying gaming on a Linux desktop thanks to Valve's work making it viable
The problem is Valve is leaving things behind to start the next big thing. They definitely going to do another VR game once they feel they have something to do. Or they will do an AR game. The thing is they do want to do something new, and I don't think they're going to let the VR part die. Also, they don't communicate about developments which is both frustrating and understandable, because they won't build unnecessary hype over just potential ideas.
I feel like a small section of Valve wants to "Do something new and worthwhile" and the rest just wants to DO SOMETHING, ANYTHING, but are afraid that the former section won't deem their work as "new and worthwhile" and tank their peer reviews. But that's just a hunch based on stuff a passionate gamer once said.
@@DrHammerr Isn't that that there is a core of established employees who just tank ideas because they deem them useless? But I don't know if that problem is still relevant.
People keep talking about "AR" and am I dumb or something cause I have no idea what it is, like I know it's looking at a screen and the thing in the screen appearing in real life but would you play a game with that besides pokemon go?
I mean the ending of Half Life Alyx lead everyone to believe that old Valve was back, with such a radical change to the story of Half Life too. 4 years have passed, still radio silence from Valve and I'm doubtful that HL3 is coming any time soon (Hope I'm wrong though)
@@ruzgar1372not really radio silence, they released the Half Life 25th anniversary update, 1hr long doc and CS2 (admittedly rushed) in the last few months.
1:00 They did tell some indie developers about it, And the fact that they told developers about it is why SLZ the Boneworks Team came over at Valve and fucking blew their mind with the Boneworks Mechanics before they had to fix everything to match the Boneworks Bar, Its because of that fact that HLA is even up there
"because of that fact that HLA is even up there" i am pretty sure that valve is a company with so many ressources, time, talent, and creativity amidst their ranks, that they dont need to try to match pretty much any other company's bar for quality, especially so in VR since it's a much smaller industry at the moment. Valve has a reputation for making groundbreaking stuff. Something so simple as saying "a valve employee" is basically the gaming industry equivalent of saying "a military general" or "a nobel prize winning physicist". They're not daft enough to release a half assed product with such a reputation at stake, especially so with as many ressources as they have. They have the time, money, motivation, and talent to make something great, why not just do it? Not like deadlines have ever stopped them before, lol
Even csgo isnt getting as many updates anymore and those that we get are smaller. If they really are doing that source 2 port then its understandable. I hope csgo isnt turning into tf2.
Valve lost the battle to Facebook when it acquired Oculus. Because all the tech that Oculus were relying on are all Valve's techs. Even when Oculus were presenting the VR tech to Mark Zuckerberg, they used Valve's tech. Then the mass layoff happened. Almost all Valve employee who worked on VR has moved to Oculus. Fast forward to this timeline. Valve has released Half-Life: Alyx and set the bar to the VR world on how to make a great VR experience. But there was no one left aside of indie companies, almost all of them have been acquired by Facebook. Valve lost the VR war because of themselves.
My biggest fear is that half life alyx is the last great vr game, I could see the vr industry exploding soon or just fizzling out. Not only that, but I’m worried that we may not get another half life. I’d give it 5 years MINIMUM before we even hear about another half life, but probably closer to 10
Sales of Oculus Quest 2 are incredibly high, Quest 3 is on the way. The VR industry is doing better than ever before. Remember what devices we had five years ago.
MS needs to stop thinking VR is a gimmick because they fucked up on both Kinects and adopt it for the Xbox Series consoles. PC and PS has it, Xbox needs one. That would have an immediate effect on VR market and increase VR adoption.
Likes making games to experiment with hardware, they've been working on hlx and other games. What reason would they have to work on a VR game? At least before a major advancement happens again
I never agreed with this take, and I'm super glad. They've been babying the hell out of the Steam Deck, dropping very frequent software updates. It actually kind of annoys me sometimes how often I have to update (which is great). Two, that recent documentary for Half-Life 2's 20th anniversary gently hinted that there's going to be another installment in the series. Couple that with all of these leaks about their alleged new VR system they're developing, this really did age like milk as per some of the other comments.
Yeah. But that's not a bad prediction if you remember that Valve has a history of abandoning hardware project that Valve themselves deemed has flopped. Thankfully Steam Deck is a huge success that made Valve to keep focusing on it. It's a money generator for them because people are buying more games on Steam.
@n_core I don't think success had anything to do with it. If it was, they would have stopped making hardware year's ago. One of the steam decks' biggest elements, proton and steam OS, started on the steam machine and have been getting consistent updates even after it died.
He was wrong about Steam Deck falling off. Let's hope he's also wrong about PC VR being dead in Valve's eyes. Rumor has it they're building a standalone headset that will essentially merge PC VR and portable VR into the same thing, and that would be the game changer.
I guess the assumption is that Valve made HL:A with the intention of opening up the VR market. But I think Valve was well aware of the limitations of getting VR to market, which have been borne out in the years since HL:A shipped. It seems more like Valve needed a testing ground for Source 2 and VR happened to be the most convenient platform for an experimental single-player title. With Source 2 in the bag Valve could focus on developing live service titles (CS2 and Deadlock) which have seen great success. In that sense I think HL:A was a good move on their part.
I just don't understand these people who focus solely on Valve releasing games. Alyx isn't a "failed experiment" just because Valve didn't turn around and release a dozen dlcs, it was a successful experiment because It completely changed what people thought was possible in vr. I would be content with Valve never releasing another game ever again, because in the time they've spent not releasing games they've been pushing PC gaming as a whole forward. Sure we may never see half-life 3, but the fact that Valve destroyed the distinction between "online multi-player" and "local multi-player only" is kinda worth it. And that's just one of the features they've created, for free, that benefits all games. But yeah, the dude who can't even figure out how to comb his hair isn't getting enough dopamine hits, so clearly Valve has failed.
