Rise and shine, Valve fans. Rise and shine.
People love Valve games as much as the company seems to hate making them. Valve has changed not just gaming but how we buy games, and has one of the most fervent followings in the history of video game companies. We just know everyone will agree with everything we have to say here.
10. Aperture Desk Job
Valve likes to make up for games that never come out by just releasing other games that nobody even knew were in the making. That’s the story ofAperture Desk Job, a small but hilarious experience meant to introduce people to the then-new Steam Deck.
Once again,Desk Jobputs players in the first-person perspective, but there’s a twist. We no longer play as a silent hero, but rather as one silent employee of the company responsible for the portal gun and other less interesting things. What do players have to do? Uncover a huge conspiracy and prevent the company from opening a portal that will bring aliens to our world? Nope, we have to test the toilets. Only Valve would put players through such a cheeky task, but damn, do they pull it off. It’s unlikely anyone will forget this hilarious little treat.
Strengths:It provides fun additions to the wholePortallore. Also, it’s free.
Weaknesses:It’s not the complete Valve experience that players have so desperately been waiting for.
9. Half-Life: Alyx
While not exactly a game that came out of nowhere,Alyxcame out shortly after its reveal, so it also counts as a nice treat. A nice, beautiful, engrossing blockbuster treat.
Alyxshows Valve at its most economically adventurous, a company risking it all to make a AAA experience for the much trickier VR gaming market.Alyxinvites players not just to see City 17 but to experience it like never before.Alyxtakes place a short while before the events ofHalf-Life 2, and makes the best possible use of the interaction capabilities provided by VR to make City 17 as darkly engrossing as anything we’ve ever seen in a game.
Strengths:Finally, an authentic AAA VR experience.SPOILERS:it presents itself as a prequel but also plants some interesting seeds for the future of the series.
Weaknesses:Some repetitive puzzles. Not everyone can afford VR. Only a relatively low percentage of the gaming population will get to experience it, which may also affect investment in future projects of this kind and size.
8. Dota 2
The originalDotamay have kickstarted the MOBA craze, but it wasDota 2that perfected it. Tired of the classic’s look and ofLeague Of Legends’“simpler” gameplay? Then step it up and join this beautifully unforgiving arena.
Dota 2madeDotago from the most ancient-looking MOBA to the most beautiful of the bunch. It’s not just surface-level stuff, though, as mechanics such as “denying” add numerous layers that makeDota 2by far the most challengingMOBAin existence. If there’s one fair complaint to be made about this game, it’s that it might prove too demanding for people trying to get into it without previous MOBA experience.
Strengths:A massive update of the classicDota. It’s notLeague Of Legends.
Weaknesses:Might prove too challenging for more casual MOBA fans. It can get just as toxic asLeague Of Legends.
we feel safe rankingL4D2instead of the original because no one will call it an inferior sequel.L4D2ate the entirety of the originalLeft 4 Deadand features its entire campaign. That’s especially good considering how the originalL4Dshowed the world that four-playerco-opshooting games rock. On top of all thehopefully-friendly banter,L4D2showers players with amounts of quality zombie action never seen before — or since.
Left 4 Dead 2is yet another top game in a Valve franchise that might inexplicably never get a 3rd entry. That sucks because it’s already so good that we just need new campaigns. Come on, those are probably not as hard to make as a newPortalorHalf-Lifegame.
Strengths:The most fun 4-player co-op experience you can have. Don’t agree? Fine, you can play any of the hundreds of similar games that exist because ofL4D2.
Weaknesses:Accidentally responsible for the swarm of zombie media that took over after 2009.
6. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
CSGOis the Valve-made sequel to the originalCounter-Strike, theHalf-Lifemod that changed competitive gaming forever. This triumph combined graphics superior to those of the otherwise malignedCounter-Strike: Sourcewith a more refined version of the original’s gameplay.
We ask purists not to get mad at this choice. The originalCScould very well have occupied this spot instead ofCSGO,but it wasn’t originally developed by Valve.
Strengths:The tightest and most important competitive shooter in history.
Weaknesses:The community can get very toxic and its cosmetics market fuels some shady gambling operations.
