To celebrate Half-Life 2’s 20th anniversary, Valve has released a special update. This update adds the Episode 1 and Episode 2 expansions to the base game, making them all playable as is, along with a two-hour documentary and developer commentary. And so on. The game is also free on Steam until November 18th. Valve’s announcement itself is an interactive experience. If you grab the gravity gun at the bottom of the page, you can pick up and throw almost anything on the screen (including cans). You can then put it in the trash).
“All Half-Life 2 maps have been updated to fix long-standing bugs, restore content and features lost over time, and improve some quality, such as lightmap resolution and fog. It is being considered by Valve’s level designers,” the team said. The release notes are extensive, including updates to graphics settings, gamepad controls, and the Steam deck menu. Valve also released an old demo video from Half-Life 2’s development.
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The anniversary is also good news for those who weren’t able to get their hands on the behind-the-scenes book “Raising the Bar,” which was published in 2004. This book has since become a coveted collector’s item. A second expanded edition is scheduled for release in 2025. This version adds concept art from Episodes 1 and 2, as well as “ideas and experiments for a third episode that never came to fruition.”
