After a decade and a half, we finally have a brand new, full-fledged Half-Life game coming with the VR-only Half-Life Alyx. While the game’s VR exclusivity probably dampens the excitement many may have felt at the long-awaited return of one of the most beloved franchises in gaming history, given the pioneering nature of the other two games in the saga, it only makes sense, if you think about it.
And this doesn’t have to be the end of things, either. Valve has finally, at last, uttered those words of hope that should embolden those who have been holding on to the faintest strand of optimist against all evidence that one day, yes, a Half-Life 3 may happen. They have confirmed that after Alyx is out, there may be still more Half-Life games to come.
“It’s probably no surprise that many people at Valve have been wanting to get back to the Half-Life universe for a long time, and this experience has only reinforced that,” Valve’s David Speyrer told The Verge.
“In the process of creating Half-Life: Alyx, we’ve had to explore new ways to tell stories with these characters and this world, and we’ve discovered a lot of new gameplay experiences that go beyond what we’ve been able to do before. Of course, we’ll have to wait and see how people react to Half-Life: Alyx once it’s out, but we’d love to continue pushing forward.”
So yes, there remains hope for a full-fledged Half-Life 3 to happen some day in the future. I don’t know if it will be VR only (frankly, I don’t care if it is, that would be even better), but Gordon Freeman’s story does not have to end at that critical cliffhanger we ended things at all those years ago. Just knowing that, for now, is enough.
