Despite several years' hiatus for some ofValve’s biggest series, the developer has demonstrated an interest in gearing up its classics for reintroduction. WithAperture Desk JobandHalf-Life: Alyx, fans are again being teased with possible rumors of futureValveprojects. Underneath the surface of these games are new foundations for potential sequels or even spin-offs that could pick up where main entries left off.
Even with the momentum driven by fans eager to see a third entry inPortalorHalf-Life, Valve maintains a distance from any rumors or alleged leaks, assuring that its current focus is ongoing projects such asrefining the Steam Deck.Despite this, while Valve has abstained from even hinting toward confirmation of future projects, it is more than happy to toy with fans' expectations.Spoilers forAperture Desk Jobahead.
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The Steam Deck’s Tech Demo
With the launch of Valve’s Steam Deck, fans of thePortalseries were graced withAperture Desk Job: a tech demo set within the universe ofPortal. Intended to showcase the Steam Deck’s capabilities, the game tells an engaging - albeit brief - story that takes players behind the scenes of Aperture Laboratories for a whistle-stop tour ofthe Steam Deck’s unique functionality.
The player takes control as a self-insert protagonist alongside “Grady,” a personality core-turned-assistant. Together they test a toilet production line and, from one mishap to another, ultimately lead to the creation ofPortal’siconic turrets. Blended into this fittingly humorous origin story are gameplay segments examining Steam Deck features such as bumper buttons or dual trackpads. Despite being set within thePortaluniverse,Aperture Desk Jobat first refuses to delve deep into the lore at its fingertips. However, the game’s final moments took a bold step intoPortalcanon.
Picking Up Where Portal 2 Left Off
For the game’s conclusion, Grady takes the player to meet CEO Cave Johnson and pitch their refined toilet turret design; first introduced inPortal 2as the extroverted and eccentric head of Aperture Laboratories. Other than protagonist Chell, human characters don’t typically appear inPortalgames, with Johnson mostly heard in recordings acrossPortal 2and its DLC “Perpetual Testing Initiative” beyond a scattering of portraits throughout the game. As the scene opens into a fancy office with a strange giant head at its center and J. K. Simmons’ voice booms out,Aperture Desk Jobstarts to have fun.
In his pursuit of immortality, Johnson has managed to spare himself a painful death. LikeCaroline becoming GLaDOS,Cave has had his consciousness uploaded to a giant robot head that reveals he has been isolated and alone for four years, having killed or scared away anyone who might have been able to help him. It’s at this point that Cave asks the player pull his plug, wishing to accept death and put an end to his misery. to finish the game, the player has to use Grady’s freshly refined toilet turret to destroy Johnson’s power source.
True to form, in a twist of dark humor, a backup power source activates, saving Johnson before he shuts down and all his office starts to collapse, his head crashes down into the floors the player had been progressing through. It’s an ending worthy ofPortal’slegacy, walking the fine lines between entertaining and ridiculous, and as the game closes off the credits begin to roll with one ofPortal’s now-iconic operatic sequence. Johnson, surrounded by an ensemble of toilet turrets, is very much still alive. At face value, the credits can be enjoyed much like how players have enjoyed any ofPortal’sprevious endings, but it does leave a considerable amount of new threads for future use.
FollowingAperture Desk Job’ssuccess,Portalwriters have spoken upabout the desire to create a new mainline entry in the franchise. WhilePortal 2seemingly closed the door on its main protagonist Chell, the fresh groundAperture Desk Jobhas created for Valve could serve as a springboard for a new mainlinePortalgame.
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Valve’s History of Teasing Projects
As much as fans may wantPortal 3to happen, it is not one of Valve’s confirmed future plans.Aperture Desk Job, for all its success, was only intended to serve as a tech demo, and this isn’t the first timeValve has capitalized on fan-favorite franchises to advertise new hardware. It has done the same withHalf-Life, too. Accompanying the release of Valve’s VR peripherals and Steam VR functionality, games such asAperture Hand LabandHalf-Life: Alyxhelped showcase Valve’s new VR toys.
Similar toAperture Desk Job,Half-Life: Alyxalso played fast-and-loose with its canon, even going so far as to rewrite the ending ofHalf-Life 2to set the stage for a new adventure into the universe after a long hiatus. However, with several years having passed sinceHalf-Life: Alyx’s release, very little concrete news has come out of Valve regarding a new game. Even withAperture Desk Job’srelease andfans datamining an assumed working titleHalf-Life: Citadel, it seemsHalf-Lifehas again returned to development limbo. As much as players may read into games' stories and endings, sometimes a tech demo may be just that.
Left With Valve’s New Normal
Players are left with a new normal of tech demos and leaks, with Valve continuing to play coy about any future entries. It continues to tease players as Gabe Newell and the voice behind GLaDOS featuring inThe Chalkeaters’ parody songabout Valve’s inability to complete a trilogy. As fans wait to see new games, Valve instead continues to lead the gaming industry through Steam and its associated projects, from the Steam Deck to VR.
Valve has already gone on recordsaying it finds pushing games on the basis of fans’ demands or cashing-in is not worthwhile or productive. Many players can agree that in an age of game development saturated with news of delays or rushed releases, developers should create the games they have confidence in and passion for, not because executives see dollar signs.
For now, it seems Valve is at best content with teasing its audiences with the promise of future content. Whether there areany real plans for new Valve gamesin development is anybody’s guess, but players continue to hold out hope that one day they’ll seeValve’s classic franchises likePortalorHalf-Lifeonce again return in full-force.