He said he didn't trust valve with the steam deck because they got rid of projects that weren't successful? Like he even admitted to them being really constant with Linux, steam OS support and he then just brush's that off. He himself said valve did great not having eg 2 handed weapons, but then said hl alyx failed because it didn't have stuff like that, HL alyx finally got rid of that cliff hanger, but also allowed vale themselves not to have that looming thing over there heads that was HL3 its something they can eventually work on when they want it and not have that impossible standard. I legit can't believe I used to watch this guy, he's like some dehshelved vegan that reads code leaks and wants valve to be bethesda also another kek moment was him saying valve was being too much of a sausage party.
Damn this guy seemed so interested and excited and optimistic about valve right before Alyx came out and now that he got everything he wanted he's back to being bitter, I think this guy should move on from Valve, cover some other company if this one upsets him so much.
Dude just needs to like, get some hobbies and a life. His whole world has been based around valve itself for years upon years. And you can definitely see how well adjusted of a human being he is from that.
I think tyler is just bitter and angry at valve after all these years of closely following them. They got what they wanted with alyx, no point pumping out vr games today that will be much more accessible in the future 2-5-10 years. Today az sunshine as a game feels bad but 5-6 years ago i was in awes about the possibilities. I just hope they see through their new headset and release it at some point.
The problem is that the VR kit is so expensive that it is too high of a bar to commit to playing the games. For muself, the Half Life series is my favourite of all time.... But would I commit hundreds of £££ just to play Half Life Alyx? No.
I agree with his assessment. I think they thought they would create a market and it just wasn't there. In my opinion, they should have released kits and maybe the code so that the market could develop. Maybe, they wanted to turn this into a series of games?
Just ordered my second Steam Deck OLED after Valve clearly demonstrating hundreds of frequent updates and a mid-refresh taking onboard basically every criticism the LCD Deck had. Pretty poor take overall.
"Everybody buying Steam Deck get ready for 6 months of support, 3 years of silence, and annoying broken bugs" Well... that didn't age well with continuous support, Steam Deck OLED, and official confirmation of Steam Deck 2 coming in the future.
Steam controller lead to steam input, steam link lead to remote play, steam machines lead to proton and deck. It's the best ecosystem on pc. The lab/Alyx -> SteamVR. Tyler McVicker is a game journalist and should write for Polygon or something.
you say that like steaVR isnt years behind the quest 2 standalone software wise and everything else you listed besides proton has been done better aswell remote play was made by sony during the PS3 generation, tho steams play together is pretty good steam is only the best ecosystem due to its popularity, the fact it was first and the lack of any form of competition (compare steam to the software on the ps5 and xbox series and its YEARS behind) Tyler is right, valve is all over the place and cant focus on anything
This was after the announcement but before the release. He changed his mind afterwards after seeing that Steam Deck is a huge success for Valve that they keep focusing on it.
he's right...VR gaming didn't explode the way they thought it would... frankly, to most gamers, it's just an interesting side-attraction, not something they "need" to buy
Man that Steam Deck comment aged horribly lmao To be honest even this video in general hasn’t aged well since Valve recently confirmed they have a new VR headset in development
This is a dumb take from a person who doesn’t really understand how Valve operates. They made a VR game that will most likely not be topped for a long time, yes. But that isn’t a bad thing, or even Valves fault. It’s not Valves responsibility to alert developers on their feats. They create. That’s their job. Just sit back and enjoy the greatness.
I mean he's completely right, Valve made this game as a flagship title for their (at the time) new $1,000 headset and made no effort into kickstarting the VR industry, just a title to sell their headset with
You're forgetting that Valve is not just a games developer. They are a platform developer, and a hardware developer as well, and they have been trying to break into the big boys club (Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo) for years. For much of the 2010s, Valve was clearly obsessed with VR. Every time Gabe appeared in an article or interview, he was talking about the potential of VR. Valve wanted to jumpstart a new era in videogaming history where the VR headset was at its forefront, and Alyx was meant to be the killer app that signaled its beginning. But Alyx never did that, and VR is just as niche as it was 3-5 years ago. Alyx may be a great game, but Valve's vision for the future has failed. They have clearly moved on since then, and have openly stated that their upcoming games will not be VR.
I agree with him, except for difficulty, because Valve games never was for be hard, that's the problem with mods, they want to be very high challenge but it's always focused on showing tech (being a benchmark) and tell a story more than being hardcore. EDIT: Also, I think Tyler is trying to say, Valve must to make exclusive game like sony did with PS1, because otherwise, I don't understand how Valve can help another companies really.
@@HabitualThinker Valve can be editors like Sony, so in that case they have to help other companies if Gabe Newell want to, and they have everything to be publishers. And since Valve is making much nothing, they can support other companies for a price. Otherwise it feels like a waste.
100% agree with your conclusions. I also think HLA is a great VR game, but it's also very flawed. I was shocked when I found out that Valve's plan was to make it teleport only and thank God they added full locomotion. However, you can still tell it was baked in afterwards, which makes movement not as smooth and polished as it should have been or as integral part of the game as it could have been.
They didn't need to challenge the player he game is hard as hell already. Having had other people play through the game, the later sections, starting with the fight in front of the brewery, are insanely difficult. I had one person take 3 hours to beat the scrapyard fight, even with me providing them guidance.
It is true. This game is unparalleled in its presentation and none of the other studios that had deep coffers had any momentum with VR development when Alyx was revealed. My next big hope for VR is miles away. The Elder Scrolls VI. Even then I suspect an official VR-native version would not be sold until years after we have both the base game and its DLC.
'They don't pay attention to the rest of the industry - because they don't have to' Correct! It's not Valve's job to babysit the entire industry every step of the way; Valve has always been an innovative and creative company, and Alyx was their first foray into VR, which they chose to make a love letter to Half Life fans, not only continuing the series so longingly awaited for, but also showing people just how much potential VR has and what can be done with it. It's not their job to share every finding they have because at the end of the day, that's what makes them stand out from the rest; the quality.
