diff --git a/docs/tr1/CHANGELOG.md b/docs/tr1/CHANGELOG.md
index 7047d5433..d7a272bab 100644
--- a/docs/tr1/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/docs/tr1/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
 - changed sprite pickups to respect the water tint if placed underwater (#2673)
 - changed save to take priority over load when both inputs are held on the same frame, in line with OG (#2833)
 - changed the sound dialog appearance (repositioned and added text labels)
+- changed The Unfinished Business strings to default to the OG strings file for the main tables (#2847)
 - fixed the bilinear filter to not readjust the UVs (#2258)
 - fixed disabling the cutscenes causing the game to exit (#2743, regression from 4.8)
 - fixed anisotropy filter causing black lines on certain GPUs (#902)
diff --git a/docs/tr2/CHANGELOG.md b/docs/tr2/CHANGELOG.md
index 11a28dcb9..b897619f2 100644
--- a/docs/tr2/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/docs/tr2/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 ## [Unreleased](https://github.com/LostArtefacts/TRX/compare/tr2-1.0.1...develop) - ××××-××-××
 - added aliases to CLI options (`-gold` becomes `-g/--gold`)
 - added a `--help` CLI option (may not output anything on Windows machines – OS bug)
+- changed The Golden Mask strings to default to the OG strings file for the main tables (#2847)
 - changed the sound dialog appearance (repositioned, added text labels and arrows)
 - fixed Lara voiding if she stops on a tile with a closing door, and the door isn't on a portal (#2848)
 - fixed guns carried by enemies not being converted to ammo if Lara has picked up the same gun elsewhere in the same level (#2856)
diff --git a/src/libtrx/game/game_string_table/common.c b/src/libtrx/game/game_string_table/common.c
index d3f8327dc..9e40ae432 100644
--- a/src/libtrx/game/game_string_table/common.c
+++ b/src/libtrx/game/game_string_table/common.c
@@ -1,9 +1,11 @@
 #include "debug.h"
+#include "filesystem.h"
 #include "game/game_flow.h"
 #include "game/game_string.h"
 #include "game/game_string_table.h"
 #include "game/game_string_table/priv.h"
 #include "game/objects/names.h"
+#include "game/shell.h"
 #include "log.h"
 #include "memory.h"
 
@@ -11,8 +13,6 @@
 
 typedef void (*M_LOAD_STRING_FUNC)(const char *, const char *);
 
-GS_FILE g_GST_File = {};
-
 static struct {
     GAME_OBJECT_ID target_object_id;
     GAME_OBJECT_ID source_object_id;
@@ -27,6 +27,8 @@ static struct {
     { .target_object_id = NO_OBJECT },
 };
 
+static VECTOR *m_GST_Layers = nullptr;
+
 static void M_Apply(const GS_TABLE *table);
 static void M_ApplyLevelTitles(
     const GS_FILE *gs_file, GF_LEVEL_TABLE_TYPE level_table_type);
@@ -90,17 +92,19 @@ static void M_ApplyLevelTitles(
         GF_GetLevelTable(level_table_type);
     const GS_LEVEL_TABLE *const gs_level_table =
         &gs_file->level_tables[level_table_type];
+    if (gs_level_table->count == 0) {
+        return;
+    }
+    ASSERT(gs_level_table->count == level_table->count);
     for (int32_t i = 0; i < level_table->count; i++) {
         GF_SetLevelTitle(
             &level_table->levels[i], gs_level_table->entries[i].title);
     }
 }
 
-void GameStringTable_Apply(const GF_LEVEL *const level)
+static void M_ApplyLayer(
+    const GF_LEVEL *const level, const GS_FILE *const gs_file)
 {
-    const GS_FILE *const gs_file = &g_GST_File;
-
-    Object_ResetNames();
     M_Apply(&gs_file->global);
 
     for (int32_t i = 0; i < GFLT_NUMBER_OF; i++) {
@@ -126,10 +130,44 @@ void GameStringTable_Apply(const GF_LEVEL *const level)
             M_Apply(&gs_level_table->entries[level->num].table);
         }
     }
+}
+
+void GameStringTable_Apply(const GF_LEVEL *const level)
+{
+    Object_ResetNames();
+    ASSERT(m_GST_Layers != nullptr);
+    for (int32_t i = 0; i < m_GST_Layers->count; i++) {
+        const GS_FILE *const gs_file = Vector_Get(m_GST_Layers, i);
+        M_ApplyLayer(level, gs_file);
+    }
     M_DoObjectAliases();
 }
 
