Half-Life is a series of games developed and published by Valve, introduced in 1998.
As the first of its kind that combines first-person shooter (FPS) with puzzles and immersive storytelling, as well as innovative sequences, its popularity inspired way the creations of future FPS games, and gathered way too many community-developed mods and expansion packs, as well as a notable sequel, and a VR game.
The original Half-Life was already way ahead of its time, and Half-Life 2 continued that pace.
Back in 2023, during Half-Life's 25 years anniversary, Valve celebrated the game's anniversary by giving it a huge update, which includes four new multiplayer maps and much more.
This time, Valve celebrates Half-Life 2’s 20th anniversary with a big update
And the internet couldn't be more pleased, if not giving yet another sigh.
First of, Half-Life 2, which was released on Steam on November 16, 2004, was followed by the free extra level Lost Coast (2005) and the episodic sequels Episode One (2006) and Episode Two (2007)
And this is where the developers abruptly ended the fun.
Episode Three remains one of the great what-ifs in gaming history.
Originally set to follow on from Episode One and Two, its cancellation was a spoil sport.
Instead of continuing the development, Valve left fans dangling on a cliffhanger it never directly resolved.
But this time, on the occasion of Half-Life 2's 20th anniversary, Valve has opened up about its development in a brand-new documentary that shows never-before-seen work-in-progress footage.
It includes a brand-new Ice Gun, and a raft of new concept art.
Among the details, Valve seemingly planned to release Episode Three, and that it would have set it in the Artic.
It would have focused on having Alyx Vance as a companion character.
Besides the never-seen-before Ice Gun, the footage shows a never-seen-before enemy, which resembles a blob-like creature that could split into multiple parts.
This creature can pass through fences as if they're nothing, and catch prey like how an amoeba would.
According to the documentary, the team had complete a "collection of playable levels in no particular order" and expected to be able to release the game within a year or two.
In addition to the new gameplay footage, writer Marc Laidlaw, founder Gabe Newell, and others also talk frankly about why it was never released, ultimately chalking it up to a lack of compelling new ideas and other reasons.
Before this, Valve level designer Dario Casali once described the reason for the cancellation is an issue of scope screep.
The team wanted it, but kind of regretted over the decision not to go through Episode Three.
At one point Laidlaw jokes, "Are we allowed to cry in this documentary?"
Others talk about how Episode 3 probably could have been released in hindsight.
"We could have shipped it. It wouldn't have been that hard. My personal failure was being stumped. I couldn't figure out why Episode 3 was pushing anything forward," founder Gabe Newell said.
The documentary also revealed behind-the-scenes look at how the studio cope with running out of money, getting hacked, building its PC storefront Steam, and more.
It’s an in-depth peek behind the curtain at a pivotal moment in gaming history.
Read: 'Gnarly Forensic' Photo On Reddit Discovered That Half-Life 2 Used It For Its Zombies
The reason for Episode 3's cancellation has been the subject of much discussion over the years, not the least because Episode 2 ended on a grim cliffhanger.
When Valve finally released Half-Life: Alyx in 2020, the developer sent the story spinning off in a new direction.
Half-Life: Alyx, which was originally released as a VR-only game, managed redefined how VR games should be at the time of its release, making fans "distracted."
But faithful fans remain wistful about the possibilities of Episode Three, and not to mention, the changes of seeing Half-Life 3.
20 years after Half-Life 2's release, fans are again not seeing what they deserve.
However, the celebration is met with huge rejoice from the community.
Besides the documentary, Half-Life 2 owners can also enjoy the new update that adds everything from additional content, which includes access to the original Episode One and Episode Two expansions, bundled into one into to the base experience at no additional cost.
"Every map in Half-Life 2 has been looked over by Valve level designers to fix longstanding bugs, restore content and features lost to time, and improve the quality of a few things like lightmap resolution and fog," the studio explained.
While the goodies is not quite the Half-Life they wanted for decades for, it’s still more than enough to help with the wait.
The Half-Life games series have been a critical part of Valve's history, and Half-Life 2 has long been hailed as one of Valve’s best projects and one of the most important video games ever made.
While the game ages, and that its graphics cannot be compared to more modern FPS games, the Half Life game series can be considered a cult classic.
The original Half Life is still regarded as one of the best FPS games ever, Half-Life 2 is a worthy successor, and Half-Life: Alyx is considered one of the best VR-game of all time.
Since its first inception, and even decades later, Half-Life is, and still is considered a name that represents one of the all-time-great shooter games.
"We launched Half-Life on November 19, 1998. We are very proud of what we built back then and we remain extremely grateful for the community of players who have been enjoying it ever since," Valve said. "The game hasn't received as much attention in recent years as many other titles in our catalog, so we thought this milestone was a great opportunity to spruce up the player experience and add some fun new ways to play the game."
Read: Nvidia Captivates Fans On The Internet By Announcing 'Half-Life 2' With Ray Tracing