If you clicked on the link to get to this article, then you’re probably one of those still waiting around for Half-Life 3. The wait–or mere speculation that the game exists–has been unbearable, especially after the cliffhanger ending of Half-Life 2: Episode 2.
People wondering about the next installment of the video game franchise are going to have to wait a little bit longer (or a lot a bit, who knows). But those who have invested their time in the licensed, fan-made comic book series, Half-Life: A Place in the West, will be rewarded with the third chapter on July 21, titled The Pit. A release trailer going along with the announcement made by Valve can be found below.
A Place in the West first began as a fan-made series with no backing from Valve whatsoever. But once the popular gaming company discovered the series, they officially licensed it so that the creators could use the Half-Life IP. Valve produces only excellent titles when it comes to video games, so one can guess why they decided to back the comic series: it’s an awesome depiction of the world that so many people have waited an eternity to return to.
Half-Life 3 may not be coming out anytime soon, but at least fans of the series can immerse themselves further in the universe that Valve has created with an excellent story, although unrelated to the main protagonist’s of the video game, Gordon Freeman. This may be the case, but the creators still stated the following.
“A Place in the West is also set in the interim between Half-Life and Half-Life 2, which means that you needn’t be familiar with Valve’s later games anyway. That isn’t to say, however, that you won’t find exciting things to enjoy if you are familiar with the series.”
The story of the comic book series still remains in control of the creators, so Valve has no part in the writing process. The creators are Michael Pelletier and Ross Joseph Gardner. The first two chapters of the series were released on Steam last year; The Pit coming on July 21.
Readers might be confused as to how a comic can be read on Steam. It’s a thing, don’t worry. The creators say on the Steam page that “The comic is displayed and presented in an app designed by ourselves for the best possible reading experience. Through a fully-animated menu screen, derived in style from the menus of Half-Life 2, you can quickly and easily navigate between the comic pages and chapters, adjusting zoom & language options, the credits, and the extras section.”
For more information on the series, check out its Steam page. You can download the first chapter for free, while chapter 2 is $1.99 (the same price will be tagged on to chapter 3, The Pit, and further issues that are released).
