BONELAB 2 Months Later: Okay, I Made a BIG Mistake 

69 DAYS LATER. I loved and I still love Boneworks and Bonelab, but I have also learned a very valuable lesson about hype trains and excitement. I DEFINITELY let myself get WAYYY TOO HYPED. and my experiences a couple months after launch are definitely different not that the hype and excitement has melted away. What are your thoughts? If you wanna play some Bonelab multiplayer sometime join in my discord: Discord.gg/Thrill

For me it felt like BONELABs story mode really is holding the game back a lot. The moment when I felt like "okay the Prologue is now over, I can finally play the real levels" it was over.

My biggest issue is how much emphasis the marketing seemed to have on the avatar switcher It seemed like switching avatars on the fly would be a main gameplay element through most of the game, but in the end you only end up being able to really do that for the last few levels

I hope they don’t abandon bonelab, it has such a great foundation.

the main problem i've found the entire time with bonelab, is that it's just lonely. like, even in lore, you're just alone, you meet one person who's sentient and they barely interact with you, then you're on your own for hours. it's a fun playroom, but thats it without being able to share it with others

My one and only problem with it is that it's WAYYYYY too short

I feel like the campaign needs an extension of some sort. Like you have this big build up with unlocking avatar after avatar, and then you have 1 level were you put these into action. It really feels like the game was striped of at least 1/4 of the campaign content

I wish there were more bosses, enemy types, and setpieces to explore the vr tools they have made and utilize them to the fullest.

I'm working on a VR RPG alone at the moment and I've got to say that Bonelab did give me inspiration to increase the amount of interactions you can have in my game. increasing immersion and fluid combat are my goals at the moment.

8:24 One thought I should add to this: You can do vehicles, NPCS, and items _only_ with the unofficial extended SDK. The official SLZ SDK is still stuck on primitive level mods and avatar mods. It's kind of surprising that it hasn't been updated at all yet (the last update was on October 5th) You cannot make a campaign map yet with how primitive the tools are. There's no checkpoints, loading zones, and even grab points, which is like, one of the most important things a level can have.

Not a lot of RU-vidrs look back and admit that they were feeding the hype. I respect your integrity fr Thrillseeker.

Boneworks is one of the greatest games ever made. The sense of awe and wonder I had every time I stepped into that world was astounding. Im one of the lucky people who don't get motion sickness in VR ever, I would watch my friends tap out of boneworks after 15 minutes sick as hell and then Id do a 5 hour session straight through with no problem.

Story mode got me really upset. The moon level was frustrating for me not knowing what to do and the time it took to walk anywhere. And also it's exactly what you said, after getting all the characters the game's done. I thought the taxi was to get me to the real levels, i could not believe and be more pissed off when it drops me off on main menu --'

This was exactly my reaction to the campaign. I too was confused when I got to the hub... I was starting to wonder if that was it, and it was just minigames from then on. Googled it and found out that there was in fact more story... But not much more. A bit later, short minigames to introduce the concept of avatars and their abilities, which seems like it's building to something... It felt like you should have been halfway through at most, like the real game was about to just start, in which you'd have to use all these avatars to overcome all sorts of puzzles and challenges... And sure, there was like 10 min of that, then a giant hand scoops you up and a dude in a taxi is like, "You want content? Make it yourself!" I was excited that the modding tools would lead to people making new levels, entire games even... That's all I want; more playable content. More levels/campaigns. But so far it seems it's just hundreds of avatars with misshapen hands which I don't give a crap about. The few map mods I've seen so far looked pretty empty and pointless. So...yeah, overhyped and disappointing, I'm sorry to say.

Well said on all accounts, honestly. The biggest issue for me was the pacing and length of the game, and them seemingly not even thinking to push the limits of the campaign. - Why not put in some enemies that are actually a threat? Maybe a null body became sentient and can fire a gun, swing a sword, or even block you? - Why not have some armored nullbodies in fantasyland that require pulling off all their armour in order to even hurt them? - Why introduce the avatar switcher as if it's a primer for a huge campaign, then only put in like 2 or 3 more levels before ending the game? Same as you, I love this game and had a blast... but on repeat playthroughs that joy and love started to fade a bit. I can hardly even enjoy the last level anymore, since it can be completed in a matter of minutes. Just wish that the game followed some kind of reliable ramp up to a climax that felt worthwhile. If they ever reworked the final level, I'd honestly wish for that final room with the windmill to have a gargantuan encounter in it. Maybe a corrupted void version of ourselves that switches between avatars like we can and takes a while to kill while Jimmy calls out "uh oh, looks like there's a glitch in the system", finally ending with him breaking through the ceiling after the fight. Great video, Thrill!