But it is something they used to do. counter strike was built out of accessible tools Valve produced and released for people to access and use. They supported development of games and mods. They brought VR to yhe forefront. Pushed it. Developed the hardware. AND the standards, they had contract deals in various industries and then dropped the best VR title (which is only a bit more than a refinement of proofs of concept) and then bailed. This is uncharacteristic for them.
@ItCameFromTheSkyBeLo All of which was made for the community. They owe the industry nothing because they're not there to serve them. They make games because they want to, and as a result, they pour huge amounts of passion into those games and the communities around them.
Hλlf Life Alyx did feel really conservative in its gameplay, I'm having way more fun playing Hλlf Life ² because it's not scared of giving the player motion sickness or creating this perfectly tailored VR friendly combat enviroments
I wish valve made another VR game I truly do. Or at least add sprinting and jumping to HL alyx for the 5th anniversary and expand the level editor greatly.
I'd say releasing Quest 3 (and probably Quest 3S and soon the Pro 2), doesn't count as fire and forget. The do follow up on VR, but they "allow" the industry to move where consumers want. They made (once more) an era defining game, it is not their fault others cannot do the same. Nobody is stopping them.
I don't think Valve is responsible for teaching other developers how to make great games. They know how to make them and they had the funds to make the investment. A lot of people bought PCVR just for Half-Life: Alyx, so their job is done. The bigger problem is that a lot of developers have tried selling overpriced tech demos or arcade games to us, because they are not willing to invest large amounts of money into such a small market. Again, this is not Valves problem or issue, they simply showed what could be possible.
But its not valve's responsiblity to add more to the VR landscape. That's the responsiblity of anyone who wants to dive in it. Valve put out Alyx to show that VR is a viable gaming platform, that you can do a whole lot with VR. It isn't their goal to sustain the VR platform. If the VR industry looks at Alyx and thinks 'We're never gonna top that', then, honestly? VR should fail.
Introducing people to vr gameing with a title which costs 60 bucks, even four years after its release. So People have to buy a vr set for hundreds of dollars and on top of it a pricey game X D
"Half-life: Alyx was a failed experiment." This coming from the guy who was in tears after the end of the game. HL:A is a treat in VR. Get out of here with that crap.
@@Thibmac49 1. "Only Played by Hardcore fans" Wrong, if anything it drew old and new people to the franchise. 2. Doesn't give it an S because he wasn't challenged enough. That's what the Steam Workshop is for, while also explaining that HL:A was the beginning of something bigger. 3. Tyler McVicker originally VNN calling Garry's Mod a Valve game lol. Sorry for being toxic but I just don't like the guy.
@@TheHunt890 It's S tier to me but what he says makes total sense. I haven't use my Index for more than 6 months because there's literally nothing keeping me in. I only start my Index to show what HLA is to my friends and that's it.
Man Tyler you gotta play lone echo 1 and 2, it's the closest thing to alyx out there and it died in spite of it. I think vr is doomed to be a permanent gimmick, like how mobile gaming had it's highlights, and yet...
When I talk with my friends about your videos we refer to you as "Little Tyler", but then it dawned to us - you are not little any more. Not for a long time... :)
I totally disagree with that statement It's been like 3 years for now after realese of HL Alyx, and yes, developers didn't reach that bar, but it doesn't mean that Valve left the stage. Making games takes a hell a of time. Look at Rockstar - they games like EARTHQUAKE to the industry, last game was RDR2 and it was back in 2018. Next is GTA VI in 2025. Over 7 years And it's not just Rockstar, it's just how industry works in this days. It's just take's alot of time to develop a really good game. So, yeah, saying that Valve left VR is just too early to say.
I don't see the problem with half-life alyx, other developers don't need to ''meet the standards of half-life alyx'' because developers never did that for non-vr, there's still barely any games that meet the mark of half-life 2. there are still many great vr games being released, and they may not be as good as half-life alyx but that's to be expected.
lol, Valve don't make mistakes.... they proved in one swift blow they are simply masters and this is what you can do with VR should the market exist whether VR took off or not it was win win for valve
Another fake title. Seems like this is a template on how to make certain videos, make a title and claim you are criticising something, open up by something that seems critical at the start, but then rapidly start claiming how it's basically the best thing in existence and start a whole long rant about how awesome it is. I swear to god, some of these streamers may as well be AI at this point, they are predictable like something generated by an AI based off a template.
this video is objectively correct. After the thrill of being in an actually cohesive VR world wore off, as well as a Half Life world, the game was not exciting. There were so few challenging or emergent or even interesting gameplay moments. When I had to do shit like cower inside a van as the windows were being shot out around me while I frantically fumbled with my shotgun, I was having a blast. But 95% of the game is walking through pretty environments with telegraphed encounters. The horror level was clever but a one off. I like games that are games, and it just felt like too much of a movie (a movie with a bad story. The worst kind). I’ve tried replaying it more than once and I just can’t get into it again. Also I get that emotions run high for half life, and I definitely reacted my first time playing to the ending, but it is soooo bullshit that they just ended on the same cliffhanger scene with a different outcome. I wouldn’t be surprised if the next half life pulled the same shit and it became like a fucking simpsons couch gag. Sucks to say but I don’t have faith in valve as something that produces art anymore, they’re too focused on polish and prestige. Also, I would never endorse the “lazy devs” or “valve doesn’t try” narrative as I think they are total bullshit. I just don’t see them as an entity that produces anything I care about anymore.
I completely agree, got VR for Alyx and have over 60 hours in it, the game isn't bad as an introduction, but once you're introduced it's horrible, which spoiler alert 99% of people will be by the time they play it. I'll update this post with a link to an interview done by the Gorrila Tag developer on game design, I think his views on VR design blow anybody else out of the water, but I will also say, I'm buying Boneworks tomorrow and it looks like a way more interesting game than Alyx Edit: here's the video, I think his views do not apply to every VR game but that they are light years ahead of anything Valve could ever think of, and he's just one guy ruclips.net/video/eTSPCCt6vUo/видео.html
Yeah, Valve's biggest mistake on HL:A was not providing other devs some tips and tricks on how to make a good VR experience. While at the same time Facebook (now turned into Meta) was gobbling any companies related to VR/AR/MR stuff. They probably even know themselves that losing Oculus was a huge loss for them as a lot of Valve's talent on VR has moved to Oculus during the exodus. And now they probably even reluctant to announce the Deckard project because Apple has released the Vision Pro which we know have some sorts of issues (experience-wise, not hardware related). Valve was a pioneer of modern VR gaming, but they lost the war because of their own mistake. What they can do now is to provide a good platform for VR gaming through Steam.
