Half-Life: Episode 3 stays one of many nice what-ifs in gaming historical past. Initially set to observe on from Episode 1 and 2, 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 in the video beneath.
Among the many particulars proven in the video, Episode 3 would have been set in the Arctic, and it might have targeted on Alyx as a companion character. Except for the Ice Gun, the footage exhibits a blob-like enemy that might cut up into a number of components. In accordance with the documentary, the group had full a “assortment of playable ranges in no explicit 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 discuss 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 in this documentary?”
The rationale 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 stage designer Dario Casali described it partly as a problem of scope screep. Laidlaw would later reveal the plot in a narrative referred to as “Epistle 3,” that includes “Gertie Freemont” and “Alex Vaunt” — performs on Gordon Freeman and Alyx Vance.
It is potential to detect loads of remorse over the choice to not undergo Episode 3. At one level Laidlaw jokes, “Are we allowed to cry in this documentary?” Others speak about how Episode 3 in all probability may have been launched in hindsight. Newell says, “We may have shipped it. It would not have been that arduous. My private failure was being stumped. I could not determine 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} (*3*). Within the meantime, it is price watching the whole 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.