Valve approves Half

Jul 12, 2023

Written by

Tom Chapman

Posted

6th Jun 2023 14:01

Valve might have an aversion to the number three, but as we give up on hopes of ever seeing Half-Life 3, the developer has given the green light to a remake... of sorts. The original Half-Life has just been remade as a roguelike, and better yet, Valve actually approves of the project.

Since its release in 1998, Half-Life has become synonymous with the first-person shooter genre and is up there alongside Portal as one of Valve's defining titles. Crowbar Collective released Black Mesa as a third-party Half-Life remake in 2020, but now, we're moving into a new medium.

Originally called Half-Life Loop but later renamed as Codename: Loop to avoid confusion, the title is the work of modder PinkyDev. Here, Gordon Freeman is locked in the Black Messa and trapped in an infinite loop by G-Man. You're faced with recurring combat challenges as you try to escape - passing G-Man's test.

Back in October 2022, PinkyDev posted on the Codename: Loop site and explained, "I'm very happy to announce that Codename: Loop is going to be released on Steam when the game is ready!" They hoped a demo would be available by the end of the year, and now, it's become a reality.

In the Codename: Loop demo, you take control of Freeman in a locale based on Half-Life's Questionable Ethics level. As reported by PCGamesN, you can create your own maps that are modelled on some legends from Half-Life, as well as import classic Half-Life enemies and weapons.

There's no news on when Codename: Loop will release on Steam, but for now, it should satisfy our Half-Life hunger. Despite a loyal fan base holding out hope, most dreams of Half-Life 3 has been largely tossed aside.

Although Valve boss Gabe Newell referred to Half-Life 2's episodes as a pseudo-Half-Life 3, a full-blown third game was reportedly in development around 2013/2014. IGN refers to The Final Hours of Half-Life: Alyx and claims five Half-Life games were canned between Half-Life 2: Episode Two and Alyx.

Valve has never formally acknowledged the existence of Half-Life 3, although it was supposedly in the works using the Source 2 engine and was inspired by Left 4 Dead. It sounds like an ambitious project that would've used procedural generation, but unfortunately, it never came to be.

The future of Half-Life remains unclear, but if Valve is willing to allow the likes of Codename: Loop to exist, it suggests the dev is keen to keep the series' name alive - at least in some form. Even if we're not getting Half-Life 3, putting a roguelike spin on the IP is a win for us.