IMPORTANT NOTES BEFORE PLAYING - 3 things you need to know in order to enjoy this game.
1: it's in 4:3 aspect ratio so you need to play in 1024×768 or 1280×960 to make sure everything displays properly.
2: for some reason this essential control isn't listed in the game options or tutorial - press G to drop the weapon you're holding! You can only carry 4 guns at a time so you will need to know this in order to use all the different weapons.
3: the game is playable as it comes, but the music doesn't work - so you'll need to get a fan-made patch if you want the soundtrack.

REVIEW:
Operation Matriarchy was a very pleasant surprise for me - I wasn't expecting much due to the multitude of bad reviews, but I was drawn to it for its unique aesthetic and I'm so glad I chose to judge it for myself - this is a genuinely good game in my opinion.

I'll start with the aesthetics - the surreal, creepy cyberpunk/biopunk world of Operation Matriarchy is an extremely unique blend of influences - my guesses for the inspirations behind this are Quake and Star Trek (for the cyborg bodyhorror enemy designs of the Strogg and the Borg), Alien (for Operation Matriarchy's Giger-like organic architecture) and Riven (OM has many "liminal" and "creepily beautiful" feeling locations that make it remind me of Riven more than anything else, despite the game being a different genre).

It's an extremely creative mix of influences, and the game keeps serving up new and different, meticulously handcrafted locations in every level. It's honestly a really impressive effort considering it was a small team, low budget release. If you love games that have unique, weird atmosphere, read no further as it's worth a play through for this alone.

Gameplay - a lot of people are saying this feels bad to control, but I'm puzzled by this - for me the controls were smooth and responsive. The action is fairly basic but it works well enough to add some excitement to the main focus of exploring OM's world as figuring out your path through sprawling and sometimes labyrinthine levels. The general combat and level design feel is a little like Chaser or Alpha Prime, but I think OM is better than both these games as the pacing is tighter and the path forward is never so fiendishly hard to figure out that I needed to check a walkthrough. OM adds an additional layer of interest to the action by including drivable mechs/exosuits - later in the game you unlock a jet pack too, so the gameplay is more varied than many indie shooters.

OM's general themes and atmosphere are very creepy - the twisted enemy designs and their nightmarish environments give a strong edge of horror to the experience, which combines really well with the "backrooms"-like surreal vibe. The dark-yet-trippy experience of Operation Matriarchy is similar to Cruelty Squad and Beyond Citadel to me.

In conclusion - this is an unfairly underappreciated game that swam in a lane of its own. It's full of bold, creative design and does a great job at fascinating the player with unpredictable, beautiful and disturbing scenarios. It runs way more easily than many of the "eurojank" fps games on steam, which is a bonus, but my main complaint is that the music fixing patch should be integrated into the steam release seeing as the game is still "actively" being sold. I actually played through it without getting the patch because I don't mind a quieter experience - I didn't miss it much, but I'd have like to get the full experience without needing to do a DIY fix.

Still - Operation Matriarchy comes highly recommended for fans of dark scifi, liminal/backrooms aesthetics and creatively unique games.

TLDR: Half Life 2 combined with Blade Runner with a sprinkling of Star Wars - an incredibly ambitious project for a small indie team that manages to blow most AAA shooters out of the water.

I love Source Engine games to the point of being mildly obsessed - so don't take it lightly when I say: G-String is possibly THE best SE game aside from HL2 itself (obviously subjective, but I say this with confidence for anyone that loves dark scifi and sheer imagination in their games. For Reference my other favourite SE games are Titanfall 2 and Zeno Clash 1, also both masterpieces of originality)

G String is also quite possibly the most beautiful game I've ever played. It's amazing that with the right attention to detail and some customisation, Source Engine can still facilitate graphics that look better than top-of-the-range modern titles. What the G String team have achieved here is a genuine work of art. This game demonstrates that horsepower is overrated compared to artistry - well designed models, textures, lighting and colour palettes are at least 90% of what makes a game look amazing. A cohesive vision, consistently executed - this is what really makes a game look good (in this way, G String reminds me of Inside - a game that looks really impressive without the need for powerful hardware)

G String is a linear half-like action adventure set in an extreme dystopia in which both humanity and the planet are dying - heavily inspired by Blade Runner and with just as much attention to detail, the environmental storytelling is 10/10. It truly feels like experiencing the collapse of society - this immersion is complemented by the gameplay experience of scrambling through chaotic, destroyed and toxic environments while fighting against overwhelming odds to simply get out of the hellish megacity.

It's an fps at its core but it has a strong hint of survival horror in the variety of challenges ranging from environmental puzzles (both physics based and navigational with lots of unconventional routes that force you to stop and anaylse your surroundings), light platforming, supplies scavenging and occasionally needing to flee rather than killing everything.

A deep cut, but an underrated game some of the navigational challenges remind me of is Chaser - I really like this level design style that doesn't always signpost/handhold - it feels more realistic, making you feel more like a survivor struggling through a hostile world. A more well-known comparison for a similar feeling is the original Jedi Knight game which also had a lot of well-integrated environmental challenges that felt convincingly part of its world.

G String does have some weaknesses too. The voice acting of some characters as well as elements of the story could have been more polished, and it would have been nice to have a few more NPC dialogue interactions (like in HL2) - but I'm also very aware that this game had a MUCH smaller team and budget than Half Life, so it's unfair to hold it to the same standard. Also, some of the cutscenes and in-game set pieces are genuinely at the same level, which is kind of ridiculous.

The devs should be incredibly proud of what they've created here. They've earned a spot in my list of all-time favourite games and I really hope the creator makes another game soon. Something in the same style as G String with immersive sim or rpg elements could work really well. But equally, another half-like to this standard will always be welcome - it's still a surprisingly sparse niche considering how many people love the genre.