I think we can all agree that future episodes of Half Life 2 are unlikely to ever surface but we have to remember they were at one point being worked on. Valvetime has today uncovered new screens from the planned Half Life 2 Episode 4 which was called Return to Ravenholm.
This fourth episode was in development between 2006 and 2007 at Arkane Studios, and although it was canned, more new shots have surfaced from the portfolio of ex-Arkane Studios environmental artist Robert Wilinski.
These new shots show some dingy looking basement levels with great lighting effects and a couple of street exterior shots also demonstrate how detailed the new episode would have been. Looking at these shots makes the cancellation of Half Life 2′s episodic content even more frustrating.
Half Life 2 Episode 4 was supposedly a spin-off project separate from the the previous episodes set in the well known town of Revensholm and featured a new protagonist. Disappointingly, and Half Life fans are used to being disappointed, Valve decided to halt all work on episodic content for Half Life 2 which has left the franchise in limbo since the release of Half Life 2 Episode 2 back in 2007 .
Valvetime has put together a nice little recap video (see below) explaining the content of these new shots (see them all here) and is also features more background info about Arkane’s canned Half Life 2 Episode 4 project.
PC gamers have been desperate for a new Half Life game for years and we can only hope that one day Valve will return to the franchise, although as each year passes, it seems less likely to ever happen. One day the phrase “Half Life 3 confirmed” might turn out to be true and that would be huge.
