Operation: Matriarchy Reviews

this game was torture from start to finish, dont even bother shooting at the enemies, they are just an annoyance and theres thousands of them these developers think hiding the exit behind ammo crates so you cant see it = masterpiece game. Every single level is like that horrible sounds not sure why this game was made at all. I would be a happier human if i never noticed it.

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.