The rumours were true. Valve has finally announced a new entry in the Half-Life franchise, some 12 years after Half-Life 2: Episode 2 first hit PC. This is no doubt exciting news, though it comes with some caveats. Firstly, this new project doesn't seem to be Half-Life 3. Valve has confirmed the new game is instead called Half-Life: Alyx, and it'll be a "flagship" VR title for the developer.
Valve first announced nearly three years ago now that it was building three full-length titles in virtual reality. Rumours inevitably surfaced that one of the three games would be a new entry in the Half-Life franchise. I mean, if you want gamers to really take notice of VR, a new Half-Life is probably the way to do that.
Unfortunately, we don't know too much about Half-Life: Alyx just yet, beyond the fact that it stars Alyx Vance and will presumably be available on the new Valve Index headset. An official reveal is coming this Thursday (November 21st), so we're hoping for concrete details on gameplay, platforms, and maybe even a release date then.
The current rumour doing the rounds is that Half-Life: Alyx won't be the sequel to Half-Life 2: Episode 2 that fans might have been hoping for. Instead, it sounds as if the game takes place somewhere in the 20-year period between the first and second games, when protagonist Gordan Freeman is in stasis.
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So no, this isn't Half-Life 3. Yes, it would suck a bit if we were still left hanging after the last game's ending. Having said that, if Valve can finally make a new entry in the long-forgotten franchise after all this time, then I guess there is hope for a "proper" third entry some day.
Perhaps Half-Life: Alyx is simply an Amuse-bouche before the delicious main course of Half-Life 3. Perhaps I'm just being greedy and should be grateful we're getting a new game from Valve at all.
With the announcement of a new Half-Life, that leaves two mystery VR titles still in development at Valve. At least, two that we know about. I would put good money on at least one of those being a new Portal game. And when I say I'd put good money on it, I mean I'd give several years of my life to play Portal in virtual reality.