Personally I originally thought that the ending with the giant hand was a boss fight and I got super hyped then got super confused when it just stayed with his finger

Exactly what I was saying day one. Looking back I may have been a bit harsh but honestly to have all these glaring problems staring at you while everyone online is talking about it like the next coming of the video game messiah is so surreal. Glade people can finally see through the hype, and hopefully enough people like me have cooled down enough from the slap in the face from the hype train to see it is a good game and stress level zero worked hard on it.

I'm really glad you made this video. Your Bonelab/Boneworks analyses really showcase how VR games are still being explored in general... And this specific game aside, the unexplored platform that is VR needs games that can be rightfully hyped, overhyped, and take advantage of trying, succeeded, and failing in the journey of figuring this whole "virtual reality" thing out. Really respect everything you reflected on here, and it's fun to watch your own opinions develop over time (same with all of us in the VR community), which is pretty cool + exciting to be a part of in of itself. Amazing video as always!! :)

as someone who didn't know bonelab existed until a month after it came out and vaguely knew of boneworks existence i had a lot of fun playing bonelab, both the story mode and just messing around in the sandbox levels. It felt really fun and unique and i spent a lot of time just boxing the npcs because the physics is fun.

I think that Bonelab feels like it was made with the assumption that you played Bonework. Take for example the slow time ability. In Bonelab they don't talk about it at all. I never used it. I then went after completing the campaign tried Boneworks and the Museum level made me understand how it works. Now I use it in Bonelab.

A game’s biggest selling point being mod support? Yeah, fair. The campaign being just a setup for that mod support? Yeah, also fair. Should it cost 40 bucks when both of these are true? LOL no, that’s how you get people to either not buy it or sail the seven seas.

My biggest gripe was the lack of directions in the game. When I first got Bonelab, I was extremely confused on where to go, what to do, how to unlock things. I had to take off my headset and consult google for directions CONSTANTLY. Oddly, I don't see many other people saying the same, so maybe I'm just a dumbass, lmao.

I got the game when it first came out. I beat it, downloaded a few avatars and maps, then never played it again Edit: Also the climbing mechanics made me want to despawn myself IRL

We love accountability and growth from a person, so good on you for admitting your hand in the situation and being honest with us and yourself. No love lost

10:43 THIS. THIS IS IT. That's the main issue. They're basically selling a promise for the uncertain future, for 40$. It's an incredibly bad practice that's unfortunately getting more popular nowadays, and yes it should be hated.

It feels like it could have been a DLC for boneworks

Thank you for making this. I felt like I couldn’t talk about how the game made me feel (slightly negative) around launch due to the hype, but now I hope others can understand my disappointment as a huge Boneworks campaign fan.

I got to the hub area in ecstasy listening to the music for the first time. But then the mini-games really killed the mood for me, to the point i realised i wasn’t really feeling like i wanted to put the headset on to play anymore. Really wish we could have the amazing physics together with a descent campaign for a fully fleshed out game, and disappointed that bonelab didn’t turn up to be this kind of game :/

every since bonelabs release ive only really found myself playing more boneworks but i am excited to see what the future of bonelabs holds i think it can only get bettr from here

Agree with everything you said, I let myself get way too hyped as well. The developers not having support in the main SDK for custom weapons and basically being limited to avatars and levels day 0 didn't help either, but I definitely let my hype get out of hand

