Active Matter - Early Access Review
There is no denying that extraction shooters are one of the more popular genres in gaming at the moment, with games like Gray Zone Warfare, Helldivers 2, Hunt Showdown, and Escape From Tarkov being some of the more successful titles and future hopefuls like Arc Raiders and Arena Breakout Infinite on the horizon ready to pounce and try capture some of the same type of success.
There are currently a lot of titles vying for gamers precious attention in the current landscape and not all of them will succeed, that hasn’t stopped Matter Team and Gaijin Entertainment (known for War Thunder, Enlisted and CRSED) throwing their hat in the ring with the early access release of Active Matter, a PVE and PVP based extraction shooter that some may dismiss as a Temu version of Tarkov, but that would be a mistake as Active Matter has more than enough tricks up its sleeve to hold its own.
Whilst extraction shooters like Escape From Tarkov and Gray Zone Warfare stick are more known for their realistic mil-sim style of gameplay, Active Matter changes the rules up and goes for of a sci-fi take on the genre. You are an operative trapped in a time loop that must enter various unstable zones rich with ‘active matter’, a mysterious substance that warps space, time and gravity, and the environments and creatures that it comes in touch with. The creatures that you will encounter during your forays into the games zones are utterly terrifying, one minute you are looking at an innocent looking bush next minute it is running straight at you trying to rip your head off, the game has jump scares by the bucketload and feels more like a cross between an Eldritch style horror and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. rather than your typical extraction game.
As far as the game play loop goes Active Matter typically follows the same formula as Escape From Tarkov where you pick a map to deploy to, complete various missions, gather up loot and try and escape without getting obliterated by the AI or other players. If PVP is not your thing then you can even choose to enter the map without the dangers of having to face other players, this does cost a certain amount of tokens each time you attempt it, but thankfully tokens replenish every 24 hours. Whichever way you decide to play the game play loop is a tried and tested formula and it works well here serving to provide a tense yet satisfying experience.
Graphically Active Matter is outstanding and its non-conventional horror themed enemies help it stand out from the pack of extraction shooters currently on the market, as you explore there is always a tangible sense of dread in the air, you just never know who or what is going to be around the next corner ready to rip your face off. The way you can traverse some of the locations in the game by defying gravity in certain areas can also leave you feeling disorientated and uneasy further immersing you in the games strange world.
Active Matter is currently only available via the Gaijin Store on Gaijin Entertainments website but there are plans to bring the game to Steam and even consoles further down the road. If you are a fan of extraction shooters and are looking for a game that has more of a sci-fi environment to it than what the genre normally brings then I would recommend you give Active Matter a look, it has a solid gameplay loop, great gunplay and shooting mechanics and an immersive environment to explore.
Thanks to Gaijin Entertainment for supplying the code for this early access review. If you want to jump in on the action now, you can do that here.
