When the article's title is "Alas poor Oculus, I knew you well", insinuating that like Yorrick, Oculus is dead, then yes, the author is taking a side. The title led me one way, then the rambling prose lost all semblance of clarity and argument.
Well, showing concern (by saying 'alas') that someone, or some thing had suffered Yorrick's fate, does not, as a phrase, or even in a headline, necessarily indicate that one has 'taken sides' in terms of whether that that fate was desirable. The article 'didn't clearly take sides' but instead speculated as to why the outcome of this challenge to the Rift could be both dramatic and unpredictable.