I definitely had a blast with bonelab. I also love collecting all the hidden items capsules. But I think the story mode needed some levels at the end that really made you switch between avatars to complete the level. I felt like you could kinda do the whole game as one avatar and that I'll only ever switched for fun and experimentation. Would have been cool to get some levels that really hinged on switching avatars more and pushed that cool concept further. I was and am excited to make mods and maybe even a game with the sdk, but it's a bit too limiting so far to make much past avatars. I also think finding the sdk and all the stuff you need was pretty hard to find back when I first played Bonelab. I remember wanting to make a level that had some gokarts in it, but the SDK didn't have a way of adding existing items, so I had to join the discord and get the extended sdk and download some files and so on. It was a bit much and it makes me want to just wait till it's not so convoluted. I've played it for 27hrs (plus 10ish hrs making mods) so far and All in all, I really love bonelab, but admittedly it needs a lot of work to become a game that will live on through mods for years to come.

you are so right, boneworks campain structure was perfect as a mysterious new world. Bonelabs was jsut a long tutorial. And here i thought i was the only one thinking that

I agree with your assessment of the game. I personally bought it mainly for the story campaign, and it left me wanting more. There were some cool moments and levels, but I was hoping for much more. The Arena is pretty awesome though, much fun to be had there

The only real issue with Bonelab is that the mods are what carried the game. Without mods you just have a $40 sandbox game with a campaign 1/4 as long as other games at that same price. That’s how it was at Day 1 and it was a little disappointing. However the post launch modding support really made it worth the $40 imo.

Boneworks was the whole reason I got into VR. I instantly fell in love with the game as well. Between the story line, the soundtrack (which I still listen too), and the overall game play was just overwhelmingly good. I fought through motion sickness just to keep playing and is one of the 3 games I will play through the story multiple times. I was SO hyped for BoneLab when I heard the news. The trailer was awesome with fresh new music, features, and continuing the story...or so I thought. Using the new avatars was cool n all but it seriously felt like a late tech demo or a weird drawnout tutorial for their new engine. It mostly felt like it was directed at the modding community which is cool because theres a lot to work with. But as someone who has limited time after my job and doesnt know shit about modding.. it was sorely lacking in the story and didnt really continue the story with Ford.. like what happened after he got capped? who are these void people? what was mythOS doing about the fact this dude slipped through the cracks? WHY ARE THEY SO MAD!1? Who is lXl? there are so many questions left unanswered

Anyone that played Boneworks could see this coming IMO. Going all the way back to DuckSeason Stress Level Zeros games always have good gameplay, but leave quite a lot to be desired when it comes to being "the complete package". RU-vidrs follow this hype train then walk back model a lot. Let's be honest, it helps them a lot. Rake in the views and revenue whilst the hype train builds, then ride the hype train down talking about how the game missed the mark etc. If you want to see this "business model" in action, take these videos from ThrillSeeker, also look at JackFrags catalogue and other RU-vidrs as well. I don't want it to seem I'm negatively calling anyone out here, I'm just pointing out why the average person shouldn't trust and let the RU-vidrs increase the hype train. Don't hate the player, hate the game. I don't blame RU-vidrs for doing this, it's their job after all - but the RU-vid audience at large needs to recognise this trend and not let it suck them in too much.

i like bonelab, especially now that index controllers behave less stupidly, though still the controller is in the wrist... which is a lil' wonk. my biggest issue now is the forced "seamless standing / sitting" feature. I would like to be crouched while moving if i am crouched irl

I’m upset they didn’t give us any real physics puzzles like they did in boneworks. That’s the main intrigue for me is the physics engine, and using your environment to create your own solution to the problem in front of you. Boneworks gave me half life vibes because it presented physics based puzzles that you get to figure out in your own unique way. Players were given a basic set of physics rules and did with them as they pleased. I remember jamming some crates underneath a platform that would drop when you walked on it so that when the platform started dropping, it hit the crates jammed in beneath it and stopped the platform from lowering anymore and I was able to run across and complete the room.This whole game just seemed like a showcase for the avatar system and the vehicle framework with no more content than that. What we have is good, there’s just not nearly enough of it. Disappointing overall but I will be revisiting the game to check out the crazy mods people create

My biggest problem was that 70% of the campaign were disjointed tech demo levels that were showing you what each skin did. And then you barely got to even use them because there's only like 1-2 hours left of the game. Also the ending was very much an anti climax. No big boss. No big event. Nothing other than a really easy level with a cool aesthetic and then grabbing a finger. I totally understand this is a small team and I'm sure it was a huge job getting marrow and all of the tech stuff completed, but next game needs to focus on a campaign. I really craved the half life style of thrill that came from the fast paced gunplay in connected levels leading to something big. I never got my craving fully satisfied

I think for people who played boneworks before the game might feel overhyped. If you haven't played boneworks it is quite amazing and you easily spent more than 10h to complete it, because you spent hours exploring stuff. I totally agree that the story is kind of cut short. Hoping they will release an extension of the campaign. Like and Episode 1 and 2 kinda thing. Btw. Alyx Levitation it pretty amazing!

