The weight of every bullet: how realism becomes your greatest enemy.
Matter Team and Gaijin Entertainment’s latest project is a tactical first-person shooter of remarkable depth, where realism and tension intertwine to deliver an experience that relentlessly tests the player’s skill, judgment, and nerve.
In Active Matter, players are drawn into a world in ruins, saturated with melancholy and mystery – a landscape haunted by the echoes of the Soviet era, featuring deserted cities, abandoned laboratories, and zones distorted by inexplicable anomalies.
The journey builds inexorably toward the Monolith – an enigmatic landmark and the ultimate destination of a path shaped by moral choices and survival. Vast, foreboding, and richly atmospheric, Active Matter draws players into the fragments of a collapsing universe – a place where every step bears weight, every silence tells a story, and every decision can alter fate itself.
The Shadow of Time: A Loop Without Escape
Active Matter captivates from the very first moments. Its opening sequence, meticulously crafted, sets the stage for a rich, non-linear narrative that manages to intrigue, unsettle, and mesmerize in equal measure. The first hour of gameplay is guided yet fraught with tension, anchored by a narrator as charismatic as he is ambiguous, whose authoritative yet subtly reassuring voice keeps players constantly questioning what to trust.
At the core of the story lies the attempt to correct a series of errors that have destabilized time – a challenge achievable only through a mysterious substance harvested from the anomalies scattered across the game world. While not the primary focus of gameplay, the narrative provides a solid, coherent, and deeply evocative framework, giving every action weight, rhythm, and meaning, and transforming the experience into a journey overflowing with tension, uncertainty, and awe.
The Spirit of Tarkov, the Echoes of Stalker: Active Matter’s Foundations
The imprint of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and Escape from Tarkov franchises is unmistakable from the very first moments of Active Matter. The Monolith – central to the world of Active Matter and poised to become the player’s ultimate destination – instantly evokes the eerie, oppressive atmosphere of GSC Game World’s game, alongside the ruined cities, Soviet-era architecture, deadly anomalies scattered across the landscape, and mutants lurking in the shadowed corners of abandoned buildings.
Meanwhile, Tarkov’s influence is evident in every facet of the gameplay: from meticulous inventory management, clearly inspired by its systems, to the tactical realism of the shooting mechanics and the careful use of weapons and medical kits, all seamlessly integrated into Active Matter’s futuristic setting.
And still, despite these unmistakable influences, Active Matter stands confidently on its own – never derivative, but a bold and self-assured evolution built upon solid, promising foundations.
Advanced Resource Management and Relentless Tension: The Beating Heart of Active Matter’s Gameplay
The gameplay of Active Matter stands out for its painstaking attention to character movement and the razor-sharp precision of its shooting mechanics. Firearms are plentiful and carefully differentiated, each carrying its own quirks and reliability. Mastering them requires time, patience, and a steady hand – but the reward is a deeply satisfying sense of control.
Inventory management is deep, unforgiving, and rigorously realistic, requiring a tactical, considered approach. Every slot – from ammunition to equipment – must be managed with care to survive beyond the first tense minutes. Exploration is steeped in constant tension, balancing curiosity with caution, reward with risk. Threats lurk in the shadows, and enemies act with intelligence and unpredictability, keeping every encounter charged with suspense.
Active Matter does not give itself up easily. Its learning curve is steep and unrelenting, yet those willing to persevere will discover an experience that is rich, layered, and deeply rewarding.
Stability, Optimization, and Immersion: The Game’s Technical Core
From a technical standpoint, Active Matter stands out for its stability and meticulous optimization. Its highly scalable graphics engine delivers consistently strong performance even on mid-range systems, rarely – if ever – dipping below 58 fps in the most chaotic sequences. Automatic graphics tuning intelligently adjusts settings to the hardware, providing a smooth, ready-to-play experience without fiddly manual tweaks.
This careful balance of visual fidelity and performance ensures gameplay that is fluid and consistently reliable, where immersion is never broken by glitches or sudden frame drops. Visually, Active Matter establishes a distinctive aesthetic identity: blending photorealistic detail with bold stylistic flourishes, its environments are evocative, richly textured, and meticulously crafted, forming a coherent world that fully draws players in and feels profoundly immersive.
Strengths and Areas for Improvement
Active Matter is an ambitious hybrid PvE/PvP FPS with a bold, unmistakable identity. While it draws inspiration from iconic genre classics, it establishes a distinctive and instantly recognizable style. Precision shooting, tactical movement, and a visually grounded, highly realistic design combine to deliver an intense, immersive, and profoundly rewarding experience.
While some uncertainties remain regarding its long-term viability, Active Matter is built on a solid technical foundation and shows unmistakable potential. With precise balancing and a carefully designed onboarding experience, the game is well-positioned to carve out a significant place in the competitive extraction-shooter landscape.
Strengths:
- Robust technical engine, finely optimized for smooth and consistent performance;
- Realistic and deeply satisfying shooting mechanics, with weapons that each feel unique and well-tuned;
- Fluid, responsive, and tactically expressive movement system;
- Gripping opening hours that immediately draw players in;
- Exploration that rewards curiosity and attentiveness, offering meaningful and memorable discoveries.
Areas for improvement:
- Introductory sequences and tutorials can feel disjointed or unclear;
- Steep difficulty curve, particularly punishing for newcomers;
- Limited ammunition in the early stages, which can hinder exploration;
- Inventory system initially complex and not immediately intuitive;
- Current build lacks a fully fleshed-out single-player campaign.
Active Matter entered Early Access on September 9, 2025, for PC via the Gaijin Store, with Steam, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series editions planned for 2026.
