Brief clip of Firewatch follow-up In the Valley of Gods looks amazing

Matthew Wilde, visual effects developer at Valve, recently shared a brief glimpse of Campo Santo game In the Valley of Gods, development for which was put on hold in 2019.

The six-second clip includes a first-person perspective of the archaeologist-like figure shown in the game’s sole trailer as she and the player character move through a dark, water-filled cave towards a sunlit exit.

You may remember Wilde’s name from his work on Half-Life: Alyx, specifically the amazing shaders he created to simulate realistic liquid inside the virtual reality game’s many, many glass bottles.

“I do often tend to work on liquidy things – this was the water test we did at Campo Santo pre-Valve move,” Wilde explained alongside the new In the Valley of Gods footage.

In the Valley of Gods was meant to be Campo Santo’s follow-up to critical darling Firewatch. It was first revealed at The Game Awards in 2017 with a 2019 release window. The following year, the studio was acquired by Valve, and its staff was integrated into projects like Half-Life: Alyx and Dota Underlords, work that Campo Santo co-founder Jake Rodkin suggested prohibited development on In the Valley of Gods. The game’s Steam page now lists a Dec. 2029 release date.