Right, just gonna forgo the intro, because I honestly don't know what else to say but that it's more Black Mesa lol

So, jumping right into things, here we are at what is both the last earthbound chapter and the last completed chapter of the game,

Lambda Core

First off, I just want to say the music for this elevator ride down into the Lambda Complex is really good and you should listen to it:

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

But anyway. I think the biggest thing about "Lambda Core" is the tangible sense of finality about it. This is where Gordon was told to come all the way back in "We've Got Hostiles," and now he's finally here. At the tip of the Lambda Reactor awaits what's left of the Lambda Team, those who know how to put a stop to this whole catastrophe. The end is seemingly in sight, almost within reach.

I think this is where Gordon's mood shifts dramatically, too. All this time he's been so determined to live, but I think, as he climbs the reactor, he decides he's ready to die. After all that he's been through, all that he's seen, he's not scared, not anymore. As things have spiraled farther and farther out of control, into chaos, all that fear has slipped away into a quiet exhaust. He's ready to be done.

Not to say he wants to die. He's just ready to. Prepared to. He began the Resonance Cascade, and he's going to do whatever it takes to end it. He's ready to make a sacrifice to stop the violence. Ready to be the sacrifice to stop the violence, if that's what's necessary.

As for the actual gameplay of the Lambda Complex, the first thing we run into is

More assassins! Except this time, there's five instead of three, and you're in a freaking maze of shipping containers. I mean, look at this place!

And that's not even counting all the side passages and other hiding spots for the assassins to leap around! My suggestion is find a relatively sheltered corner and stick there until you've gotten at least three of the assassins. There are usually two or so that won't leave the side rooms, so you'll have to go seek them out.

And what's the next room that we come to but a big, open space with nothing else in it?

Smells like an ambush to me!

(And it is! A bunch of aliens will teleport in. But down the ramp and to the left is a nice little hiding spot between some crates and a truck, and if you wedge yourself back there, you can just sit there and use the hivehand and the aliens won't be able to find you.)

But aliens taken care of, this guy comes and opens a door for us...

"But I'm sure you understand I couldn't risk opening that door until you had scoured the area. This is the last entrance to the Lambda Complex. Every other has been sealed off to contain the invasion. When we realized you might actually make it here, we drew straws to see who would stay  behind and let you in. Obviously, I drew the short one. My colleagues are waiting at the tip of the Lambda Reactor. Waiting for YOU, I mean. The reactor is shut down right now, but you can activate it on your way up. You'll have to flood the core anyway to get into the Teleportation Labs. You're... not authorized to know about those. But I can see you already know a great deal more than any one man is supposed to."

A few things to note about this conversation-

1) "every other [door] has been sealed off to contain the invasion." Dude, the aliens can literally teleport in. What use is sealing the doors?

2) They didn't believe Gordon was going to make it at first. Reasonable, I suppose, considering the situation. But I wonder what point it was at that they realized he might actually make it? How long has this guy been standing at the door, waiting for Gordon to show up?

3) additionally, I just want to note there the continued growth of Freeman's reputation.

4) "we drew straws to see who would stay  behind and let you in. Obviously, I drew the short one." Buddy, pal, it is an honor to be the one to stay behind to let me in.

5) "My colleagues are waiting at the tip of the Lambda Reactor. Waiting for YOU, I mean." I really just love this line. The importance and responsibility it puts on Gordon's shoulders. They're waiting for him, specifically. Gordon Freeman. They're waiting for him, to help him save the world.

6) I'd also like to point out a fun little parallel here, one that I'll be pointing out again later- the game starts, way back in "Anomalous Materials," with everyone waiting for Gordon to get somewhere to do something important. All those lines, "weren't you supposed to be here half an hour ago?" "They're waiting for you, man! Get going!" And the ever classic, "They're waiting for you, Gordon. In the Test Chamberrrrr." All of them urging Gordon on; their jobs are riding on the success of this experiment, and he's running late! But now, they're waiting on him to save their lives, waiting with baited breath for him to do the impossible, to beat the odds, to stop the aliens. They're waiting for you, Gordon, at the tip of the Lambda Reactor.