One thing I find interesting is the moon level had probably the most thrilling experience of VR I've ever had in it, at least in terms of physics driven gameplay. I found out where to go and then proceeded to get there by using 2 shotguns as ski poles. Fun stuff in it's own right. But once I got to the building I had to climb I realized I could use the kick back from each shot to increase my height. I jumped up some sections until I got near the end where I ended up t-posing between two beams to prevent from falling, using the shotguns to anchor myself. At this point I had an idea and knew it was either going to work or result in me having to reclimb a lot of the building. I raised my arms and quickly lowered them, flinging myself up from the beams that I had was anchored onto. I immediately shot both shotguns straight down to maximize my vertical speed. From here the plan was to reach the top, but I didn't move forward enough to reach it. In a desperate, final attempt at making it, I threw one of the shotguns behind me to propel myself forward just enough to reach the ledge. No other game on the planet would have allowed me to do that. Yes, part of the climb felt clunky, but when it it all came together at the end... I can't help but be grateful a game like this exists.

On the positive note, I'm really glad they received all support they did. Stress Level Zero keep proving they can take what they got from their endeavours and use it to push to even greater heights!

You have good points, but either way Bonelabs was a huge step forward in the capabilities of the quest 2 and other lower end vr headsets. Without bonelabs we wouldn’t get a proper physics type game in probably forever (exaggerated). The fact that Quest games are now updating to close or near standards as bonelab, is game changing.

Yeah, I definitely agree that the pace was completely destroyed when we got to the hub. I personally haven't even got farther than the hub since I need to bring my whole computer setup to another room to play and I don't feel like it's worth it. But I would still rate it positive, because DAMN it's fun!

7:53 No way! My Diamond sword mod got used here! Also, I pretty much agree with your points here. Nice video as always thrill!

It had a short campaign, but is definitely a huge platform for VR physics and interactions, and loads of people are saying it's bad because of the travel sickness, but if you've ever heard of Boneworks, then you should expect that

I think a lot of people were thinking the mods would work more like contractors mods (just click what mod you want in game in the mod menu and it downloads it’s that easy) it’s disappointing that it’s no where close to as easy on quest stand alone. I honestly don’t even know how to add mods to bonelab and the game wasn’t so good that I feel I want to learn or put the effort in to getting them

One of my biggest points is that the game has no notable and memorable Soundtrack. The Soundtrack in boneworks is so Iconic, soooo good and fits the game like a glove. I have yet to look up bonelab's Soundtrack because i cant remember one for the life of me (other than the moon one). I mean there is a reason that you only used boneworks's music in this video.

In my opinion it was overhyped ALOT (all the nonsense about it completely changing vr and whatnot), but it's still possible for it to achieve some level of this when/if modding takes off to the extent of something like gmod (something it was also touted to be similar too)

You definitely described my experience with this title. Still waiting on my PC so this was my first delve into the bone zone and I was not impressed because of those pace drops.

