Is the Multiverse Too Fractured, or Does This Extraction Shooter Bend the Rules in its Favour?

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Introduction

The extraction shooter genre is rapidly populating, but Active Matter seeks to stand out by injecting a mind-bending, sci-fi twist that literally warps the environment around you. Active Matter plunges the operative into a hostile multiverse (not a typo) where the titular substance – active matter – not only holds immense value, but actively alters time and space. The premise is simple: get in, get the matter and loot, and get out before the quantum unstable zone collapses entirely. It’s a high-stakes, hardcore experience rooted in realistic military tactics but set against a backdrop of physics-defying chaos, pitting players not only against each other but against eerie, SCP-inspired creatures and reality-warping anomalies. In a space dominated by established rivals, can this blend of grounded gunplay and supernatural phenomena truly carve out its own destiny? Read on to find out!

The Fracture Zone

Active Matter casts you as an operative caught in a time loop, constantly resurrected to the same starting point after death. This narrative device directly feeds the core gameplay loop: repeated raids into quantum unstable zones. The story is threaded through the setting—a fractured multiverse where battles take place in locations that exist outside of normal space and time, such as a huge island featuring rusty Soviet industrial complexes and cryptic science labs. To be fair, writing about it doesn’t do it justice – the environments are truly insane! The lore suggests that exposure to active matter is what warps the minds and humanity of some survivors and creatures, providing the context for both the PvE and PvP elements.

Gameplay is focused on PvPvE extraction-style raids, where players (solo or in small squads) must hunt for active matter and other valuable loot. Active matter can be harvested from fallen AM-transformed creatures, taken from rival operatives, or collected directly from active matter clusters. If you have ever played an extraction shooter before, then you are already familiar with the premise and typical objectives, with the main one being a tense hunt, culminating in a timely extraction before the zone is entirely consumed. A separate, dedicated PvP mode, Nexus, is also available, focusing purely on team-based gun battles for control over a passive source of active matter.

Reality Warping

The mechanical backbone of Active Matter is its focus on realistic weapon handling combined with the unpredictable, gameplay-influencing effects of active matter. The arsenal is vast and grounded, featuring over 60 types of firearms, from the Makarov pistol to the M110A1 sniper rifle and various machine guns. At times, the sheer amount of items potentially available to you becomes almost overwhelming. You can customise your  loadouts with attachments like sights, suppressors, and stocks. There is also a broad range of melee weapons, including knives, hammers, axes, and tactical spears.

The most distinctive mechanical feature, however, is the introduction of Mind-bending anomalies. These can instantly change gravitational force and space topology, allowing for dynamic, vertical firefights where you could find yourself traversing walls and ceilings to flank foes. For example, you can approach a wall, and instead of having to stop, you instead step onto the wall, which in turn flips your environment around 90 degrees (like rotating a cube), as there is a gravitational anomaly present. This means that you then continue your journey along the wall, which is not only quite unique, but also incredibly good fun too! Beyond combat, you can also utilise Robot dogs to carry loot and FPV-drones to drop grenades or scout, adding a layer of tactical depth.There are a number of monsters present too, which all pose their own unique threat. They are immediately identifiable, and look both wonderful, and believable.

The overarching progression system involves harvesting active matter to expand a syndicate base, upgrade the arsenal, and replicate specific items from other timelines in the safety of the base. Crafting recipes are unlocked over time, primarily costing the player’s time, not resources. Active Matter provides a comprehensive range of information in one go. Even though it is well-organised, the sheer volume can easily lead to a feeling of information overload.

Operative Rivalries

Active Matter’s primary draw is its competitive and cooperative elements. The PvPvE extraction raids are the main event, supporting solo play or squads, ensuring every raid is a tense encounter where other players are explicitly the most dangerous threat. The risk of losing valuable gear upon death naturally heightens the tension. The environment of a fracturing multiverse is constantly spawning rival operatives from other timelines and active matter-transformed creatures, ensuring a dynamic mix of player-vs-player and player-vs-environment conflict.

The standalone PvP battles offer a more traditional, high-intensity shooter experience with pre-loaded loadouts, allowing for pure gunplay and aim practice without the immediate threat of losing extracted loot. However, that doesn’t take away from the high-intensity fun that Active Matter offers – far from it. Every interaction is still ridiculously good fun!

Multiversal Vistas and Soundscape

Active Matter delivers its atmosphere through fascinating maps that are stated to exist outside of space and time boundaries. These include areas which are complete with industrial complexes and cryptic science labs, alongside more exotic locations featuring temples and futuristic skyscrapers. The visuals are designed to support the gameplay’s unique verticality and chaos, with gravity-warping zones allowing movement across surfaces as mentioned earlier.

The audio design is excellent, and works to support the immersion with the sounds of realistic weaponry and the unsettling noises of the terrifying mutants and SCP-inspired objects.

The Endless Loop

Active Matter’s replay value is inherent from the onset. For example, the constant pursuit of active matter to upgrade the base and arsenal means every raid offers a chance for permanent meta-progression. Since players are “trapped in a time loop,” the gameplay is designed around repeating the raids to eventually find a way out, suggesting an enduring mystery at the heart of the experience. The inclusion of numerous types of firearms and deep customisation options encourages players to return to the zones to find new parts and recipes. The varied modes – PvPvE raids, PvE raids, and dedicated PvP battles – provide different avenues of engagement to prevent quick burnout.

Conclusion

Active Matter is simply wonderful, presenting a compelling fusion of the gritty, realistic extraction shooter formula with a high-concept, sci-fi horror twist. The gameplay is fundamentally sound, offering satisfying, grounded gunplay within environments that are anything but grounded. The ‘active matter’ anomalies and mutated creatures introduce a welcome layer of unpredictability – and verticality! – that genuinely differentiates it from its contemporaries. There is an aspect of information overload, which could lead to some players becoming easily overwhelmed. The core experience, however, is tense, engaging, and great fun. The blend of constant threat from both the environment and other players successfully captures the essence of a high-stakes looter. It is a title with considerable potential to define a new subgenre.

Grade: 8.5/10 – Very Good