Half-Life: Episode 3 stays one of many nice what-ifs in gaming historical past. Originally set to comply with on from Episode 1 and a pair of, its cancellation as a substitute left the sequence dangling on a cliffhanger it by no means instantly resolved.
Now, on the event of Half-Life 2’s twentieth anniversary, Valve has opened up about its growth in a brand-new documentary that reveals never-before-seen work-in-progress footage, a brand-new Ice Gun, and a raft of latest idea artwork. You can see the gameplay section from the documentary within the video under.
Among the small print proven within the video, Episode 3 would have been set within the Arctic, and it could have centered on Alyx as a companion character. Aside from the Ice Gun, the footage reveals a blob-like enemy that would break up into a number of elements. According to the documentary, the crew had full a “assortment of playable ranges in no specific order” and anticipated to have the ability to launch the sport inside a 12 months or two.
In addition to the brand new gameplay footage, author Marc Laidlaw, founder Gabe Newell, and others additionally discuss frankly about why it was by no means launched, in the end chalking it as much as an absence of compelling new concepts and different causes. At one level Laidlaw jokes, “Are we allowed to cry on this documentary?”
The purpose for Episode 3’s cancellation has been the topic of a lot dialogue through the years, 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 stage designer Dario Casali described it partly as a difficulty of scope screep. Laidlaw would later reveal the plot in a narrative known as “Epistle 3,” that includes “Gertie Freemont” and “Alex Vaunt” — performs on Gordon Freeman and Alyx Vance.
It’s potential to detect loads of remorse over the choice to not undergo Episode 3. At one level Laidlaw jokes, “Are we allowed to cry on this documentary?” Others discuss 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 arduous. 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 brand new course, 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. In the meantime, it is price watching the complete documentary, which delves deep into Half-Life 2’s fraught growth.
Image supply: Half-Life 2 Documentary / Valve
Kat Bailey is IGN’s News Director in addition to co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.
