Today, noclip, a well-known game documentary team, unveiled a one-hour, ultra-long live demonstration of ravenholm, a spin-off of the cancelled half-life series, featuring a large number of previously undisclosed gameplay footage and design elements.
The game was first developed by Warren Spector's Junction Point Studio, the father of Breakout, but was later transferred to Arkane Studio by Valve.
The game has been referred to as Half-Life 2: Chapter 4, Return to Levingholm or simply Livenholm at different times, but after Arkane completed about "9-10 levels", it was eventually canceled by Valve.
Levingholm is one of the most impressive levels in Half-Life 2, known as the "Ghost Town" in the Half-Life series for its horror and stealth elements.
However, the length of a single chapter in Half-Life 2 is not enough for players to satisfy, and many players want to see an entire game take place in this place, which is exactly what Arkane Studios' "Levinholm" is about:
A complete story that takes place in the city of Levernholm, where headhunters and zombies are rampant.
City of Lewinholm
At the beginning of the game, players will play as Corporal Adrian Shephard to wake up in a church and listen to Father Grigori.
Gregory was both the priest and the only survivor of the city. Soon after, zombies break through the window and players are forced to flee.
Father Gregory
The hour-long demo also features gameplay-based chapters, such as arc-based killing and puzzle gameplay, the zombie tide in The City of Lewinholm, and more, interspersed with Noclip host Danny O'Dwyer's introduction to the relevant background.
In addition to the iconic physics-based gameplay of the Half-Life series, fans of Arkane Studios will also see many familiar tricks and tactics in this ultra-long real-life demo, such as the ability of players to use arcs to lay elaborate traps.
This design, which gives players the right to choose, also continues into future Arkane's work, such as BioShock 2, Predator, and Death Loop.
An arc that combines killing and puzzle solving
While Livenholm was never fully seen, and the one-hour demo was filled with imperfect material and placeholders, it was still valuable to the player community: never-before-heard background music, cut gameplay in Half-Life 2, and a terrifying headhunter and zombie spree, the Mod production team was also trying to reproduce the map of The City of Lewinholm.
If you're interested in the Half-Life series, Arkane Studios, or the game development process, this issue of precious documentaries is definitely worth a look.