Valve did absolutely nothing new with VR interactions for this game. In fact it plays like something from 2016 - 17. Only difference is the budget for the fancy graphics and glorified cutscenes. Which should be the status quo anyways since this is a triple A studio we're talking about.
>doesn't make single game for a decade
>spends four years and millions of dollars creating a critically acclaimed AAA VR game in a dormant, widely beloved franchise
>refuses to elaborate
>leaves
elaborate further you mean
what a fucking chad
Genius often behaves autistic.
They created it in hopes of getting people to buy their VR headset. It was a bust.
Started and never finished multiple projects THEN spend millions on a VR headset and game*
1:50 "Valve has been unable... or unwilling... to perform the tasks laid before them."
Unwillingness leading to inability
"Valve has been unable... or unwilling... to pick up that can."
He’s not saying the game is bad. In fact he says the game is so good no other developer could reach that level. They did something amazing but then dipped afterwards
But that's now how you rate a game. You don't put it in a low tier or say it's a failed experiment. If it was amazing. Put it in A or S tier. Makes zero sense.
@@DeeJaysWord He’s taking into account the effect the game had on the industry as well, which was basically none. VR pretty much died afterwards.
@@dextergrif1052 PCVR at least. The Quest, on the other hand, seems to be growing in popularity.
I think the pandemic also played a part in HLA not having as big an impact as it could have. Imagine the kind of live demonstrations they could have done to promote it.
@@DeeJaysWord He literally said that it would be an A
@@kilimenjiro3753 popularity doesnt equal quality,the xr 2 chip is obviously incapable of running anything decent,it is so extremely weak its basically 7 times weaker than a 2016 low end gtx 1060 as tested,thats the minimum required for alyx to run,best game on that platform being a 18 year old resident evil,thats crazy dated compared to alyx the entire quest library is 15 to 20 years in the past compared to PC even tough they are way more popular the only reason they are is because they have zero computing power and is sold at a severe loss by facebook,psvr 2 on the other hand will be on par with a PC and what games they can and proly will achieve can be close to alyx.
I didn't think a company could have ADHD.
When the company itself is ran on a flat management with no one to set a course, then yes, it comes off like ADHD at a corporate level.
@@nigralurker its "course" is selling games, honestly they don't need to do anything else
@@rdablock Why are so many people forgetting that Valve doesn't just make video games? They run Steam, they make hardware, and they organize e-sports competitions. Valve clearly wants to have its finger on the pulse of the industry.
Valve is what invented ADHD
0:43 steam deck support is killing it
Yeah, file this one under "aged like milk" but even cool cats like Tyler can't win em all.
This aged like milk
I'm glad of that, like at the time Tyler was spot on, but valve really did change and they are awesome
Did it? I mean, he's only incorrect about The Deck, will we see a new Half Life game? Or even a new VR game?
@ a new half life game has been leaked for quite a while now! we don’t know if it’s half life 3 but it’s definitely a new half life game! And a new VR headset has also been leaked so maybe there’ll be an accompanying game!
@@zadem-Alyx Correction: the existence of those two has been leaked, you can't go out and find a leaked build of HLX and play it.
Considering we've had a couple behemoth VR games since, ya. Indie and AAA both.
oof, that steam deck take aged extremely poorly.
did it?
@@henrycgs Let's see, out for 2 years now, continuously getting updated with Valve adding tons of new features, opening the door to Linux Gaming and continuously working on the Proton compatibility layer, it's still the most talked about handheld gaming PC even after the release of competitors like the Lenovo Legion Go and the ROG Ally...yeah I'd say Tyler's steam deck take aged like milk.
I mean, if you look into the history of Valve handling hardware releases, that's not a bad take. He himself already changed his mind after using the Steam Deck.
@@henrycgs what a dumbass comment
@@n_core his take still aged poorly
It's crazy how much Valve has seemingly changed since he said this.
Expected 6 months of support for Deck. Here we are nearly 2 years later getting updates and support.
We've gotten SteamVR 2.0 which is in meant to make all steam platforms similar. Has Deck like UI. Also seems as if they are using this to get the kinks out of 2.0 before Their new headset releases.
We've gotten CS2 which has been constantly updated.
Neon Prime is very close to announcement.
"Neon Prime is very close to announcement."
5 years since they started developing it. At this pace, for Valve, could very well be shelved already.
cs2 and constant updates? lol
@@cxlciummmivThis was said 4 months ago when the game was in beta and updating pretty much every day.
@@YouYubeEnjoyerNum1 LMAO
lmao this aged so bad
Valve is the jesus of gaming. They come, make a couple miracles like it’s no big thing only to disappear and leave people waiting for decades for them to return. The old gaben memes hit different now
Jesus actually gave something to the people to work with, though.
Not a good analogy, just sounds extreme.
@@schniemand Lmaoooo 😭
Ok buddy lmao "jesus of gaming" lmao
Ok buddy lmao "jesus of gaming" lmao
@@MauricioJara what's so funny
11 months later the steam deck is becoming a really great device thats constantly improving
Very pleased that Valve proved Tyler wrong about this, instead of proving him right about his negative predictions as they usually do.
still enjoying the constant steam deck support
still enjoying it. Going to enjoy the stand alone vr headset from valve in the future too.
The only thing Valve can dedicate to is Linux it seems, not only enjoying Deck support, I'm also enjoying gaming on a Linux desktop thanks to Valve's work making it viable
@ that will be nice when windows 10 reaches end of support next year
The problem is Valve is leaving things behind to start the next big thing. They definitely going to do another VR game once they feel they have something to do. Or they will do an AR game. The thing is they do want to do something new, and I don't think they're going to let the VR part die.
