Comment by royaltheartist
11 days ago
That's why I think really good art direction beats raw graphical power any day. Source was pretty impressive back in the day, but the bit that's stood the test of time is just how carefully considered the environments and models are. Valve really put their resources into detailing and maximizing the mileage they got out of their technical constraints, and it still looks cohesive and well-designed 20 years later
Still baffles me how unnerving the Ravenholm level is even today. It's got a creepy, unsettling vibe, 20 years later, entirely due to really decent art direction.
Definitely. A hyper-talented team combining new physics-based gameplay, art style and rendering technology made something just amazing.