The Half-Life series is unlikely to continue beyond the VR Alyx games, but some footage has surfaced of one of Arkane Studios’ long-defunct projects.

 

 

Although Half-Life fans welcomed the Alyx games, most would prefer to see a continuation of the story with the original protagonist Gordon Freeman. As one of the best FPS games of all time, the 2004 sequel Half-Life 2 improved on the original Valve game. Sadly, the mythical Half-Life 3 isn’t the only project that’s pretty much dead, as footage of another cancelled instalment has surfaced.

In a video uploaded to YouTube channel NoClip, the show’s host Danny showed an hour of footage of what would have been a new Half-Life game.

Dubbed ‘Ravenholm’, it was the work of Arkane Studios, the team behind Dishonored, the Prey reboot and Deathloop, and would have been set in the titular haunted town. While the documentary clarifies that the gameplay shown is from a very early stage of development, so there are several placeholders and unoptimised image updates, it offers a fascinating insight into what could have been.

It looks like quite an exciting sequel, a natural step forward for what could have been a game. It adds some new things to the experience, such as the ability to push enemies. For those of you who may not be too familiar with the series, Half-Life 2’s abandoned mining town of Ravenholm is one of the most memorable maps in the entire franchise. It turned the game into a true horror experience for a short time, with horrific enemies to boot.

Arkane’s sequel to the game wasn’t supposed to star Freeman, but footage reveals that the heroic holy man, Father Grigori, is back.

The game was in development between 2006 and 2007, but the project was eventually cancelled, and the only objective evidence that remains is the extensive footage that NoClip has now unveiled.

By now, most fans have had to accept the fact that Half-Life 3 is unlikely to happen. It’s one of the most anticipated games in the industry, but it’s been a long time since the last “real” instalment, and it seems that Valve doesn’t want to pick up where the story left off…

Source: YouTube