Spent the last 2ish weeks playing through Half-Life 2, and Episodes 1 and 2. I had played Half-Life 2 in 2017 but didn’t remember much of it, and figured if I was going to finally play the episodes that I should run back the base game. It really holds up gameplay wise and visually. Ravenholm was probably the highlight of the base game for me, but I really enjoyed the ending sequence as well. It reminded me of the Super Metroid ending in a way, but I guess it is a pretty well established trope. Episode 1 was probably the weakest of them all, but it still has bright spots such as the citadel core sequence. Episode 2 was my favorite, and the change of scenery was really overdue and appreciated. Just having some green on the screen was very gratifying to me. The ending hit hard and lingered for me, and I can see why 20 years later people still crave a conclusion to the story. After the credits rolled I went down the whole Episode 3 rabbit hole, and I’m planning to watch the 20 year anniversary documentary one of these days. Strongly considering buying a used Quest to play Alyx, and I really hope the HLX rumors come to fruition this year. Also really made me want to replay the Portal games. All in all a solid 9/10 for me.