Some playthroughs that I watched on YouTube rush through the sequence, anticipating what’s to come. That’s where you find a ladder up into what appears to be a hydroelectric power plant.įrom here, it’s the timing of the game’s triggers that is most important to the experience. The locks also block the airboat, leaving the player to backtrack.
Eventually, the player is confronted with a massive set of locks - 20-foot tall gates designed to block the flow of water downstream. That means there’s always a health pack to be found, and - if you’re lucky - a word of encouragement from a non-player character. These are often little more than dimly lit alcoves in the sewers, or water-logged apartments filled with ruined furniture.Įvery time you show up at one of these safehouses, there’s an orange lambda painted on the wall or a blue jumpsuited refugee to greet you.
(The video above also shows how you can replay the sequence for yourself - just use the tilde key to open up the debug menu and select the save point as shown.)Īfter fleeing City 17, the player, as Gordon Freeman, makes their way from safehouse to safehouse.