0:00 Nice! 0:24 Not gonna lie, no other train would fit the word "hate train" more than the German ICE they used for that animation... they're constantly broken :D - but to be fair, when they're not, they're actually great! 0:30 I may repeat myself, but: Nice! 5:23 To be perfectly fair, most people even failed looking at that map which is already being slammed right at their face in the beginning which is why SL0 added another one right as you exit that "bunker", as well as those jump pads which might actually make using the map as a sandbox level more interesting, but they should propel you at an higher arc and slower speed instead to be better for that. The real issue with the map is just that it has a ton of POIs that look interesting, but then turn out to be places with nothing to find really, all the doors shut etc. In other words, that map is just a sandbox and it lacks content, so it can be a great one if you use it as a sandbox and it could have been a great one for the story progress if it had content. 5:26 Again, to be fair, I made it at my second try already before they patched the avatar changing thing. First try though looked to me like "Imma never gonna make this if I keep endung up being Fuglykat that gets oneshot by those things buzzing around me", but on my second try, with even more patience trying to shoot those things from all the way down there, I ended up having to finish the climbing as Heavy and it was cumbersome, but still absolutely doable. 5:42 I did and it was 40+ hours for me plus another like 10-12ish in the sandboxes while I still was doing my run, but I'm playing it slowly and try turning around every rock twice to find stuff. Did the same in BONEWORKS and haven't even finished it yet, still in the Runoff area right before the Sewers and I'm at 60+ hours in that game as well. 6:12 My first thought after hearing and reading those critiques was that they should have swapped the pricetags of BONEWORKS and BONELAB. Would be more appropriate. The 40 bucks would totally be fine though if they bring the older games including BONEWORKS into it at a later time just like they added Hover Junkers to BONEWORKS. And probably initually plannet to do with Duck Season as well, I mean, we never got the Shotgun there as promised, instead they now gave us BONELAB with Q2 standalone support and I can totally see why they did that.

Funny thing about this game, I fractured my leg the day it released. I wasn’t able to play it for like 2 and a half months. Eventually I played a bit then got motion sick and stopped playing for 2 more months and then I beat it today. Pretty good.

i'll be a little blunt here thrill, especially with one of the video titles listed when you were being honest about the level of hype you put in about the game before it came out. You are, in my and likely many others eyes, one of several large "User/community level" sources of vr news and info and the like. and generally you do seem to be trying your best to manage that and weigh various sides on things within the VR community, both standalone and not. but something like this happened with the quest 2, and i see it repeated now, and you yourself have commented on it before in the past as well having apparently noticed the effects, but not seeming to have taken it entirely to heart yet. you have an extreme tendency to get caught up in that excitement, and indeed, hype, that it sometimes seems to override a bit of self recognition in a given circumstance. you say you need to be careful going forwards with not over hyping things, while one of your video titles literally was about how hyped things were. i hope to a certain degree there was recognition either when you used that title, or shortly after or, inevitably, at the games launch, as to the issue with using it, even with youtube titles being what they are. i'm not saying excitement is a bad thing mind, heck no. this is an amazing industry, and it has had its falters, but it needs to keep progressing. and that needs excitement, and that needs interest, and that needs honesty on things. but just like the flood of promotion from all sides for the quest 2 now has the vr industry leaning heavily towards the need for smaller, simpler, and less impressive games because of how big the quest audience is now (whether that's loathed by some or loved by the users, i won't get into, that's its own issue), it feels like there does need to be some balance kept to things, some reigning in of runaway excitement, or things can get all out of whack. honestly my hope is that maybe studios will license the marrow system from Stress level zero, as a means to incorporate it into their games so that there is a better framework for the body proportion system that SLZ created. that was one of the things that fascinated me the most with Bonelabs, and honestly needs to be in more games, that sense of self proportion to the character as a means of better immersion. maybe not specifically the way the inventory system works, i wouldn't want that being or even coming close to a standard for everything........but what you said is definitely right, studios and devs will take note, and they will take some lessons......i honestly hope those lessons and notes progress the industry better, runaway hype trains be darned.

TBH I was so disappointed I almost had to force me through the campaign because I paid 40$ for it and didn't want that to be wasted. Biggest problem for me is the jank and the bugs. I can't even crouch properly cause I stand up automatically while walking. So the promised showcase where the developer sits in the car and sits down in person didn't work for me cause after some time sitting in the cart it just began to wobble around like crazy to the point it was unplayable. The whole fistfighting and fighting with objects is very weird and feels as frustrating as fighting in a dream for me. Also gunplay was very off and what other people noticed including me was that if you peak under your headset to see your hand at the same time, it's that the guns are off centered. So gunplay just feels very unsatisfying compared to onward or contractors. Things got stuck multiple times and pulling yourself up on a ledge sometimes just throws you down again because of the legs.

