I don't really have much to say other than this was just a continuation of Half-Life 2, personally I would've preferred if this game had contained everything in episode 2 just so the game felt more substantial. The ending in episode 1 was just not that rewarding and just felt like they needed to stop somewhere in order to get to episode 2. Still quality but its definitely the weakest link in all of the games.

my play through of all the games: https://youtu.be/PPEarmx4FAI