No game is more desired than Half-Life 3. Few games have less potential to appear than Half-Life 3. Valve has been claiming for years that they would only work on it if they had ideas that would make it as revolutionary as the first and second, and that doesn’t seem to be happening. Something logical if we consider the impact that these two games had. Something that has not prevented them from working on other projects.
Because over the weekend, something unexpected happened: not only information was leaked, but also several screenshots of Valve’s new game. Which certainly is not Half-Life 3.
Named Deadlock, it is a game that we have known, at least, since 2018. In a video published last Saturday, May 18th, reporter Tyler McVicker, known for covering Valve topics, shared details about Deadlock. Including the fact that it is already being played by several people in a closed alpha outside of Valve. Something that means that, while it is not necessarily close, it is less far from its release than we thought.
Deadlock has been described as a mix of two previous Valve games, Dota 2 and Team Fortress 2. Including in the mix beloved indie games, such as Orcs Must Die, and competitive online games, such as Overwatch, Valorant, and Smite. This mix seems very unique, but the screenshots give us an idea of what the mix is like. With an aesthetic similar to Valorant, lanes like in Dota 2 and Smite, and classes similar to those in Overwatch. Although we can’t deny that we still don’t see where Orcs Must Die fits into all of this.
Something that is quite evident is that they have sought a tone closer to fantasy. With a steampunk setting and characters fighting in European-style cities, the game will have floating rails to quickly move through different points on the map, in the style of BioShock Infinite. Something that confirms the change of style. Not for nothing, Deadlock was going to have a futuristic style, inspired by Half-Life and Portal. But poor results with the test teams led them to try a different style.
As it is evident from its inspirations, and confirmed by McVicker, Valve aims for this to be a competitive game. A mix of shooter and MOBA that can fill a space within the competitive gaming that, after the death of Overwatch, is still to be filled.
Although we don’t have a date or official announcement for the game, it is expected that Valve will announce it in the near future if there are already these kinds of leaks. Meanwhile, it is worth remembering that Valve has been more active in their releases lately. Last September they released Counter-Strike 2, as a replacement for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, their 2012 game. And Gabe Newell himself said last 2021 that, thanks to the success of Half-Life: Alyx, they had gained a lot of momentum to develop new games. Something that gives us hope that we will soon see more of this Deadlock.
