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Hi, and welcome to episode six of ValveTime Top 5,
the first to feature a brand new, shorter format.
Valve are well known for being masters of game narrative,
and I’m sure we can all agree that we’ve had some great cliffhangers over the years.
In this episode, we’ll be taking a look at some of the finest Valve has to offer
while also revisiting some of the endings which just made us scream for more,
regardless of whether we ever got it or not.
Obviously, this episode will feature a few significant spoilers for a few of Valve series,
so don’t say we didn’t warn you!
Now, let’s get started.
Number 5
“What’s this? ValveTime’s fifth choice isn’t even a game?!”
“Bah, madness!” I hear you cry.
Don’t worry; we haven’t gone mad... yet.
Our fifth choice actually takes on the form of two separate pieces of media
crammed into one almighty cliffhanger as part of Mann vs. Machine’s official reveal
back in August 2012.
The cliffhanger endings presented in both the "Blood Brothers" comic and the Mann vs. Machine teaser trailer
appropriately flipped the entire Team Fortress universe on its head
for arguably one of the largest changes to come to the game since the release way back in 2007.
While many may claim to hate the gamemode, calling it repetitive, or dull, or whatever,
we’re sure few can deny the brilliant manner both endings managed to build the excitement
and hype for the major new gamemode.
Killing off two of the most important figures in the series
and drawing a truce between the series’ titular teams
before pitting our favorite Team Fortress characters against a seemingly unstoppable horde
of giant robotic replicas was a brilliant move
which perfectly complimented and concluded a two year long alternate reality game.
Number 4
To prove we haven’t become totally obsessed with comics and videos,
let’s talk about an actual video game! (Shocking, I know.)
As the first of three (okay, two) episodic sequels to Half-Life 2,
it was pretty important for Half-Life 2: Episode One to grab players and keep them interested
in the characters and settings we had all grown to love
while also moving the story forwards in a meaningful manner.
Concluding the episode with an intense boss battle followed
by a potentially life threatening explosion accompanied with a sharp, sudden cut-to-black
continues to stand as one of the highlights of the entire game.
But, it obviously wasn’t enough for Valve to just leave us hanging with a black screen,
as the ending of Episode One includes the only in-game teaser trailer the company has ever created.
Previewing large, open environments, brand new enemy types,
and the continuation of the on-going narrative, the trailer managed to not only surprise us,
but to get us far more excited for things to come, even after Alyx’s chilling final line.
[Alyx Vance O.S.] Oh my god... Gordon...
Number 3
Now, you probably thought we’d continue the trend of talking about games from here on,
but that’s exactly what we wanted you to think!
That’s right, we’re back to talking about a comic,
except this time we’re talking about Left 4 Dead.
As many of us know, the grand finale for the original Left 4 Dead
appeared as a rather extensive 178-page comic book entitled “The Sacrifice,”
which followed the events surrounding Francis, Louis, Zoey, and Bill
after their rescue at the end of the Blood Harvest campaign.
The comic covered a number of interesting topics,
including the origin stories of the game’s cast
and how the group managed to meet up with the Left 4 Dead 2 survivors during "The Passing,"
but the ending is what interested us the most.
For "The Sacrifice," Valve decided to go against the series’ replayable design philosophy
to permanently kill off Bill,
making it impossible for them to reintroduce him into the series further down the line.
While the comic was designed to give closure for fans of the original cast,
the comic’s concluding page has only made us want more.
With Bill dead, Louis badly injured, and the remaining three sailing out towards a tropical island,
we were all faced with the burning question of “what happens next?!”
To date, Valve never continued the story beyond this point,
but we’re certainly excited to see if the fates of Zoey, Louis, and Francis
will be explored further in a future Left 4 Dead game.
Number 2
With Portal becoming a surprise instant classic back when it landed in 2007,
it was understandable when the gaming community began demanding more from the series
mere seconds after finishing the game.
While the game as a whole was easily good enough to warrant a sequel,
the ending in particular managed to wrap up the game perfectly
while also allowing our minds to wander about the possibilities
of how the series could move forwards in the future.
With GLaDOS seemingly destroyed,
Chell left unconscious on the tarmac of the Aperture Science car park, and the facility in ruins,
the possibilities were endless!
And yet, even though the original ending was perfect,
Valve just couldn’t leave it alone, oh no no no...
On March 3rd 2010, the ending was tweaked to show Chell being dragged back towards the facility
by a mysterious robot figure we now know as the Party Escort Bot.
This updated ending was even more important than the first,
as we were finally provided with a vital hint regarding where the series may be headed
or what we could expect next, and we think it’s safe to say our excitement paid off in the end.
However, as we already mentioned, not all of Valve’s cliffhangers have been resolved,
which... brings us to number 1.
[Party Escort Bot O.S.] Thank you for assuming the party escort submission position.
Number 1
Yeah, you probably already guessed this would happen, but whatever—
deal with it!
While this might seem like the obvious choice or the easy way to end this episode,
we do legitimately feel the ending for Half-Life 2: Episode Two is the finest Valve have ever created.
Unlike Episode One, Episode Two didn’t feature an in-game teaser trailer, making the impact of...
[SPOILER ALERT]
...Eli’s death even more tragic and heartbreaking.
With the most at stake and the largest emotional impact by far,
the shocking ending of Episode Two pained us at the time,
but has unfortunately managed to hurt us even more over the years
as we continue to wait patiently for a sequel even after six long years.
It’s pretty fitting for Valve’s greatest cliffhanger to also stand as their longest unresolved.
Maybe one day we’ll get to see beyond the final moments of Eli’s life...
...maybe one day.
[Alyx Vance] Dad!
[Alyx] Oh, my god...
[Alyx] No... [sobbing]
[Alyx] No...
[Alyx] Oh, my god...
[Alyx] Dad, no...
[Alyx] Don’t leave me...
[James] So there you have it, our Top 5 Valve Cliffhangers!
Now that you know our feelings on the subject,
be sure to post your own thoughts and opinions in the comments below.
From now on, our future Top 5 episodes will feature this short but sweet approach,
featuring far less in-depth discussion in order to get to the point more quickly.
Hopefully you have enjoyed this new format.
Be sure to check out older episodes of ValveTime Top 5, and, as usual,
don’t forget to visit our website, to subscribe to our YouTube channel,
and to follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Thanks for watching and bye for now.