Footage of Half-Life 2: Episode 4 came out today through a documentary trailer from game Dev Arkane Studios.
The videos shed light on the abandoned sequel, together with potential new info on it. Even if the game did not receive an official announcement, the existence of the game was clear.
Half-Life 2: Episode 4 was clear until Valve and Arkane dropped the project. Arkane eventually focused on other games, including Dishonored, Prey, and Fallout 76.
HL2:E4 docu footage shows weird zombine quirk
Video game documentary group Noclip showed the new footage through a historical look into Arkane Studios. Titled “The (Untold) History of Arkane Studios”, the documentary focuses on less focused points of the game dev.
The footage of the game is sparse, but tell enough to fans of the game. The footage at the end shows an unknown player character encountering electrified water. A zombie-like entity tries to come forward to the player, only for it to disintegrate.
The footage itself is mostly a mechanics demo, a common style of a tutorial that Half-Life 2 used. According to information from Valve employees, the game was going to take the action back to Ravenholm. The city, infested with zombines, will have the battles in hallways and sewers.
The weird detail about the game is the lack of headcrabs. The zombines are obvious because a headcrab is parasitizing their heads. The lack of alien parasite can be because of early footage or something else.
It’s also unusual how Valve is ok with the footage, with how they guard their treasured secrets. Even then, the ease could be due to the release of Half-Life: Alyx out there. The footage only further serves as extra motivation for players to visit the game.
Episode 4 another of Valve’s many abandoned projects
The reveal of Half-Life 2: Episode 4 is another archaeological exploration into many of Valve’s games. In many instances, Valve stopped making games beyond a singular sequel, leading to the infamous “Gabe can’t count to 3” joke.
Valve was notorious for its extended development cycles and abandoning projects. Some projects they abandon are almost 100% complete, only to do a full overhaul.
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The game dev and publisher has many projects left behind due to their stringent quality standards. If the game is not innovating, Gabe and the team abandons it. There’s also the focus on Steam, which makes the company a ton of money.
Some projects abandoned so far by Valve include Half-Life 2:Episode Three. The company also didn’t move forward with a Half-Life episode with Junction Point Studios. There’s also The Crossing, Stars of Blood, and In the Valley of Gods.
More Half-Life 2:Episode Four will come out on the release of the full NoClip documentary next week.
Featured image courtesy of NoClip/Youtube Screenshot