Developer: Matter Team
Platform: PC (Reviewed)
Genre: Action, Massively Multiplayer, FPS
Publisher: Gaijin Entertainment
Active Matter is a hardcore shooter. This game is developed Matter Team and is published by Gaijin Entertainment. Active Matter is an extraction shooter that implements mechanics from other games. Currently, Active Matter is in early access through the Gaijin store and will eventually be released on Steam and consoles in 2026.
Active Matter is an online FPS game where there are several modes for you to play solo or with a squad of up to three. Raids can be played in several locations scattered across Dalniy Island and lush African landscapes that deliver both PvPvE and PvE modes. In PvPvE missions, you will fight both monsters corrupted by active matter and rival operatives that are aiming to collect the same loot. Anomalies and threats, based on this tactical shooter, make for an exciting experience.
Active Matter offers players to play online. Playing online with up to 3 players and having the ability to choose between three servers allows for a decent connection without much lag. In our squad, someone was based in Asia and Europe and even with the server being set to Europe, the player based in Asia was not having connection issues, which was good to see. My main issue with the game was that when loading up a raid mission by yourself, I wished there were an option to join public lobbies so you have the ability to play with others. Now, of course, you can look for a group through the game’s official Discord Server, but an option in-game would be sufficient as well. When it comes to playing with friends, it’s a lot more fun and seems less challenging than playing by yourself.
Active Matter introduces you to an in-game tutorial that thoroughly sets up how the controls and mechanics work, which is nicely explained via the narrator. The game can be played either on keyboard/mouse or controller. Vroggo tried both methods and said the following, “I preferred M&K. Moving around and shooting was fine, but it seemed like the game wasn’t optimised around the controller. There were a lotta unbound keys on the controller (more than what it could handle) compared to the keyboard that you have to configure yourself. So I didn’t bother and switched since I’d be missing out on some of the controls. I find playing on M&K easier anyway when playing shooters since it’s easier to aim.” Controls themselves were smooth with no noticeable delays; the only issue was that the melee attacks were not clean. This may be an issue with the animation rather than the controlling, as your melee hits sometimes look as if they’re hitting, but truly don’t. My main criticism of the game’s tutorial is that the narrating ‘AI lady’ does a good job at explaining certain mechanics, but the game does not allow players to try out things step by step, which I feel should be offered when you unlock things like the replicator and whatnot.
The visuals of Active Matter feature a hyperrealistic aesthetic that resembles elements taken from PUBG and Prey. The first-person view emphasises immersion, and when handling guns, it feels like a realistic setting. What I really enjoyed was the level of detail added to the environment for this game, which seems like it would be somewhere in the real world. I also thought the designs for the mutants were extremely intriguing, though some of the attack animations felt a bit finicky. The ambience with the environmental sounds is terrific in my opinion, creating unsettling vibes and audio cues that help trigger the player in the right direction or away from possible danger. Though I do think that in some areas, trying to figure out the direction from ‘directional audio’ of certain mutants was not very defined, and in some cases, when so many threats are near you, some audio gets suppressed.
What I really enjoyed about this tactical shooter is its blend of sci-fi elements that introduces SCP, mutants, and military-like operatives. The setting and the locations for this game heavily emphasise an atmosphere that is thrilling and keeps you on your toes. Active Matter, as stated earlier, offers several different modes, and the main type of progression is through the Monolith levels, which are challenging and require you to prioritise your build.
As someone who has not really played many games in this sort of genre, I did find my first few hours in the game to be overwhelming. It felt as if I was thrown into raids and extraction points with so many things to do and not really having a clue about how to build my loadout. Active Matter introduces a system where you collect loot such as weapons, armour, health items and each time you enter a raid, you get to create pre-sets. This was the most confusing thing I had encountered, and it took quite a while before I figured out what was needed. For instance, when I was playing through a Monolith level, I was worried as to why my ammo would finish right away and why the gun would not reload a new ammo pack when I had ammo pouches left. It wasn’t until I played the levels a couple of times that I found you need to do some things manually.
The monsters in Active Matter are fast, powerful and dangerous, and we learned it the hard way that you can not just rush up on them. When entering buildings or scoping out bare grounds, you need to think twice about how to explore certain areas. You can never be too sure that a target is not present. The maps for Active Matter are densely packed and seem decently sized, giving players several extraction points and quests to carry out. The best way to approach these raids is to use the environment to your advantage. What is really good about Active Matter is that the arsenal at your disposal is versatile and solid, giving players the ability to use snipers, flamethrowers, shotguns, SMGs, and pistols against monsters. Guns are also customisable, where you can add attachments and much more.
We are very thankful to have codes to play with a full squad, who had the following to say about Active Matter. First, Vroggo said the following: “The PvE portion of Active Matter can get quite overwhelming at first due to the amount of enemies ready to swarm at you when they notice you. I find that the game can get less intimidating and lift some of the difficulty when playing a run with a friend. But even then, it’s almost always certain the run will end if you go in unprepared, especially with insufficient amounts of ammo, since it’s hard to loot around for a resupply of ammo. But other than that, the looting, monsters, and objectives offered on each map give the run direction. The coolest and mind-bending part of the game was the enemies and the environment-altering features of the map. I overall had fun playing the game despite struggling to survive many times.”
Second, Moody said the following, “First of all, we were giving codes that were part of the premium edition (there are four different bases to the game that can be purchased) of the game, which gives players starting credit, crystallised active matter, isolated raid pass and many more items. This basically meant that we started off with items that could be used to upgrade our items and buy better things. What it made me realise was that Active Matter is a game that requires a long playtime and grinding to be able to build and collect the loot that seems right to you. Besides just the weaponry, you get to pick between a few character models, each with different perks and passives that got me more intrigued in trying each of them out. Besides the Monolith levels, there is a game mode similar to ‘capture the flag’, which I thought was a fun addition to the game, where you can break away from the challenging raids and just enjoy shooting people in several rounds. Active Matter can be a bit daunting, but I would say that it is definitely worth your money, as there is so much to do. Of course, the game is still in Early Access and Active Matter is bound to get tweaked and better with its release, but there is so much for you to explore and try out.”
Overall, Active Matter strikes a compelling balance between tactical shooting and sci-fi survival horror, offering players a mix of tension, strategy and cooperative fun. While it has areas that could benefit from refinement, the core experience is engaging, atmospheric, and rewarding once you learn its mechanics. The combination of immersive environments, challenging enemies, and versatile loadouts makes every raid feel unpredictable and high-stakes. With its Early Access state showing strong potential and plenty of content already available, you should definitely be on the lookout for Active Matter.
Overall: 7.5/10
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