5. Team Fortress 2
Ever heard of “The Seinfeld Effect”? It’s that feeling of disappointment some go through when they watchSeinfeldafter having watched dozens of sitcoms inspired bySeinfeld. Why isn’t the show as funny as everyone said it would be? Well, it’s just as fun, it’s just not new anymore, and many newer shows might have improved upon some of its aspects.
Why did we write an entire paragraph that has nothing to do with games? BecauseTeam Fortress 2doesn’t suffer from that effect. Even though it completely redefined and reinvigorated the class-based shooter over ten years ago, it’s yet to feel anything other than fresh by anyone getting into it. So long as they avoid the bot-filled servers, that is.
Strengths:Probably the most fun class-based shooter in existence. It gave birth toOverwatchand, perhaps more importantly, who knows,Battleborn.
Weaknesses:Playing it nowadays could be challenging as many servers are swarming with troll bots.
4. Portal 2
We knowPortal 2ranks atop most of the Internet’s Valve best-of rankings, but please hear us out.
When it comes to gameplay, yes, the additions Valve brought in forPortal 2make it a better game than the first one. Still, what cemented the first game as a masterpiece was its meticulous balance between gameplayandstory. We’re not saying the writing inPortal 2is bad. It’s great, actually.
The problem lies with the character progression of GLaDOS, which features some unnecessary retcons that kill the wickedly vile essence the character had in the original game. Other than that, yeah, it’s an all-time great.
Strengths:Bigger and better than the first gameplay-wise.
Weaknesses:Some plot retcons cheapen the (still great) experience.
3. Half-Life
Half-Lifeshows Valve at its most brilliantly counterintuitive. It changed everyone’s perception of what a shooter should be. It taught kids and adults alike that cerebral action in a more carefully planned out campaign can provide just as much fun as mindlessly shooting enemies.
It also revolutionized video game storytelling.Half-Lifebegan the trend of ditching conventional cutscenes to instead just show everything happening in front of the player. This approach makes players feel like they’re right there in the middle of the action in a way that even Hollywood blockbusters fail to achieve.
Strengths:more inventive gameplay than you’d expect from a shooter. Way more of a narrative than you’d expect from a shooter.
Weaknesses:many fans point to the final segments in the world of Xen as a less-accomplished part of the game, but we actually welcome the attempt at somethingevenweirder than the rest of the game.
2. Portal
IfHalf-Lifemade the world better by showing that first-person shooters needn’t be all about shooting, thenPortalfurther improved it by showing that first-person games don’t even need to be shooters. How didPortalpull off such a feat? It’s simple, the game just introduced never-before-seen mind-blowingly revolutionary instant-travel mechanics that blew all of our minds and elevated the bar when it comes to gameplay.
And just as important as the whole “impossibly cool tech” is the story that resides at its heart. Games tend to struggle with comedy. This one excels not just at it, but even at implementing great comedy in an unbelievably bleak sci-fi setting.
Strengths:Some of the best writing we’ve ever seen — yes, even outside of games. Revolutionary mechanics paired with meticulous level design. The most fun villain in the history of video games.
Weaknesses:One could call it short, but it’s definitely a Short King.
1. Half-Life 2
Saying thatHalf-Life 2changed the world would be doing it a disservice. Hell, the game’s first E3 tech demo was enough to do that.
Physics manipulation as a serious gameplay element, realistic facial animations, the best graphics of its time, HDR, and one of the most engrossing campaigns in the history of video games.Half-Life 2was everything. Was there ever really any doubt? In fairness, there could have been. Did you know evenHalf-Life‘s own father, Gabe Newell,doesn’t rankHalf-Life 2atop his Valve ranking?
GabeN admits frustration over many of the decisions the team made during development, but, as people who merely experienced the end product, it’s hard to not just ask “What the hell are you talking about, man?”.
Strengths:It elevated the storytelling and worldbuilding of the original game. It showed that physics manipulation rocks, which means it’s somewhat responsible for all the cool things we can do inTears Of The Kingdom.Its onlineDeathmatchmode is very fun and incredibly underrated.
