It's been an 20 years since Valve released Half-Life 2, one of the most influential first-person shooters in the history of gaming. To mark the anniversary, the developer and publisher has made a two-hour documentary that assembles most of the team that worked on the game – and reveals that there could have been a Half-Life 2: Episode 3.
The Half-Life 2 Anniversary Documentary shares plenty of secrets from the development of the game and its episodes, including the revelation that the company was saved by a Korean intern in its legal battle against Vivendi. Towards the end of the documentary, we're shown concept art for a cancelled third episode. And while we're currently hyped about the Half-Life 2 RTC remake, the revelations about Episode 3 are bittersweet.
Half-Life 2: Episode 3 was going to be set in the Arctic and would have had novel features like an ice gun that could build walls and ledges and a shape-shifting blob enemy that could pass through grills.
The developers suggest that the title was still at least a year and half away when they moved to focus on other projects – mainly Left 4 Dead. By the time that was complete, it was decided that it was too late to go back to Half-Life 2: Episode 3 – a decision that some now regret.
Gabe Newell mentioned a feeling that a new episode needed to add something to advance the story of the game, but recognised that for players that might not really be necessary. "We could have shipped it. It wouldn't have been that hard," he said. "My personal failure was being stumped. I couldn't figure out why Episode 3 was pushing anything forward."
"This is so surreal man. Seeing episode 3 concept art and footage after so long," one person responded in the comments on YouTube. "My mind does not have room for this completely new, Portal-like enemy into a Half Life game despite this being legitimate footage of the time." "The physics for the blob creature feel more advanced than what you'd see in a typical modern 2024 game, and it was achieved in a 20- year-old game engine," someone else wrote.
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