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If Valor Mortis will not start, crashes during a demo or playtest, or stops accepting controller input, begin with the non-destructive Steam checks: restart the PC, update Windows and the graphics driver, verify the installation, close nonessential software, and compare your hardware with the current Steam requirements. Those steps are general triage, not proof of a particular Valor Mortis bug. Then identify whether you are using a retail build, demo, or older playtest before applying any game-specific advice. The documented controller and crash symptoms below come from a 2025 pre-alpha playtest and June 2026 demo reports; the available official material does not establish that those defects still affect a retail build.
Identify your build before changing anything
Valor Mortis troubleshooting depends on the build. The official known-issues announcement dated October 6, 2025 concerned a pre-alpha playtest. The June 2026 Steam Community reports were labeled as demo feedback. Neither source is a current retail patch note, so an old workaround can be irrelevant—or a symptom may already have changed.
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- Retail game: use the latest in-game version and the current official support or reporting channel for that build.
- Demo: describe the problem as a demo issue when reporting it. Demo crashes do not prove that the retail executable has the same defect.
- Older playtest: the documented control-reset and preset-display problems came from this earlier build and should be treated as historical evidence.
A Steam store snapshot used for the published requirements showed an October 13, 2026 planned release date while also displaying “This game is not yet available on Steam.” Store availability and requirements can change. Check the live store page and the build number shown by your installation before assuming that a report or specification is current.
Run the standard Steam launch checks in order
Steam’s general launch guidance does not identify a Valor Mortis-specific cause. It provides a sensible first pass for files, drivers, software conflicts, and system compatibility. Perform these checks after noting the exact symptom and any error text.
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- Restart Windows. A full restart clears a stalled game process and pending driver or operating-system state. After rebooting, launch Valor Mortis before opening other demanding applications.
- Install pending Windows updates. Use Windows Update, restart if Windows requests it, and test the game again. Record the Windows version if the problem continues.
- Update the graphics driver. Install the current driver for your AMD or NVIDIA GPU from the manufacturer’s normal update route, then restart. This is a standard compatibility check; the cited Valor Mortis reports do not prove that a driver update fixes every crash.
- Verify the game files. In Steam, open Library, right-click Valor Mortis, choose Properties, open Installed Files, and select Verify integrity of game files. Let Steam finish downloading replacements before launching. Do not interrupt the verification or delete the installation first.
- Close nonessential software. Exit overlays, monitoring tools, capture utilities, browsers with heavy tabs, and other background programs one at a time. If the game launches after this, re-enable programs individually to identify a conflict rather than leaving the cause untested.
- Check the machine against the listed minimums. A system near the minimum can still encounter launch or performance problems. The specification is a baseline, not a guarantee of stable frame rates or successful startup.
- Try one clean launch. After the checks, start the game from Steam without adding undocumented launch arguments or third-party fixes. Note whether the failure occurs before a window appears, during loading, at the menu, or after entering a level.
If these steps do not help, Steam’s general guidance is to contact the game’s developer. Include the build and the reproduction details described in the escalation section rather than reporting only that the game “doesn’t work.”
Compare your PC with Valor Mortis’s listed minimum requirements
The following values are from the Steam store listing captured in 2026. Steam can revise them, so check the live listing before treating them as a current contract.
| Requirement | Minimum listed value | What it means for troubleshooting |
|---|---|---|
| Operating system | Windows 10 | A different Windows version or an unpatched installation may require separate compatibility support. |
| Processor | AMD Ryzen 5 3600 or Intel Core i5-10600K | Meeting the CPU minimum does not rule out a driver, file, or build-specific crash. |
| Memory | 16 GB RAM | Close memory-heavy applications when testing, especially if Windows is paging to disk. |
| Graphics | AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti | Confirm the game is using the intended discrete GPU on systems with more than one graphics adapter. |
| Graphics API | DirectX 12 | A Direct3D-related error needs to be reported with the exact text; the reports do not establish one universal DirectX fix. |
| Storage | 60 GB available | Keep the full space available for installation and updates rather than checking only the initial download size. |
| Drive type | SSD required | An HDD does not meet the listed requirement and can also make loading failures harder to distinguish from a crash. |
| Stated performance target | 30 FPS at 1080p on Low with upscaling | This is the store listing’s estimate, not a guarantee for every system or scene. |
Do not describe the table as a recommended specification. It is the minimum listing and a stated target under the listing’s conditions. If your system is below several entries, bring that fact into any support report; if it exceeds them, continue investigating files, drivers, software conflicts, and the particular build rather than assuming hardware is cleared.
