This game caught me off guard, like BOOM and you'll be like what, why, what are you talking about.
All I was looking for was a source engine Half-Life 2 reskin but it turned out to be my Half-Life 3 Of The Year.
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It's hard to overlook 13 years of work in a single game. Such details and scales all over the place within a cyberpunk setting world, and with all the love and wild imaginations put into one game comes the best immersion I've had in a FPS game. No matter where you are there's always something to look at and the world is filled with arts & cultures to the brim that I had to slow down my pace to appreciate them. Yeah, people probably buy girls bath water and used underwear from vending machines on their way home before they are old enough to sell their bodies to corporations' evil science project in exchange of uploading their minds to a virtual heaven. Typical cyberpunk stuff, sprinkled evenly.
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Layout wise, G String is linear but often times I questioned myself: is that the truth behind the veil? I'm more than willingly to be deceived by the design philosophy of 'More is more', so that I never knew where to go or what to do at first glance but naturally explored the world a bit and it would always lead me to an exit, sooner or later. Even then the maps always left me an illusion of freedom that there must exist an alternative route given the complexity of the environment. I've never felt like I 'fully' explored an area before I accidentally stumble into the next.
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The level design & the environment are a duo I have to mention together. This game is notorious for its obscure puzzle design and indeed for several times I found myself stuck in a place, wandering around and checking every single object in the environment to figure out what I was supposed to do to proceed. Pure confusion. Pure frustration. But those golden 'No way, impossible' moments were then, surprisingly, turned into 'No way, that worked' moments after a ton of trials & errors given enough patience and some inspiration even after I quit the game and came back later with new ideas to be tested. The environment is both neat and busy at the same time and in a good sense. Useful items stick out to a seasoned FPS player's eyes. Visual cues are helpful but not blatant. And I was in awe for those BOOM moments in game. After all I was playing as an escapee who had no idea where to hide or whom to fight against. The whole world is a huge, messy and hazardous mystery that constantly confronted me wherever I ran. Lil' tip here, use F6 to quick save often, load with F9, you'll need it.
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The tricks to lubricate the levels almost got old that many players complained about they don't want to crawl in another vent on the wall or drop down another hole on the ground. But one thing did the job consistently throughout my single playthrough: the Music.
You wanna juice up a gun fight happening in a tight corridor? Slap some synthwave music.
You wanna admire the boundless metropolis with both neoclassicism and futurism buildings? Slap some synthwave music.
You wanna have a rest on the train? Slap some synthwave music.
You wanna bring some life to a lifeless factory? Slap some synthwave music.
You wanna enjoy a fleet of fighters swarming a destroyer in the void outer space? Slap some synthwave music.
You get the point? Here is some more synthwave music, please, take it, before dev slaps it and you'll still like it.
It's like drugs that kept me moving in a devastating world.
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All in all, this is a raw masterpiece, but we know medium rare is the way to go.
My skills and appetite have been tested. I survived, and I know there won't be another game like G String in the near future. Cheers.