Last week,Half-Life: Alyxwas unveiled as Valve’s next majorHalf-Liferelease.This prequel toHalf-Life 2was rumored and then revealed in a trailer to be a VR exclusive game. While most people don’t know what to expect fromHalf-Life: Alyx, one thing is startlingly clear. This is notHalf-Life 3,and many fans are disappointed by that fact alone.
Half-Life3was, for many years, the most anticipated gaming sequel of all time. It was only in recent years, following aHalf-Life 2Episode 3plot summaryby Marc Laidlaw, that the fervor finally started to die down as fans released that the possibility of a thirdHalf-Lifegame was a shot in the dark. Now that there is a newHalf-Lifegame coming out for the first time since 2007, what is the new fate ofHalf-Life 3?
RELATED:Half-Life: Alyx Pre-Orders Get a Black Friday Discount on Steam
BothHalf-Lifeand its sequel were groundbreaking first person shooters. In an era ofDoomand arena shooters, the firstHalf-Lifeplaced a focus on narrative, on taking it slow to let players get a feel for the space they were inhabiting. In 1998, it was a game that showed that shooters could be atmospheric, deliberately paced experiences.Half-Life 2topped this in 2004, giving players new characters to latch on to and introducing complex, physics based gameplay. These mechanics would dissipate throughout the industry, impacting player expectations for in-game physics for the rest of time.
Theannouncement ofHalf-Life: Alyxis a disappointment if taken at face value. The game will not be continuing on the story after the gigantic cliffhanger thatEpisode 2left behind to let the mystery stew in people’s minds for the past 13 years. The likelihood ofHalf-Life 3is now questionable. In a teaser for Geoff Keighley’s The Final Hours ofHalf-Life: Alyx, his decades running series interviewing Valve, some developers discussed the pressure and expectations for a newHalf-Life.
“Back in 2016,Half-Life 3was a terrifyingly daunting prospect,” veteran Valve developer Robin Walker told Keighley. “To some extent, VR was a way we could fool ourselves into thinking we had a way we could do this. In some ways, VR became this thing we could wrap everything around.”
This is both encouraging and discouraging news toHalf-Lifefans. It obviously indicates thatHalf-Life 3is not a project that will be taken on lightly and, in fact, it is one that is maybe too doomed to fail no matter what it ends up being. The safer route will always be to continue makingHalf-Life, but to never put the pressure on a single team to makeHalf-Life 3.This also means that Valve is taking theHalf-Lifelegacy seriously. This means thatAlyxcould be a truly innovative VR title that pushes the medium forward the way previous games in the franchise did.
RELATED:Half-Life: Alyx Recasts Major Characters
It is known thatHalf-Life: Alyxwill be a full 15 hour gamewith a linear progression and characters in the vein of the older titles in the series. The trailer shows off some interesting interactions that are only possible in the virtual reality space. Tying different creative VR ideas into a cohesive narrative experience is whatAlyxis looking to achieve. This sounds a lot like what the original two games did; they show off and push technology forward while still creating a cohesive atmospheric experience. This game has the potential to be as monumental as previousHalf-Lifegames by being the first work to show players what VR can really do for gaming.
Half-Life: Alyxcould end up being a seriously revolutionary game, but it still wouldn’t be what fans want fromHalf-Life 3. They want to see the story wrapped up, or at very least taken to its next point of interest. They want to know what happened to Gordon Freeman and Alyx Vance; who will they be playing as in the next game?Half-Life 3might never surface, but the franchise is not totally doomed. There is still reason to be hopeful for future titles to take the story to new places and expand on the world decades of games and expansions have worked to flesh out.
After years of building up Steam, Valve is finally in the market of making video games again. It is not out of the question to expect Valve to throw a bone to the fans it has who don’t own VR. In fact, ifAlyxis successful, expect moreHalf-Lifegames in the future. According to Valve programmerDavid Speyrer in an interview with The Verge"we’d love to continue pushing forward" ifHalf-Life: Alyxis well received. It seems that for now the fate of the series rests on the shoulders of Alyx Vance once again.
Half-Life: Alyxwill be released for PC VR platforms in March 2020.
MORE:Original Half-Life Gets Patch 21 Years After Release, Here’s What It Does