When Valor Mortis crashes before or during startup
Separate a launch failure from a later crash
Write down the exact point of failure: no process appears, a window opens and closes, the game reaches a logo, loading stops, or a crash occurs after the main menu. “Crashes on launch” describes several different paths and is not a root-cause diagnosis.
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- If Steam reports that the game is running and then returns to Play, perform the restart, update, file-verification, software-isolation, and requirements checks first.
- If a window appears briefly, note whether it is black, shows a logo, or displays an error before closing.
- If the failure occurs only after selecting a save, tutorial, or level, it is not the same symptom as a process that never reaches the menu.
Handle a D3D12core message as a clue
A June 2026 demo-feedback thread contains an individual report of an error labeled D3D12core. A graphics-driver update and Windows update are reasonable standard checks, but that post does not establish that DirectX 12, a particular GPU, FSR, or one setting causes every such failure. Preserve the complete message, including any exception code, when you report the problem.
Do not assume a tutorial crash has a universal workaround
Players in the same June 2026 demo thread described crashes while opening or paging tutorial screens. One report used the term EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION while viewing a tutorial. These are user accounts from a demo build: they show that the symptoms were reported, but they do not establish prevalence, a common cause, or a confirmed fix. If your crash is tied to a tutorial page, record the exact page or action and whether skipping it changes the result; do not present skipping as an official solution unless a current developer update says so.
Controller not detected: check the connection and advertised support
Steam’s Valor Mortis listing advertises full controller support and specifically names Xbox controllers. It also lists DualShock and DualSense support as USB-only. That wording does not guarantee every wireless adapter, Bluetooth configuration, remapping layer, or third-party controller.
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| Controller type named by the listing | Advertised connection detail | First check |
|---|---|---|
| Xbox controllers | Supported | Reconnect the controller, confirm Windows and Steam see it, then launch the game with the controller already connected. |
| DualShock | USB-only support listed | Use a direct USB connection for the test; do not treat a wireless connection as equivalent to the listed configuration. |
| DualSense | USB-only support listed | Test with a direct USB cable and confirm the cable carries data, not just power. |
Start by isolating detection from mapping:
- Disconnect other gamepads, wheels, fight sticks, and virtual-controller devices.
- Reconnect the intended controller directly to the PC. For DualShock or DualSense, use the USB configuration named by Steam.
- Confirm that Windows responds to button and stick input and that Steam identifies the device before launching Valor Mortis.
- Launch the game and test movement, camera, jump, attack, heal, and pause. Note whether every input is absent or only particular actions are wrong.
- If the operating system and Steam see the controller but Valor Mortis does not, report the controller model, connection method, and exact build instead of describing it only as “controller broken.”
A standard USB Xbox controller can be a compatibility option for someone who needs a controller that the listing explicitly names. Buying a different controller is not a verified remedy for an in-game software defect, and it should not be presented as a crash fix.
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Controller buttons stop working in the game
Historical pre-alpha issue: controls after returning to the main menu
The October 6, 2025 developer announcement for a pre-alpha playtest listed a problem in which controls could stop working after the player returned to the main menu. The announcement did not establish that this behavior remains in a later demo or retail build.
If you are testing that historical build or seeing a similar sequence now, capture the sequence precisely: enter gameplay, open the menu, return to the main menu, load back in, and identify which inputs remain. A complete restart of the game is a useful diagnostic because it tells support whether the failure follows a menu transition, but it is not a documented permanent fix for current versions.
