Half-Life: Episode 3 stays one of many nice what-ifs in gaming historical past. Initially set to comply with on from Episode 1 and a couple of, its cancellation as an alternative left the collection dangling on a cliffhanger it by no means straight resolved.
Now, on the event of Half-Life 2’s twentieth anniversary, Valve has opened up about its improvement in a brand-new documentary that exhibits never-before-seen work-in-progress footage, a brand-new Ice Gun, and a raft of recent idea artwork. You may see the gameplay section from the documentary within the video under.
Among the many particulars proven within the video, Episode 3 would have been set within the Arctic, and it will have targeted on Alyx as a companion character. Apart from the Ice Gun, the footage exhibits a blob-like enemy that would break up into a number of elements. Based on the documentary, the staff had full a “assortment of playable ranges in no specific order” and anticipated to have the ability to launch the sport inside a yr or two.
Along with the brand new gameplay footage, author Marc Laidlaw, founder Gabe Newell, and others additionally speak frankly about why it was by no means launched, finally chalking it as much as a scarcity of compelling new concepts and different causes. At one level Laidlaw jokes, “Are we allowed to cry on this documentary?”
The explanation for Episode 3’s cancellation has been the topic of a lot dialogue over time, not the least as a result of Episode 2 ended on a grim cliffhanger. In an interview with IGN shortly earlier than Alyx’s launch, Valve degree designer Dario Casali described it partly as a problem of scope screep. Laidlaw would later reveal the plot in a story called “Epistle 3,” that includes “Gertie Freemont” and “Alex Vaunt” — performs on Gordon Freeman and Alyx Vance.
It is doable to detect plenty of remorse over the choice to not undergo Episode 3. At one level Laidlaw jokes, “Are we allowed to cry on this documentary?” Others speak about how Episode 3 in all probability might have been launched in hindsight. Newell says, “We might have shipped it. It would not have been that onerous. My private failure was being stumped. I could not work out why Episode 3 was pushing something ahead.”
Valve lastly launched Half-Life Alyx in 2020, sending the story spinning off in a new direction, however many followers stay wistful about Half-Life: Episode 3 (to not point out the lengthy misplaced Half-Life 3). Now, 20 years after its launch, Valve is celebrating Half-Life 2 amid unconfirmed rumors {that a} new game is in the works. Within the meantime, it is price watching the complete documentary, which delves deep into Half-Life 2’s fraught improvement.
Picture supply: Half-Life 2 Documentary / Valve
Kat Bailey is IGN’s Information Director in addition to co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Ship her a DM at @the_katbot.