Also, they don't communicate about developments which is both frustrating and understandable, because they won't build unnecessary hype over just potential ideas.
I feel like a small section of Valve wants to "Do something new and worthwhile" and the rest just wants to DO SOMETHING, ANYTHING, but are afraid that the former section won't deem their work as "new and worthwhile" and tank their peer reviews. But that's just a hunch based on stuff a passionate gamer once said.
@@DrHammerr Isn't that that there is a core of established employees who just tank ideas because they deem them useless? But I don't know if that problem is still relevant.
People keep talking about "AR" and am I dumb or something cause I have no idea what it is, like I know it's looking at a screen and the thing in the screen appearing in real life but would you play a game with that besides pokemon go?
This is the same dude who cried at the ending
I mean the ending of Half Life Alyx lead everyone to believe that old Valve was back, with such a radical change to the story of Half Life too. 4 years have passed, still radio silence from Valve and I'm doubtful that HL3 is coming any time soon (Hope I'm wrong though)
@@ruzgar1372not really radio silence, they released the Half Life 25th anniversary update, 1hr long doc and CS2 (admittedly rushed) in the last few months.
@@thunderslug1066yeah. Neon prime Will come out (i hope but idk)
@@transitcombine9057you mean the third person league of legends crap?
Neon prime was renamed to Deadlock, so far it looks very generic (I know it’s still in development).
1:00 They did tell some indie developers about it, And the fact that they told developers about it is why SLZ the Boneworks Team came over at Valve and fucking blew their mind with the Boneworks Mechanics before they had to fix everything to match the Boneworks Bar, Its because of that fact that HLA is even up there
this is literally not true
Literally not true
@@MDPToaster ye
I'd believe this if they were remotely similar. I don't see what valve "polished" to be "as good as boneworks"
"because of that fact that HLA is even up there"
i am pretty sure that valve is a company with so many ressources, time, talent, and creativity amidst their ranks, that they dont need to try to match pretty much any other company's bar for quality, especially so in VR since it's a much smaller industry at the moment. Valve has a reputation for making groundbreaking stuff. Something so simple as saying "a valve employee" is basically the gaming industry equivalent of saying "a military general" or "a nobel prize winning physicist". They're not daft enough to release a half assed product with such a reputation at stake, especially so with as many ressources as they have. They have the time, money, motivation, and talent to make something great, why not just do it? Not like deadlines have ever stopped them before, lol
"other passionate gamers that i've talked about half-life alyx"
[citation needed for this one]
I mean he is right, Valve can't focus on a thing unless its Dota 2 or CS GO
Case 1: Artifact
Case 2: Dota Underlords
Case 3: VR
Steam machines, Steam controllers, Dynamic Weapon Pricing, Episodic content, Day of Defeat. . .
they worked on tf2 solidly for 10 years
Even csgo isnt getting as many updates anymore and those that we get are smaller. If they really are doing that source 2 port then its understandable. I hope csgo isnt turning into tf2.
@@Jonsson95 I mean we had to wait like 6 months for 7.31 in Dota 2 which was extremely long
TF2 Fans: Allow us to introduce ourselves.
Be like Valve,
*Valve enters the chat
*Valve uploaded HLVR.exe
*Valve has left the chat
The rest of the developers in the chat: "Oh, not again..."
I think the issue for vr is a certain money hungry company swooping in and buying up exclusivity. It really stunted uptake.
Valve lost the battle to Facebook when it acquired Oculus. Because all the tech that Oculus were relying on are all Valve's techs. Even when Oculus were presenting the VR tech to Mark Zuckerberg, they used Valve's tech.
Then the mass layoff happened. Almost all Valve employee who worked on VR has moved to Oculus.
Fast forward to this timeline. Valve has released Half-Life: Alyx and set the bar to the VR world on how to make a great VR experience. But there was no one left aside of indie companies, almost all of them have been acquired by Facebook.
Valve lost the VR war because of themselves.
VALVE: Suffering from success
Got a steam deck update watching this video 😭
My biggest fear is that half life alyx is the last great vr game, I could see the vr industry exploding soon or just fizzling out. Not only that, but I’m worried that we may not get another half life. I’d give it 5 years MINIMUM before we even hear about another half life, but probably closer to 10
Sales of Oculus Quest 2 are incredibly high, Quest 3 is on the way. The VR industry is doing better than ever before. Remember what devices we had five years ago.
Im hopeful that PSVR 2 wont fizzle out
MS needs to stop thinking VR is a gimmick because they fucked up on both Kinects and adopt it for the Xbox Series consoles. PC and PS has it, Xbox needs one. That would have an immediate effect on VR market and increase VR adoption.
vr is a gimmick
@@nikoregenerator Have you played it?
Over 4 years since Alyx, 5 years since the Index...and still Valve have developed no other VR titles.
Tyler's got a point.
Likes making games to experiment with hardware, they've been working on hlx and other games. What reason would they have to work on a VR game? At least before a major advancement happens again
I think they're doing a lot better. Using the example of the Steam Deck, they've faithfully supported it this whole time.
I never agreed with this take, and I'm super glad. They've been babying the hell out of the Steam Deck, dropping very frequent software updates. It actually kind of annoys me sometimes how often I have to update (which is great). Two, that recent documentary for Half-Life 2's 20th anniversary gently hinted that there's going to be another installment in the series. Couple that with all of these leaks about their alleged new VR system they're developing, this really did age like milk as per some of the other comments.
so what you're saying is that valve is the father who gave you a million dollars, but then left for milk and never came back
Steamdeck prediction didn't age well, huh?
Yeah. But that's not a bad prediction if you remember that Valve has a history of abandoning hardware project that Valve themselves deemed has flopped.
Thankfully Steam Deck is a huge success that made Valve to keep focusing on it. It's a money generator for them because people are buying more games on Steam.