7) I also love his ending lines, "You're... not authorized to know about those. But I can see you already know a great deal more than any one man is supposed to." This acknowledgement of everything that Gordon's been through, this recognition that, while Gordon is some sort of one man army, an unstoppable force, he's still just one man who's been through far too much, and no matter how strong and determined he may appear, whatever the outcome of this, it's going to be affecting him for the rest of his life. He may be strong, but that doesn't change the fact that the weight of the world is still a heavy one.

If you stand around and keep talking to him, though, he's got a bit of extra dialogue, too.

"Every inch of this facility is crawling with those fiends. ...A colleague of mine is just a short distance ahead. He  may be willing to donate his experimental weapon to your cause. The remaining members of the science team are waiting for you in the Teleportation Labs."

I mostly want to talk about the opening line, "Now is not the time to lose your nerve, doctor." I think it's just... such an excellent line to follow the whole "you know more than any one man ever should" bit. All that sympathy, but it doesn't change the fact that Gordon is still the one they're relying on to save them.

Up ahead a little ways, we find the guy with the experimental weapon, the proton pack— I mean, gluon gun.

"I built the gluon gun, but I just can't bring myself to use it on another living creature. It doesn't appear that you have any trouble killing things. You can take her with you, but please, promise you'll put her to good use."

I know there's also some more dialogue, something about letting you practice using the gluon gun in this little test range, but apparently I didn't get screenshots of that?

But anyway, one, if you can't bring yourself to hurt things, why the heck are you in weapons research?

And two, I always find it interesting that this guy's opening line is "Were you in weapons research too?" Like, you'd think he'd know who Gordon is, that he was in the Anomalous Materials lab, at the start of the Resonance Cascade. It seems like everyone knows that. But no? This guy doesn't? Despite being one of the Lambda Team? I just always think it's strange. 

But here we go, the gluon gun!

In case anyone's wondering, you wear it like a backpack and it shoots a glowy laser- just like the ghostbusters' proton packs! I always wonder if it was inspired by Ghostbusters, or if its design was just a coincidence.

But moving on,

Woah, jeez, dude! I coulda blown your brains out!

Though it looks like he was almost about to do the same to me lol

"Head on downstairs. The old man's got a plan to get us outta this mess."

And downstairs, we find,

"Look here. You'll need to activate both pumps to flood the reactor. And then that access pipe down there will take you on to the core. Hurry on now, son! Time is short! Both pump stations have been positively overrun. Take these supplies. And hurry! You'll have to open the emergency drain caps for each coolant tank. And what with the protection that HEV suit offers, you're the only one who possibly could!"

So this is what that other guy meant about needing to flood the core to get up to the reactor anyway. We need to swim through the radioactive reactor water to get to the core. So Gordon really is the only one who could do it, everyone else would die in the radiation without an HEV suit!

I didn't really take a whole lot of screenshots of activating the pump mostly because I was too caught up in playing the game to remember to take the screenshots. I guess there also wasn't a whole lot where I thought, "hey, I should talk about this more!"

All I have are these two things:

Yeah, crawl through the collapsed tunnel with a dead guy lying in the debris, great idea!

And,

They have their own life preservers for if someone falls in the reactor water! And yes, you can pull them off the wall and toss them in the water, and they do float!

I love the little details like that.

But with both pumps up and running, if you return to this guy,

"You've turned on the pumps! Now take the access pipe, flood the core, and get on up to the labs without delay!"

Then if you return again after flooding the reactor...

"The reactor is flooded! Go now! While there's still time!"

And if you don't go, but keep trying to talk to him, instead,

"Freeman! There isn't a moment to waste!"

I just love that accusatory finger pointing lol.

But, like he said, it's time to swim in the glowing blue radioactive water.

This seems like a great idea.

What do you mean "NO ACCESS?" This is supposed to be an access pipe! That's the entire reason why I came this way, because that scientist said I could access the core this way!

You do, of course, still have to go that way, despite the sign lol. And it takes you

Right to the bottom of the reactor itself! So, then, next up, we start the climb.