Im getting it for my Birthday tommarow and im really hoping its what i was hyped for seeing it because i havent played boneworks so it will probably feel alot more fresh for me. Also thanks for the input on the game (:

One thing that really bugs me about the game is not being able to see what spawnable items look like before you spawn it. Its such a pain scrolling through the menu of thousand of mods you have installed trying to look for the new ones and then closing the menu and starting over again. I think just having like a hologram preview exactly like the arm thing would be cool for the item spawn menu

Would be crazy if SL0 does a "Mod" for extended campaign version, showing the potential of SDK and giving the community the "full" campaign mode we want

Bonelab might be my favourite VR game alongside boneworks but moon base and the hub levels really felt like a chore to play

I absolutely love Bonelab. Yeah I agree on the story part, but for me it was not overhyped at all, people don’t understand how massive this game is, not only for itself, but for entire VR. this will set a standard for future VR games who want to go in this direction, which will in turn create opportunity for better and better bonelab-like games to come. And the mods are on great track imo, thousands of characters, fully custom guns, and now even fully custom NPC’s, so not nullbodies, even custom maps with gamemodes and stories like someone made a heist.. and it’s only been 2 months. It will only get greatly better from here and I believe the progress will go faster and faster as technology does. I recently spent 12 hours in bonelabs which I am editing right now, and I must say after a while, when you get so used to the physics and the world, it felt more like that was my real world and when I had to go to the bathroom or whatever, that’s when “real life” just felt like a break from the real word which was Bonelab. It’s just surreal to describe, but it kinda messed up my vision of the world for a while. Anyway great video Thrill, it’s good to look back at the game in retrospect and give it the criticism it needs but don’t be scared to stick to your guns as you said. This is a truly amazing game and I believe this will im the future be used a game to mark a mew era of VR technology and games, like the first xbox or ps, that was boneworks, now bonelab, it will get massively better from here and I believe this is a case where overhyping the game was actually the right amount of hype to have

mostly agree, however, anyone complaining about pillar climb is having a skill issues its like my top 3 level in bonelab, and its really not that hard, i completed it on my second try when the game came out.

One of My favourite aspect of boneworks was some of the amazing, sprawling levels like the tower, which you could replay over and over for ages without getting bored. I’m so disappointed how linear and boring the bonelab campaign levels were. It doesn’t matter how good your gameplay is, you need good levels to support your gameplay.

One of the huge selling point of boneworks was that it was not a tech demo. I think a lot of people expected that of bonelab as well. As the name suggests I think bonelab was meant as a sandbox that would be able to run on quest, but they had to add the campaign so people would feel they got their money's worth. From what stress level zero has said and teased, the next game should be a lot more campaign heavy

I honestly have no clue how people somehow missed the giant poster on the wall telling you where the capsule is with a giant question mark and an entire map of the moonbase.

I feel like the biggest thing holding back Bonelab was the Quest 2.

i remember getting to the hub and being very very confused on how to do the story. to be honest i havent done any of it. but then i saw the modding stuff and was like "oh its just planned to be VR garrys mod im ok with this. so ive been more waiting for mods (i dont know how to mod)

I had felt like this in the beginning when it came out. Even with my first play through of taking my time and tyring to break things I beat it in 3.5 hours. I liked some aspects of it better than boneworks and I wanted to express my opinon at the time but refrained from it because of all the die-hard bone cultists that would just try to do anything to ruin your video if you said anything bad about it. Glad you get it buddy. Great meeting you at Miami and CES again btw.

I think the big issue is that Boneworks/lab wants to lean on the modding but still hits a big issue. Where VRC got lucky that people wanted to put up with Unity and janky tools, games like Neos had it figured out. Including the creation tools in the game itself is the key to the future of community content in VR titles. It's different now because there is so much friction switching from developing on the desktop to testing in vr, especially when it's modding and you have to wait for a whole game to load up just to test what you're working on. Once we get more tools built for VR and completely usable in VR, community created content will get better. But slapping some neat tools into Unity isn't the way it should be anymore... at least in my opinion. I'm a VR dev as well. I've made VR based creation tools and it's just not as hard as most people pretend it is. It's just a bit of a different way of thinking.