@n_core I don't think success had anything to do with it. If it was, they would have stopped making hardware year's ago. One of the steam decks' biggest elements, proton and steam OS, started on the steam machine and have been getting consistent updates even after it died.
He was wrong about Steam Deck falling off. Let's hope he's also wrong about PC VR being dead in Valve's eyes. Rumor has it they're building a standalone headset that will essentially merge PC VR and portable VR into the same thing, and that would be the game changer.
This is a good edit.
It's insane how much this dude embodies the gaming community. Ignorant, proud and incredibly loud.
He’s passionate
He was wrong about steam deck
I guess the assumption is that Valve made HL:A with the intention of opening up the VR market. But I think Valve was well aware of the limitations of getting VR to market, which have been borne out in the years since HL:A shipped. It seems more like Valve needed a testing ground for Source 2 and VR happened to be the most convenient platform for an experimental single-player title. With Source 2 in the bag Valve could focus on developing live service titles (CS2 and Deadlock) which have seen great success. In that sense I think HL:A was a good move on their part.
I came here expecting Tyler to say something stupid, but instead he just told the truth, which is still stupid so I win
I just don't understand these people who focus solely on Valve releasing games.
Alyx isn't a "failed experiment" just because Valve didn't turn around and release a dozen dlcs, it was a successful experiment because It completely changed what people thought was possible in vr.
I would be content with Valve never releasing another game ever again, because in the time they've spent not releasing games they've been pushing PC gaming as a whole forward.
Sure we may never see half-life 3, but the fact that Valve destroyed the distinction between "online multi-player" and "local multi-player only" is kinda worth it. And that's just one of the features they've created, for free, that benefits all games.
But yeah, the dude who can't even figure out how to comb his hair isn't getting enough dopamine hits, so clearly Valve has failed.
Haha, it's Valve's fault that no other developers put in as much work as they did.
Stay classy Tyler, stay classy.
He said he didn't trust valve with the steam deck because they got rid of projects that weren't successful? Like he even admitted to them being really constant with Linux, steam OS support and he then just brush's that off. He himself said valve did great not having eg 2 handed weapons, but then said hl alyx failed because it didn't have stuff like that, HL alyx finally got rid of that cliff hanger, but also allowed vale themselves not to have that looming thing over there heads that was HL3 its something they can eventually work on when they want it and not have that impossible standard.
I legit can't believe I used to watch this guy, he's like some dehshelved vegan that reads code leaks and wants valve to be bethesda
also another kek moment was him saying valve was being too much of a sausage party.
@@mauzki- Valve is being too much of a Sausage party? 😳What does he mean, that there is not enough women working at Valve?
Damn this guy seemed so interested and excited and optimistic about valve right before Alyx came out and now that he got everything he wanted he's back to being bitter, I think this guy should move on from Valve, cover some other company if this one upsets him so much.
Dude just needs to like, get some hobbies and a life. His whole world has been based around valve itself for years upon years. And you can definitely see how well adjusted of a human being he is from that.
@@wileymanful Yeah, his life is clearly way better than it was in the past, but man needs to move on from valve.
That's basically what he ended up doing
@@wileymanful It's been two years and yet you still sound stupid.
That Steam Deck comment hasn't aged well
man i love this this guys passionate gamer energy
how wrong he was about the deck. Valve really locked in
I think tyler is just bitter and angry at valve after all these years of closely following them. They got what they wanted with alyx, no point pumping out vr games today that will be much more accessible in the future 2-5-10 years. Today az sunshine as a game feels bad but 5-6 years ago i was in awes about the possibilities. I just hope they see through their new headset and release it at some point.
The problem is that the VR kit is so expensive that it is too high of a bar to commit to playing the games.
For muself, the Half Life series is my favourite of all time.... But would I commit hundreds of £££ just to play Half Life Alyx? No.
"You were supposed to bring consistency to VR, NOT destroy it!"
I agree with his assessment. I think they thought they would create a market and it just wasn't there. In my opinion, they should have released kits and maybe the code so that the market could develop. Maybe, they wanted to turn this into a series of games?
Just ordered my second Steam Deck OLED after Valve clearly demonstrating hundreds of frequent updates and a mid-refresh taking onboard basically every criticism the LCD Deck had. Pretty poor take overall.
"Everybody buying Steam Deck get ready for 6 months of support, 3 years of silence, and annoying broken bugs"
Well... that didn't age well with continuous support, Steam Deck OLED, and official confirmation of Steam Deck 2 coming in the future.
wow valve was ahead of other developers? thats never happened before
Steam controller lead to steam input, steam link lead to remote play, steam machines lead to proton and deck. It's the best ecosystem on pc. The lab/Alyx -> SteamVR. Tyler McVicker is a game journalist and should write for Polygon or something.
I like valve games but im glad the focused there efforts on making steam better over the year.
you say that like steaVR isnt years behind the quest 2 standalone software wise
and everything else you listed besides proton has been done better aswell
remote play was made by sony during the PS3 generation, tho steams play together is pretty good
steam is only the best ecosystem due to its popularity, the fact it was first and the lack of any form of competition (compare steam to the software on the ps5 and xbox series and its YEARS behind)
Tyler is right, valve is all over the place and cant focus on anything
He was wrong about the steam deck He was right about everything else he said
This was after the announcement but before the release. He changed his mind afterwards after seeing that Steam Deck is a huge success for Valve that they keep focusing on it.
he's right...VR gaming didn't explode the way they thought it would... frankly, to most gamers, it's just an interesting side-attraction, not something they "need" to buy
Man that Steam Deck comment aged horribly lmao
To be honest even this video in general hasn’t aged well since Valve recently confirmed they have a new VR headset in development
If a headset releases, and there are no recent games that make good use of its features, does it matter?
Valve drops like games like Eminem drops mics.
I mean, he is allowed to have opinions
People are also allowed to criticize his opinions.
HL Alyx needed a multiplayer part. Huge missed opportunity
As much as I loved Alyx, I couldn't agree more.