Historical preset-display mismatch
The same pre-alpha announcement said that changing a gamepad preset could leave tutorials and the pause menu displaying default controls. The displayed prompt and the action actually bound to a button could therefore disagree. This is a presentation and mapping warning from that playtest, not proof of a current retail defect.
That announcement also said keybinds could not be changed from the main menu in the playtest. Players had to start the game and edit them through the pause-menu settings. If your build has the same layout, change the preset or binding only after entering gameplay, then test the action before relying on tutorial prompts. Do not claim that this menu workflow applies to the retail version unless the current build shows it.
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Jump or heal input stops
June 2026 demo reports included a player saying that the default jump and heal buttons completely stopped working. The post is an anecdote, not evidence of a common mapping or hardware cause. Check whether the buttons fail on both keyboard and controller, whether rebinding changes anything, and whether the failure begins after a menu or tutorial transition. Include those results in a report; avoid changing several variables at once because it obscures the trigger.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the June 2026 demo reports do—and do not—prove
The community thread contains individual descriptions of:
- crashes while opening or paging tutorial screens;
- startup crashes before normal play;
- a
D3D12core-labeled error; - an
EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATIONwhile viewing a tutorial; and - jump and heal controls stopping during play.
These reports are valuable symptom descriptions, but they do not provide a controlled comparison, a confirmed prevalence rate, or a single workaround. Do not infer that all tutorial crashes are caused by DirectX, that FSR is responsible, or that one GPU model is incompatible. The captured material also does not verify a current retail patch that resolves these symptoms.
How to report an unresolved problem
The developer’s demo-feedback post directed players to the Steam forum and Discord for demo reports. Because that invitation was specifically tied to the demo, use the current official support or reporting route for a retail issue if one is shown in the latest game announcement or store information.
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Give support enough information to reproduce the failure:
- Build: retail, demo, or playtest, plus the displayed version or date.
- Failure stage: before a window, during startup, at the menu, while loading, in a tutorial, or after returning from a menu.
- Hardware: CPU, GPU, RAM, Windows version, storage type, and free space.
- Graphics details: the complete D3D12core or exception text, if shown, and whether the game reaches its graphics settings.
- Controller details: exact model, USB or wireless connection, whether Windows and Steam detect it, and which actions fail.
- Reproduction steps: a short numbered sequence that another player can follow.
- Recent changes: driver or Windows updates, a file verification, a changed preset, or a return to the main menu immediately before the problem.
Use neutral wording such as “the demo crashes when I page to the second tutorial screen” or “jump and heal stop responding after returning from the pause menu.” That is more actionable than treating an anecdotal symptom as a confirmed cause.
Common mistakes that make troubleshooting less reliable
- Mixing builds: quoting a 2025 pre-alpha issue as if it were a current retail bug.
- Calling a minimum spec a guarantee: the listed 30 FPS target at 1080p Low with upscaling is not a promise that every qualifying PC will launch without errors.
- Changing several settings at once: replacing drivers, rebinding controls, installing overlays, and changing graphics options together makes the trigger impossible to identify.
- Assuming wireless equivalence: Steam lists DualShock and DualSense as USB-only, so a wireless test does not validate the advertised configuration.
- Using a controller purchase as a software fix: controller compatibility and an in-game mapping defect are separate questions.
- Overstating a community post: one player’s crash or input failure is evidence that the symptom occurred for that player, not that every player has the same cause.
What is established and what remains unconfirmed
The dependable starting point is the current Steam listing: Windows 10, 16 GB of RAM, DirectX 12, an SSD, 60 GB of storage, and the stated CPU and GPU minimums, plus advertised controller support. Steam’s general launch checklist supports restarting, updating Windows and graphics drivers, verifying files, closing nonessential software, and checking requirements.
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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallThe specific control-reset and tutorial-prompt problems are documented for the October 2025 pre-alpha announcement. Tutorial crashes, startup crashes, the D3D12core message, and stopped jump or heal inputs were reported in a June 2026 demo thread. The captured official materials do not verify a current retail-build fix or a single root cause for those symptoms. For that reason, treat the standard checks as triage, label historical reports by build, and use the latest official support channel for a problem that persists.
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