Originally Posted by Revenant

Maybe the next Half-life went through so many iterations that it turned into Ricochet 2?

Gordon Freeman? People wanted a new character.

Gravity gun? Overused mechanic.

Walking? Overdone.

Borealis? Cut.

The arctic? That has been cut since before Half-life 2 itself shipped. The employee handbook even mentions this.

The helicopter to the arctic? It would be better from a story perspective to start in a different way.

So, they ended up with a nameless character, disks, bouncing, and a whole new game that was similar enough to an old game that they left it. The Ricochet hype was to test the waters to see if fans would become endeared to the concept instead of a new Half-life.