This is a dumb take from a person who doesn’t really understand how Valve operates.
They made a VR game that will most likely not be topped for a long time, yes. But that isn’t a bad thing, or even Valves fault. It’s not Valves responsibility to alert developers on their feats.
They create. That’s their job.
Just sit back and enjoy the greatness.
I mean he's completely right, Valve made this game as a flagship title for their (at the time) new $1,000 headset and made no effort into kickstarting the VR industry, just a title to sell their headset with
You're forgetting that Valve is not just a games developer. They are a platform developer, and a hardware developer as well, and they have been trying to break into the big boys club (Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo) for years. For much of the 2010s, Valve was clearly obsessed with VR. Every time Gabe appeared in an article or interview, he was talking about the potential of VR. Valve wanted to jumpstart a new era in videogaming history where the VR headset was at its forefront, and Alyx was meant to be the killer app that signaled its beginning. But Alyx never did that, and VR is just as niche as it was 3-5 years ago. Alyx may be a great game, but Valve's vision for the future has failed. They have clearly moved on since then, and have openly stated that their upcoming games will not be VR.
This aged poorly
I agree with him, except for difficulty, because Valve games never was for be hard, that's the problem with mods, they want to be very high challenge but it's always focused on showing tech (being a benchmark) and tell a story more than being hardcore.
EDIT: Also, I think Tyler is trying to say, Valve must to make exclusive game like sony did with PS1, because otherwise, I don't understand how Valve can help another companies really.
They don’t fucking have to help other companies though
@@HabitualThinker Valve can be editors like Sony, so in that case they have to help other companies if Gabe Newell want to, and they have everything to be publishers.
And since Valve is making much nothing, they can support other companies for a price. Otherwise it feels like a waste.
HL:A deserves to be S+ tier
Same with portal 2 >:(
My god this video aged so bad lol. Steam deck is king of portables
Tyler himself already changed his opinion about Steam Deck after seeing it's a huge success.
100% agree with your conclusions. I also think HLA is a great VR game, but it's also very flawed. I was shocked when I found out that Valve's plan was to make it teleport only and thank God they added full locomotion. However, you can still tell it was baked in afterwards, which makes movement not as smooth and polished as it should have been or as integral part of the game as it could have been.
punished tyler
They didn't need to challenge the player he game is hard as hell already. Having had other people play through the game, the later sections, starting with the fight in front of the brewery, are insanely difficult. I had one person take 3 hours to beat the scrapyard fight, even with me providing them guidance.
It is true. This game is unparalleled in its presentation and none of the other studios that had deep coffers had any momentum with VR development when Alyx was revealed. My next big hope for VR is miles away. The Elder Scrolls VI. Even then I suspect an official VR-native version would not be sold until years after we have both the base game and its DLC.
im sure there will be more good vr games in the future, just maybe not as big as alyx anytime soon
'They don't pay attention to the rest of the industry - because they don't have to' Correct! It's not Valve's job to babysit the entire industry every step of the way; Valve has always been an innovative and creative company, and Alyx was their first foray into VR, which they chose to make a love letter to Half Life fans, not only continuing the series so longingly awaited for, but also showing people just how much potential VR has and what can be done with it. It's not their job to share every finding they have because at the end of the day, that's what makes them stand out from the rest; the quality.
But it is something they used to do. counter strike was built out of accessible tools Valve produced and released for people to access and use. They supported development of games and mods.
They brought VR to yhe forefront. Pushed it. Developed the hardware. AND the standards, they had contract deals in various industries and then dropped the best VR title (which is only a bit more than a refinement of proofs of concept) and then bailed.
This is uncharacteristic for them.
@ItCameFromTheSkyBeLo All of which was made for the community. They owe the industry nothing because they're not there to serve them. They make games because they want to, and as a result, they pour huge amounts of passion into those games and the communities around them.
@@kinoshasecurity5515 that community became the industry.
Hobbyists turned into industry developers because of Valve.
I see he is still butthurt at Valve.
Hλlf Life Alyx did feel really conservative in its gameplay, I'm having way more fun playing Hλlf Life ² because it's not scared of giving the player motion sickness or creating this perfectly tailored VR friendly combat enviroments
I wish valve made another VR game I truly do. Or at least add sprinting and jumping to HL alyx for the 5th anniversary and expand the level editor greatly.
I'd say releasing Quest 3 (and probably Quest 3S and soon the Pro 2), doesn't count as fire and forget. The do follow up on VR, but they "allow" the industry to move where consumers want.
They made (once more) an era defining game, it is not their fault others cannot do the same. Nobody is stopping them.
Ita more about the fact that they will never again make a vr game like hl alyx.
he is calling the index
that is like saying GTA VI is a failed experiment because... It's the best city open world ever made, and everyone has to catch up. Like... what.
I don't think Valve is responsible for teaching other developers how to make great games. They know how to make them and they had the funds to make the investment. A lot of people bought PCVR just for Half-Life: Alyx, so their job is done. The bigger problem is that a lot of developers have tried selling overpriced tech demos or arcade games to us, because they are not willing to invest large amounts of money into such a small market. Again, this is not Valves problem or issue, they simply showed what could be possible.
idk mane, Alyx was a stand alone experience and was good. What's in it for them to support VR other than maybe selling more units of Index, not much.
valve is such an enigma
So hear me out, crazy idea.. what if the issue lies with the VR platform fundamentally and not with Valve? 🤔
what
it does not
so somethings fundamentally wrong with the flatscreen platform also?
Lowering it from S because of its effect on VR being little to none is fucking stupid I’m gonna be honest
hmm, I wonder how he knows all these things if he has no industry contacts, or I guess the contacts he has are just industry adjacent.
>Best VR game ever made
>Failed experiment
Seriosly?
Nobody has the money fire hose of steam
I don't like the term of a "failed" experiment as there is no such thing as "failure" in experiments either way you gain new info
But its not valve's responsiblity to add more to the VR landscape. That's the responsiblity of anyone who wants to dive in it.
