Half-Life: Alyx is full of a million tiny little touches that make it a splendidly neat VR game. You can wear a bucket on your head and it protects you from Barnacles. There's a fully-functioning piano in a hotel lobby. It's all a bunc...

You're probably vaguely aware of the situation regarding Valve's Artifact, but here's a brief recap. Released in late 2018 to a lot of promise from DOTA 2 fans, Artifact quickly crumbled and over the course of several months, its playerbase...

It's been long known that Valve contracted Arkane Studios in the mid-'00s to make a new Half-Life game. However, little was actually known about that project except that it was set in Ravenholm and that Valve canceled production befor...

Steam is back with another game-backlog-clearing exercise for 2020. I barely made a dent last year, but I enjoyed having a nudge to play – or at least think about playing – some of my library's deep cuts. This time, Steam's Spri...

In the face of competition from other digital PC game storefronts, Valve might be planning a loyalty program with hopes that it'll give consumers some extra incentive to shop on Steam. SteamDB developer and data miner Pavel Djundik found ev...

For the first time in nearly a year, Valve's Twitter account for Artifact, their under-performing card game, actually tweeted something. It was all the way back in March of 2019 that Valve noted that they were working "towards a better Arti...

The internet is incredible but oftentimes predictable. For instance, as soon as I saw a hotel lobby piano in Half-Life: Alyx, I thought "Oh shit, people are gonna play real music on that." And they have. But just because it's predictable do...

Every so often we tackle dual reviews, where two authors share their takes on a game and provide a single combined score. What better game to bring that concept back than Half-Life: Alyx, the first new Half-Life game in ages. Gath...

This 16-second video completely speaks for itself. This is the sort of innovative spirit and can-do attitude that'll get us through these lean times. This is literal inventory management in a medium that has tried to eliminate any actions ...

It's easy to think of an update that's turning-oriented as boring or insubstantial. But, in virtual reality, the locomotion of your character (and, hopefully, how it keeps you from feeling sick) is super important. That's the main focus of ...

Half-Life: Alyx has been available for approximately 27 hours, and Valve just knows someone's already hard at work modding virtual reality out of it. Valve doesn't explicitly know of any specific modders undertaking that project, mind ...

Yep, that's a big 'ol picture of Russell: a guy you meet very early in the game. That's just a spoiler guard though, because most of you probably clicked this because of a puzzle solution.

Half-Life: Alyx has some very long chapters, especially in the early-going. Long, stressful segments in creepy environments where there's never enough downtime to feel a sense of relief. That's why I welcomed the chapter called "Jeff."...

In Half-Life: Alyx, Valve keeps the inventory management relatively simple. For more info on how that all works (which involves minor gameplay and non-story spoilers), read on!

Half-Life: Alyx is a virtual reality game, sure, but it's also a Half-Life game. While it's second nature to go in thinking that it'll be a base-level tech demo with a Half-Life story, it really does feel like past iterations in m...

Honestly, I struggled with whether this puzzle even warranted a guide. I spent far too long trying to figure it out, and then felt dumb for not getting it sooner. But, Chris told me something along the lines of "If you had trouble, some oth...

So Half-Life: Alyx has puzzles in it. Who knew?! The thing is, most of them are optional, granting access to item-filled lockers. Some aren't, as you're required to do them to progress on the critical path. It's very easy to skip them ...

The last time we left Artifact, it was in a really weird place. Valve wasn't quite using the term "maintenance mode" or "abandoned," but it was clear that it was no longer a priority after a series of launch woes. Its lead architect (the le...

Friends, Romans, countrymen, I never thought I'd live to see the day. The day when what started as a small fan project to update the classic shooter Half-Life into the (at-the-time) revolutionary Source engine would actually come to fruiti...

When Half-Life: Alyx was revealed last November, the popular reaction wasn't a surprising one. It went something along the lines of "After all these years, Valve is finally making another Half-Life game." (Alternatively, the other...

It feels surreal to talk about a new Half-Life game as something that's definitely launching before the month is over. Half-Life: Alyx is nearly here, and Valve has three new gameplay videos to give us a sample platter of wh...

Ever since Half-Life: Alyx was revealed late last year, demand for the Valve Index virtual reality headset skyrocketed. It shot to the top of Steam's best-sellers list, and quickly sold out in every region where it was available. As of...

Valve is hoping to make up for its Artifact stumble (no joke, I had to Google the name of that game, and I played it!) with Dota Underlords, which is already getting a lot more buzz and has actual support to boot. Born out of the recen...

After all these years, the next chapter in Valve's unshakable sci-fi saga is nearly upon us. Half-Life: Alyx will release on March 23, 2020, with support for the Valve Index, HTC Vive, and Oculus Rift headsets. "Pre-order bonuses for anyone...

If there's one thing you'll quickly (and continuously) learn as a new VR owner, it's that sales are crucial. After breaking through that initial financial barrier to entry, it's important to build out your early library with restraint. When...