+void GameStringTable_Init(void)
+{
+    m_GST_Layers = Vector_Create(sizeof(GS_FILE));
+}
+
 void GameStringTable_Shutdown(void)
 {
-    GS_File_Free(&g_GST_File);
+    if (m_GST_Layers != nullptr) {
+        for (int32_t i = 0; i < m_GST_Layers->count; i++) {
+            GS_FILE *const gs_file = Vector_Get(m_GST_Layers, i);
+            GS_File_Free(gs_file);
+        }
+        Vector_Free(m_GST_Layers);
+        m_GST_Layers = nullptr;
+    }
+}
+
+void GameStringTable_Load(const char *const path, const bool load_levels)
+{
+    char *data = nullptr;
+    if (!File_Load(path, &data, nullptr)) {
+        Shell_ExitSystemFmt("failed to open strings file (path: %d)", path);
+    }
+    GS_FILE *gs_file = GS_File_CreateFromString(data, load_levels);
+    ASSERT(m_GST_Layers != nullptr);
+    Vector_Add(m_GST_Layers, gs_file);
+    Memory_FreePointer(&data);
 }
diff --git a/src/libtrx/game/game_string_table/priv.h b/src/libtrx/game/game_string_table/priv.h
index 00d69b7f0..9533c5989 100644
--- a/src/libtrx/game/game_string_table/priv.h
+++ b/src/libtrx/game/game_string_table/priv.h
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 #pragma once
 
 #include "game/game_flow/enum.h"
+#include "vector.h"
 
 #include <stdint.h>
 
@@ -35,7 +36,7 @@ typedef struct {
     GS_LEVEL_TABLE level_tables[GFLT_NUMBER_OF];
 } GS_FILE;
 
-extern GS_FILE g_GST_File;
-
 void GS_Table_Free(GS_TABLE *gs_table);
+
+GS_FILE *GS_File_CreateFromString(const char *data, bool load_levels);
 void GS_File_Free(GS_FILE *gs_file);
diff --git a/src/libtrx/game/game_string_table/reader.c b/src/libtrx/game/game_string_table/reader.c
index 4cec681d4..5ded75216 100644
--- a/src/libtrx/game/game_string_table/reader.c
+++ b/src/libtrx/game/game_string_table/reader.c
@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
-#include "filesystem.h"
 #include "game/game_flow.h"
 #include "game/game_string_table.h"
 #include "game/game_string_table/priv.h"
@@ -130,24 +129,14 @@ static void M_LoadLevelsFromJSON(
     }
 }
 
-void GameStringTable_LoadFromFile(const char *const path)
+GS_FILE *GS_File_CreateFromString(
+    const char *const data, const bool load_levels)
 {
-    char *data = nullptr;
-    if (!File_Load(path, &data, nullptr)) {
-        Shell_ExitSystemFmt("failed to open strings file (path: %d)", path);
-    }
-    GameStringTable_LoadFromString(data);
-    Memory_FreePointer(&data);
-}
-
-void GameStringTable_LoadFromString(const char *const data)
-{
-    GameStringTable_Shutdown();
-
-    JSON_VALUE *root = nullptr;
+    GS_FILE *const gs_file = Memory_Alloc(sizeof(GS_FILE));
 
     JSON_PARSE_RESULT parse_result;
-    root = JSON_ParseEx(
+
+    JSON_VALUE *root = JSON_ParseEx(
         data, strlen(data), JSON_PARSE_FLAGS_ALLOW_JSON5, nullptr, nullptr,
         &parse_result);
     if (root == nullptr) {
@@ -157,15 +146,16 @@ void GameStringTable_LoadFromString(const char *const data)
             parse_result.error_line_no, parse_result.error_row_no, data);
     }
 