Valve put out Alyx to show that VR is a viable gaming platform, that you can do a whole lot with VR. It isn't their goal to sustain the VR platform. If the VR industry looks at Alyx and thinks 'We're never gonna top that', then, honestly? VR should fail.
He's nailed it
Introducing people to vr gameing with a title which costs 60 bucks, even four years after its release.
So People have to buy a vr set for hundreds of dollars and on top of it a pricey game X D
bad takes compilation
"Half-life: Alyx was a failed experiment." This coming from the guy who was in tears after the end of the game. HL:A is a treat in VR. Get out of here with that crap.
You should listen to the whole video
@@Thibmac49
1. "Only Played by Hardcore fans" Wrong, if anything it drew old and new people to the franchise.
2. Doesn't give it an S because he wasn't challenged enough. That's what the Steam Workshop is for, while also explaining that HL:A was the beginning of something bigger.
3. Tyler McVicker originally VNN calling Garry's Mod a Valve game lol.
Sorry for being toxic but I just don't like the guy.
@@TheHunt890 It's S tier to me but what he says makes total sense. I haven't use my Index for more than 6 months because there's literally nothing keeping me in. I only start my Index to show what HLA is to my friends and that's it.
@TheHunt890 you don’t like him but he’s right. Keep coping
@@gmowoman Ok boomer. Thanks for your attitude.
Valve it's literally me XD
I like that this isnt even about the game itself, the game is perfect, just not valve.
Calling it a failed experiment is bad wording.
It was too good for its own good
as much as i love alyx i will never deny that its not a glorified tech demo
Man Tyler you gotta play lone echo 1 and 2, it's the closest thing to alyx out there and it died in spite of it.
I think vr is doomed to be a permanent gimmick, like how mobile gaming had it's highlights, and yet...
When I talk with my friends about your videos we refer to you as "Little Tyler", but then it dawned to us - you are not little any more. Not for a long time... :)
the bulk has been taking its toll
I totally disagree with that statement
It's been like 3 years for now after realese of HL Alyx, and yes, developers didn't reach that bar, but it doesn't mean that Valve left the stage.
Making games takes a hell a of time. Look at Rockstar - they games like EARTHQUAKE to the industry, last game was RDR2 and it was back in 2018. Next is GTA VI in 2025. Over 7 years
And it's not just Rockstar, it's just how industry works in this days. It's just take's alot of time to develop a really good game.
So, yeah, saying that Valve left VR is just too early to say.
I don't see the problem with half-life alyx, other developers don't need to ''meet the standards of half-life alyx'' because developers never did that for non-vr, there's still barely any games that meet the mark of half-life 2. there are still many great vr games being released, and they may not be as good as half-life alyx but that's to be expected.
Ya know that remark that Tyler said about the steam deck resonates with me a little too much, maybe I shouldn't get one like I was planning...
lol, Valve don't make mistakes.... they proved in one swift blow they are simply masters and this is what you can do with VR should the market exist
whether VR took off or not it was win win for valve
Artifact happened and Valve quit trying
Another fake title. Seems like this is a template on how to make certain videos, make a title and claim you are criticising something, open up by something that seems critical at the start, but then rapidly start claiming how it's basically the best thing in existence and start a whole long rant about how awesome it is. I swear to god, some of these streamers may as well be AI at this point, they are predictable like something generated by an AI based off a template.
3 years more like 13 years
or even longer
or just never
this video is objectively correct. After the thrill of being in an actually cohesive VR world wore off, as well as a Half Life world, the game was not exciting. There were so few challenging or emergent or even interesting gameplay moments. When I had to do shit like cower inside a van as the windows were being shot out around me while I frantically fumbled with my shotgun, I was having a blast. But 95% of the game is walking through pretty environments with telegraphed encounters. The horror level was clever but a one off. I like games that are games, and it just felt like too much of a movie (a movie with a bad story. The worst kind). I’ve tried replaying it more than once and I just can’t get into it again. Also I get that emotions run high for half life, and I definitely reacted my first time playing to the ending, but it is soooo bullshit that they just ended on the same cliffhanger scene with a different outcome. I wouldn’t be surprised if the next half life pulled the same shit and it became like a fucking simpsons couch gag. Sucks to say but I don’t have faith in valve as something that produces art anymore, they’re too focused on polish and prestige.
Also, I would never endorse the “lazy devs” or “valve doesn’t try” narrative as I think they are total bullshit. I just don’t see them as an entity that produces anything I care about anymore.
I completely agree, got VR for Alyx and have over 60 hours in it, the game isn't bad as an introduction, but once you're introduced it's horrible, which spoiler alert 99% of people will be by the time they play it.
I'll update this post with a link to an interview done by the Gorrila Tag developer on game design, I think his views on VR design blow anybody else out of the water, but I will also say, I'm buying Boneworks tomorrow and it looks like a way more interesting game than Alyx
Edit: here's the video, I think his views do not apply to every VR game but that they are light years ahead of anything Valve could ever think of, and he's just one guy
ruclips.net/video/eTSPCCt6vUo/видео.html
how was the story bad? I thought it was pretty good?
Alyx's weak point was not the technology but the writers. Video game writers suck.
Yeah, Valve's biggest mistake on HL:A was not providing other devs some tips and tricks on how to make a good VR experience.
While at the same time Facebook (now turned into Meta) was gobbling any companies related to VR/AR/MR stuff.
They probably even know themselves that losing Oculus was a huge loss for them as a lot of Valve's talent on VR has moved to Oculus during the exodus.
And now they probably even reluctant to announce the Deckard project because Apple has released the Vision Pro which we know have some sorts of issues (experience-wise, not hardware related).
Valve was a pioneer of modern VR gaming, but they lost the war because of their own mistake.
What they can do now is to provide a good platform for VR gaming through Steam.
Valve did absolutely nothing new with VR interactions for this game. In fact it plays like something from 2016 - 17. Only difference is the budget for the fancy graphics and glorified cutscenes. Which should be the status quo anyways since this is a triple A studio we're talking about.