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Half-Life 2: Lost Coast
Lost Coast, isn’t a videogame. In fact, it is barely even a videogame level. Being about 1/5th the length of your standard Half-Life chapter. Half-Life 2: Lost Coast is a tech demo and was released about a year after Half-Life 2. Being released on October 27th, 2005, Lost Coast is a free update to anyone who owned Half-Life 2 on Windows.
Lost Coast was created to showcase one major thing that Valve had been working on. Which is their High Dynamic Range Rendering Software (Or HDR for short) HDR allows for more realistic lighting effects, like water refracting light or blooms. Half-Life 2: Lost Coast was very graphically impressive at the time it was released (As most Valve games tend to be) It even comes with a Video Stress-Test option to see if your computer would be able to run it or not. Nowadays if you can’t run Lost Coast, you might have bigger problems.
HDR is cool and all, but you might be asking “Why should I play Half-Life 2: Lost Coast?” I think you should play it for the Developer Commentary System (or DCS for short) Half-Life 2: Lost Coast essentially plays just as the base game would, but compressed into one 15 minute package. That's right. 15 minutes. It’s very short, but it’s very sweet.
It is only 15 minutes long because Lost Coast was initially supposed to be a segment of the Highway 17 chapter of Half-Life 2. Eventually, it was cut before release. You spawn in with all your tools of the trade (Crowbar, Gravity Gun, etc.) and immediately get to action as you start fighting your way up a cliff. Eventually you reach a monastery where you disable some kind of Combine machinery, take out a few Combine Soldiers and Poison variants of the Headcrabs. The level ends with a rocket fight with a Combine Hunter Chopper, and it very quickly after fades to black.
There is only 1 character introduced in Half-Life 2: Lost Coast. Being a fisherman, who helps you progress, gives a little exposition, and sees you off at the end of the level. The thing that stands out the most about him are his boots. Reminding me a lot of Pyro’s from TF2. They really showcase the HDR very well because of all the reflections that Valve came up with especially for the Source Engine.
Fun Fact: Highway 17’s original name was “Coast” during development. Hence why it is called “Lost Coast” As I mentioned previously, the main reason why you should play this game is for the Developer Commentary System. Lost Coast was actually the first game that Valve used the DCS with. The DCS is fascinating for Half-Life fans or if you possibly design games yourself. They go over everything from the art style, to how they approach gameplay, to how the Source Engine works.
For example, they talk about how the cliffside was made in reference to the cliff fight in Half-Life 1’s “Surface Tension” chapter. They also talk about how HDR is now able to “Replicate the Human eye” with the Source Engine with regards to things such as water refraction and blooms. One of the most interesting Commentary Nodes is when they talk about their approach to creating set pieces, and base puzzles around those set pieces.
They even talk about how they balance those puzzles with exploration and combat to make sure that the game doesn’t end up being boring or repetitive. Developer Commentary gives you a much deeper appreciation for Valve and how they create these highly tailored, well made experiences. It really makes you admire the game that much more.
I would recommend Lost Coast. Short and sweet. Lets you dive into the mindset of one of the biggest game developers in the world. If you’re a game developer, then this kind of information can be invaluable to your own game design. And if you are a fan of Half-Life or Valve games in general and love hearing a deeper dive into the behind-the-scenes of some of Valve’s best titles, then the Lost Coast is your place to be. 7.8/10