-    GS_FILE *const gs_file = &g_GST_File;
     JSON_OBJECT *root_obj = JSON_ValueAsObject(root);
     M_LoadTableFromJSON(root_obj, &gs_file->global);
-    M_LoadLevelsFromJSON(root_obj, gs_file, "levels", GFLT_MAIN);
-    M_LoadLevelsFromJSON(root_obj, gs_file, "demos", GFLT_DEMOS);
-    M_LoadLevelsFromJSON(root_obj, gs_file, "cutscenes", GFLT_CUTSCENES);
-
+    if (load_levels) {
+        M_LoadLevelsFromJSON(root_obj, gs_file, "levels", GFLT_MAIN);
+        M_LoadLevelsFromJSON(root_obj, gs_file, "demos", GFLT_DEMOS);
+        M_LoadLevelsFromJSON(root_obj, gs_file, "cutscenes", GFLT_CUTSCENES);
+    }
     if (root != nullptr) {
         JSON_ValueFree(root);
         root = nullptr;
     }
+    return gs_file;
 }
diff --git a/src/libtrx/include/libtrx/game/game_string_table.h b/src/libtrx/include/libtrx/game/game_string_table.h
index b14a99c97..cc33f3fe4 100644
--- a/src/libtrx/include/libtrx/game/game_string_table.h
+++ b/src/libtrx/include/libtrx/game/game_string_table.h
@@ -2,7 +2,8 @@
 
 #include <stdint.h>
 
-void GameStringTable_LoadFromFile(const char *path);
-void GameStringTable_LoadFromString(const char *data);
-void GameStringTable_Apply(const GF_LEVEL *level);
+void GameStringTable_Init(void);
 void GameStringTable_Shutdown(void);
+
+void GameStringTable_Load(const char *path, bool load_levels);
+void GameStringTable_Apply(const GF_LEVEL *level);
diff --git a/src/tr1/game/shell.c b/src/tr1/game/shell.c
index 718daeddc..da1fdea06 100644
--- a/src/tr1/game/shell.c
+++ b/src/tr1/game/shell.c
@@ -133,6 +133,8 @@ void Shell_Shutdown(void)
     Console_Shutdown();
     GameBuf_Shutdown();
     Savegame_Shutdown();
+
+    GameStringTable_Shutdown();
     GF_Shutdown();
 
     Output_Shutdown();
@@ -217,7 +219,11 @@ int32_t Shell_Main(void)
 
     GF_Init();
     GF_LoadFromFile(m_ModPaths[m_Args.mod].game_flow_path);
-    GameStringTable_LoadFromFile(m_ModPaths[m_Args.mod].game_strings_path);
+    GameStringTable_Init();
+    if (m_Args.mod != M_MOD_OG) {
+        GameStringTable_Load(m_ModPaths[M_MOD_OG].game_strings_path, false);
+    }
+    GameStringTable_Load(m_ModPaths[m_Args.mod].game_strings_path, true);
     GameStringTable_Apply(nullptr);
 
     Savegame_Init();
diff --git a/src/tr2/game/shell/common.c b/src/tr2/game/shell/common.c
index 3935fca80..b40b7e758 100644
--- a/src/tr2/game/shell/common.c
+++ b/src/tr2/game/shell/common.c
@@ -490,7 +490,12 @@ int32_t Shell_Main(void)
 
     GF_Init();
     GF_LoadFromFile(m_ModPaths[m_Args.mod].game_flow_path);
-    GameStringTable_LoadFromFile(m_ModPaths[m_Args.mod].game_strings_path);
+
+    GameStringTable_Init();
+    if (m_Args.mod != M_MOD_OG) {
+        GameStringTable_Load(m_ModPaths[M_MOD_OG].game_strings_path, false);
+    }
+    GameStringTable_Load(m_ModPaths[m_Args.mod].game_strings_path, true);
     GameStringTable_Apply(nullptr);
 
     GameBuf_Init();
@@ -595,8 +600,9 @@ int32_t Shell_Main(void)
 
 void Shell_Shutdown(void)
 {
+    GameStringTable_Shutdown();
     GF_Shutdown();
-    GameString_Shutdown();
+
     Console_Shutdown();
     Render_Shutdown();
     Text_Shutdown();
@@ -604,6 +610,7 @@ void Shell_Shutdown(void)
     GameBuf_Shutdown();
     Config_Shutdown();
     EnumMap_Shutdown();
+    GameString_Shutdown();
 }
 
 const char *Shell_GetConfigPath(void)