Battling your way through an eerie research facility infested with strange creatures? Check. Lots of dudes in lab coats? Check. A trip to a sub-zero location? Check. Despite having all the hallmarks of what FPS fans expect from the still-absent Half-Life 3, this is actually Invariant, a new first-person shooter that certainly channels plenty of energy from Valve’s iconic series.
Invariant is built by Faros Interactive, a small team filled with self-professed “die-hard” fans of classic FPS games like Half-Life. On aesthetics alone that appreciation becomes immediately clear, but when you delve into the potential plot line of the on-ice Half-Life 2 Episode 3, the similarities become even starker.
If you remember Marc Laidlaw’s infamous blog post from years ago (which all but confirmed where Episode 3 would’ve gone if Valve ever made it) you’ll know that the research ship Borealis would’ve played a big role. Half-Life 2’s first two episodes already told us that Borealis is stationed in the Arctic, and old concept art shows the ship frozen in a huge wall of ice. While taking place at the opposite pole, Invariant will transport you to a sub-zero location to give a flavor of what we’ve all been missing out on due to Episode 3’s continued absence.
It takes place in an Antarctic research facility called Nabla Station in the late 1990s. The purpose of the station is to “unlock the secrets of a potential world-saving energy source buried deep beneath the ice” and an enormous drill can be found within it. However, the station’s AI has “gone rogue” and strange events begin to occur in the facility and within its underground tunnels. Using an arsenal of weapons and puzzle-solving tools, you’ll need to navigate the facility while fending off AI-driven machines, alien-like creatures, and “deranged” researchers.
You’ll also be able to explore the harsh environments outside the station too – snippets from the game’s reveal trailer show you scaling up a frozen cliff face with ice picks and zipping about on a snowmobile with an ominous-looking blood splatter on it.
Invariant currently has no release date or rough launch window, but the developer has confirmed it will be coming to Steam. You can wishlist it right here.
While Invariant tells its own story outside of the Half-Life universe, its inspirations are plain to see. If you want something that’s more directly aiming to give you the Episode 3 that Valve won’t, then you should also take a look at what the team behind Project Borealis is cooking up. Project Borealis recreates Half-Life movement and assets in Unreal Engine 5 and aims to properly tell the story of Half-Life 3 that Laidlaw alluded to in his post. It’s also got a free prologue that you can play right now, if you fancy it.
Until either of these projects emerge, why not take a trip down memory lane with some of these other classic old PC games. Alternatively, you can find even more memorable storylines in our best single-player games list.
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