"It's just one'a those days, I guess."
Gordon arrives at his primary place of work, the Anomalous Materials lab, where the computer systems are having some issues. After acquiring his Mark IV Hazardous Environment Suit, he heads downstairs to participate in an experiment to analyze some strange crystal in the Anti-Mass Spectrometer. Something goes wrong, leading to a Resonance Cascade that devastates the facility and knocks Gordon out.
This Chapter contains examples of:
- Antepiece: Moving around the Test Chamber eases the player into navigating more complex environments, with more specific goals, which will help them survive in the coming chapters.
- Artificial Atmospheric Actions: "Someone has taken my glasses again..."
- Brick Joke: Gordon can destroy a frozen casserole in a microwave in the lounge, aggravating some nearby staff. This is brought up again over twenty years later in-universe (nine years out-of-universe), in Episode Two.
- But Thou Must!: You can try to go down to the lab without your Hazard Suit... but the guard will turn you away, directing you to go find it.
- Creator Cameo: The names on the lockers are, apart from Freeman's, the names of Valve staff members.
- Easing into the Adventure: Again, this chapter is very slow and calm, in a buildup to what's to come.
- Equipment-Based Progression: Can't reach the lab without the HEV suit.
- Gone Horribly Wrong: The combination of the Anti-Mass Spectrometer and the enigmatic crystal results in destructive shockwaves that trash the facility.
- Iconic Outfit: Gordon gets his distinctive orange-and-black Hazardous Environment Suit.
- Mysterious Watcher: The strange man from the tram is back, arguing with a scientist in his office. Despite the fact that his tram was going the other way.
- Scenic-Tour Level: The other half of the Black Mesa Commute's source. This time the player has some degree of freedom to explore the Black Mesa facility on foot and meet with everyone else, before they put on the HEV suit and get to work proper.
- Sidetrack Bonus: If you check Freeman's locker before heading down to the test chamber, you can get an early shield battery.
- Wham Shot: During the Resonance Cascade, the player is momentarily and inexplicably teleported to a strange landscape full of bizarre creatures.