I love Bonelab. I haven't jumped into it recently because I haven't really been in VR much but I remember how much I love it. The ending also for me was amazing, I loved all of the levels in the entire game, yes even the moon gravity jumping one, and started to tear just a touch as the game came to a close because I loved the ending. SPOILER ALERT IF YOU CONTINUE I even remember chasing the dude's Taxi around for like half an hour just sitting on it after I completed the game because it was such a fun game and I didn't want it to end. I still love it and the ending in my opinion was great. I do just wish it had more but it won't stop me from enjoying the game from time to time when I hop on my *Oculus* Quest (I play PCVR thru Quest even though it is on standalone).

This video was VERY needed, thank you.

honestly the physics, modes, and mods are pretty amazing, and fit my expectations well. The campaign is really the only thing holding it back, and a big reason for why people are mad is how the trailer was presented. I watched the bonelab trailer at least 50 times before it came out because of how excited I was. The trailer mainly presents the campaign, and it looked incredible. They should've shined more light on the sandbox aspects of the game. After all, bonelab is mainly a sandbox game, if people don't like sandbox games, they most likely wont like bonelab.

I was completely blown away by bone labs.. I’ve been a VR consumer for the past 3 years or so I just got a quest pro. I originally had a quest. This is the most fun and interesting game I’ve played where Im like a kid as 27 year old adult excited to get home from work to play it

I remember the first time I played I was like "alright those avatar levels were kinda boring but I cant wait to see how things go after this"

It was extremely overhyped tbh

One question. How the hell do I get mods on quest 2 with no pc and without the file explorer on the vr thingy. I just need to know if I’m getting the game for the first time and I love mods for games.

I think when it comes to the story bonelabs just needed to give an incentive or some form of letting players know they’re going in the right direction, like when it came to the hub admittedly that might’ve just been me being dumb when I saw the crane game and had no idea what to do for such a long time until I had already completed all the mini games and just looked up a tutorial. But when it comes to the moon base that’s unforgivable in my eyes, making you be incredibly slow and have to walk so far without even having a holdable map, and the map itself being confusing as your objective is in a giant hole, a giant hole that you would never see unless you just endured the slow crawl around the entire map or just looked up a tutorial, the latter of which I did because even when trying to endure it I still couldn’t find the avatar ball/objective. Maybe just a little hint or lore related clue to help direct players in a way that still has them thinking and exploring but while also directing them towards the right path. Or in cases like moonbase at least give them something that allows them to traverse the world faster because I think I can speak for everyone that isn’t fascinated by space that the gravity and slow speed you have on moonbase was absolutely horrible

I feel the same way you do about the game, I enjoyed parts of the campaign but the moonbase one sucked, got lost there for like an hour and had to look up what to do. But then at the point where I looked up the answer I just didn't feel like putting the VR headset back on because I had gotten a bit motion sick from being in VR for so long. And then I just didn't have the motivation to play the game until a week later. I haven't been able to play with mods yet however I am looking forward to them getting better and better. Until then I think I still prefer boneworks over labs.

I think I overall preferred boneworks. trying to 100% it is much more of a challenge than bonelab but i also really like the avatar switching feature, its so cool being able to go from being really tall to fat and strong

So the game just black screens after I open it and yes my computer meets the requirements so what do I do?

From the ending, I thought there is a way to create maps in-game. So I looked for it, but I was confused because the only thing I could find were some tools that let you play with the physics engine. And when I realised that it was all about mods and I needed a pc to make them, I got very disappointed.

What I loved about boneworks is the story was long and fit the theme so well, like the feeling of loneliness in a game for some reason makes my favourite types of games. Take half life for example, and that’s the problem I have with bonelab is that it didn’t have the best story. and the things boneworks was bad about like base sandbox wasn’t to good which is what bonelab is great on. And bonelabs mod support is amazing

I heard about bonelab on September 27th. First time I even knew it existed. I got it on launch day and I gotta say even if it was over hyped I'm in love and it's my second favorite game of all time.

