Terrified of the number 3, and many of their most famous games lack sequels after the 2nd entry, despite fans’ waiting years, someValvegames out in the wild exist that audiences may not know about that were actually in development, or even completed that were never released. Thanks toThe Final Hours of Half-Life: Alyx,Valvefans were permitted to see the inside of the titan of the game industry, and some of their shelved projects.
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Some fans might be upset to know of these canceled Valve games and imagine a different future in which they would have experienced some of these games themselves. Valve seems to always know what they are doing when it comes to the gaming market, so to see Valve games that were canceled is a sore subject for many, especiallyHalf-Lifefans.
It’s no secret thatLeft 4 Dead 2has been long awaiting a sequel for years. Fans adore theLeft 4 Deadseries and for good reason. Few games have been able to achieve the replayability and joys ofLeft 4 Dead 2, in which players aretasked with shooting, slashing, and destroying countless zombie hordes through many unique missions in a co-op game.
Despite many developers fromLeft 4 Dead 2leaving for spin-offs and inspirations, aLeft 4 Dead 3has never come to light. Few details exist about the actualLeft 4 Dead 3, which include the advancement of the Source 2 engine that allowed an open-world game set in Morocco, with hundreds of zombies on screen at once.
6Half-Life 3
The number 3 is sacred toHalf-Lifefans. Players desperately want to get their hands on the third entry to the mainline game. Yet, it seems that spin-offs are all that can be had. Fans may have been teasing acontinuation of Gordon Freeman’s storyinHalf-Life: Alyx, butHalf-Life 3is still a dream to many, with multiple versions around.
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Half-Life 3was apparently in development for just a year before it was shut down. The little details surrounding the game have plagued the internet for years, but apparently, a procedurally generated world would have assisted with the story to create a replayable experience.
5SimTrek
VR has been the latest conquest of Valve, andSimTrekwas set to be a sci-fi experience fully enjoyed through VR. Details are scarce, but Valve brought in the development team from the Kerbal Space Program. This game was shelved during the production ofHalf-Life: Alyx, but based on its name and the team, it’s safe to assume a few things.
PerhapsSimTrekwas set to be a game where players build their spacecraft but in a VR space, or, it could be aspace explorationgame. The name ‘Sim’ and ‘Trek’ implies a simulator game, perhaps inspired by the iconicStar Trekseries.
4Shooter
There’s nothing wrong with a theme park experience, andShootersought to bring that enjoyment to players when it welcomed them to Valve’s stellar VR.Shooterwas supposed to feature assets familiar toHalf-Life 2players, in which fans would fight through short areas for some quick and intensive gunfights.
However, consideringShooterwas scheduled to release alongsideThe Lab, the delay saw the game never release because it was not ready. Players would have seen themselves in aHalf-Lifeworld, but without the story they desire from a continuation.
3A.R.T.I.
One of the more ambitious titles under Valve’s banner would have beenA.R.T.I., a game where players wouldcommit themselves to destructionand creation equally in the vein of games likeMinecraft. However, the game featured many changes, and little remains of the project. It was later canceled after being pushed to a VR game, as Valve put everything they had intoHalf-Life: Alyx.
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As a voxel-based game, players would have free reign withA.R.T.I., and the possibilities are forever under the rug since the cancelation of the game. It’s yet another of Valve’s “what if?” scenarios, and another project that fans will never see.
2RPG
Valve has proved itself a great developer. Even if it takes years, and many of their projects become shelved, their work speaks for itself. Their project, codenamed ‘RPG’, was going to draw inspiration from some incredible and iconic games, likeThe Elder ScrollsandDark Souls. However, the ambition of the project was too high, especially whencombining elementsof iconic RPG games, thus,RPG, never left the conceptual stage.
The experimentation onRPGwas later turned into a single-player concept, based on theDOTAcharacter, Axe. However, this project was also shelved. It would be great to see Valve pursue their own RPG, but it’s looking rather unlikely at this point.
1Borealis
Many elements of theHalf-Lifefranchise remain a mystery to players, like the Borealis ship. The spectacular nature of the Borealis comes from the fact that it crossed the franchises ofPortalandHalf-Life, thanks to existing in aHalf-Lifegame with the creation ofAperture Science. However, even more intriguing, was the fact that the Borealis disappeared, with its secret forever unknown.
Valve was set to explore the Borealis with a game of the same title. This VR game was going to take place on the ship, exploring the timeline betweenHalf-LifeandHalf-Life 2. However, with no gameplay details revealed, or a fleshed-out story, Borealisremains as mysteriousas its namesake.
