It’s a shame Arkane Studios’ Ravenholm was cancelled. That would have definitely filled the large Half-Life hole us fans have felt for some time. However, a modding team has been on the case with a custom story that lets us experience the creepy mining town some more.
From the people that brought us the Raising the Bar project – an overhaul of Half-Life 2 that breathes new life into the iconic FPS – comes Raising the Bar: Salvation. In this mod, we fill the shoes of Father Grigori, the pastor of Ravenholm who watches over Gordon Freeman in the official game, as he continues his story.
We get to trek back through the abandoned location, in which the devout man intends to burn the entire place down. You can download the mod here. The above video says you’ll also need to install the Division 2.1 file from the Raising the Bar: Redux mod in order for Salvation to work.
The holiest shotgun-wielder around
What makes this slightly intriguing is its approach to combat. The team has said that resources are a bit more scarce, and players will only have a limited amount of supplies. With just a shotgun, custom mines, and a Duke Nukem-style kick, it becomes more about picking one’s battles.
Father Grigori was definitely one of the most interesting characters in Half-Life 2. While only in the one section of the game, and not always visible on-screen, his presence is often felt by the player, as gunfire and manic laughs are heard in the distance.
He’s part of what makes the Ravenholm chapter such a standout. While we may never know what happens to Gordon Freeman in any future Half-Life installments, Salvation at least fills in some of the side narrative. And isn’t that just as important?