13:05 The cardinal lesson of every young gamer. Once you've been disappointed, betrayed, or exploited enough times, and you get older, the rest of life starts demanding more of your time and attention, you lose your belief and hope in "the next revolutionary new game that will change everything". Your interest, anticipation, and hype for games dwindle and fade into more of an apathetic, detached sense of intrigue. Before long, you even find yourself forgetting the release date of the few games you *do* show some interest in, and suddenly the releases just start passing without you even noticing. You just learn to accept games as they come, be more discerning with your purchases, and find games and genres with replay value that you can sink lots of time into and entertain yourself with for years.

Okay, i really want to see the whole thing. Where can i find this video?

The amount of hype I've seen on this channel for this game. This is too good lol.

8 months later, im not able to defend Bonelab anymore. I used to defend this game RELIGIOUSLY since it was the only game like it on quest 2, besides blade and sorcery, but the fact that after all this time, and the last update has only had a handful of new stuff, the blatant fact that they wanted people to compare the game to boneworks, the lack of a mod manager despite that being the main pitch of the game, it just does not work. BONELAB is still a good game, but it just isnt worth the extra 10 dollars compared to boneworks. It was a breath of fresh air for quest players, but not enough to warrant a buy over boneworks.

Something SLZ needs to do is make a “dungeon” sort of mode like Blade and Scorcery where they pre make a bunch of environments then put them in random orders each time. So that way those who don’t use mods or don’t know how to (even though it’s easy) have something to play over and over again.

Great video! Just probably the best I've seen the hype for this game described, I couldn't have said it better. I love this game to death, but I have to admit it bias because I only own a standalone quest 2, and this is one of the best VR games I have to play. I totally trust the devs and I know there nice and reasonable people who will be patching out all the bugs they can find

since its release, I was always under the impression that Bonelab was a modmachine. A small game for modders and VR enthusiasts to play with

"Yes but actually no"

But what is the sandbox name from 2:32 and what is the shooting range from the picture from the meta quest and steam store?

When watching your vids I knew it would get overhyped however I expected that it would live up to my expectations, and it did. I wasn't expecting a top of the line story from stress level 0 but I got the physics and graphics I was promised as well as honestly more out of the box mod tools than I had expected and constant improvements. Understanding vrs current standing in terms of technology and game development as well as stress level 0 type games made me excited but not overhyped for it and it was overall an absolute blast, and as someone who's played both bone games I can say bonelab was a clear improvement in almost every aspect of the physics engine. I think my only 2 major gripes are both things they are slowly working out with updates which are 1. You can't adjust character stats without making huge or super weirdly proportioned avatars that are hard to play as 2. The pacing of the story at certain parts like you said was absolute garbage but it didn't bother me much while playing (other than moon base, that was just disgustingly slow, very glad they added the boosters though they make that level much more bearable)

you were the main promoter of that hype train

Yes but I still like it mods are great

When I first opened the exit door in the hub, what I saw on the other side got my hopes up that I was going to end up playing through the entirety of Boneworks’ campaign next. I was disappointed that didn’t happen, but naturally I was pleased to find the LabWorks mod.

Bonelab IS the tutorial. All throughout, it provides tips and tricks for designing ve games based on the marrow engine, which ties in nicely to their heavy emphasis on mods.

for me this game felt more like a tech demo...

the issue i have with the game is the way installing mods works, like you have to edit the repository file, and once you get ingame, you have to go to mods, external mods or whatever i forgot, and the mod installer thing in THAT is like pages, like some sort of searcher would be nice, along with steam workshop, other than that, i like the game.

First of all great video as always! Any chance I could get the name of the outro song? Love it! Thanks

That's exactly what I'm afraid of. "It will get better" are words to fear when a new game is released. It probably will mind you, but I hate that it's a routine nowadays.

Not gonna lie, your own overhyping of Bonelab severely damaged my trust in this channel and you going through the process of apologizing for it restored a little of it. Definitely not all of it, but some of it. As for my own feelings on Bonelab... I could go into all the problems I have with it. Bad AI, bad levels, virtual crouching, the list goes on. But I think it's best summed up by the following anecdote. I had been planning to upgrade my headset this year and have decided to save my money following *this* being the apparent "best" that VR has to offer. I liked Boneworks a lot, but... I dunno, I'll never trust SLZ again and it really makes me feel like VR is just a dying industry that I should get out of now instead of letting the sunk cost fallacy drive me into spending more money on it. I have yet to see anything that convinces me otherwise.