Fit check
Is Dark Matter worth it for you?
We tell you who should skip it, too.
Play it if you…
Good fit- Survival-horror fans who want a deep-space setting
- Action players who prefer tactical combat and customizable weapons
- Explorers who want non-linear levels with crafting and resource collection
Skip it if you…
Saves you a refund- Players seeking a campaign with more than the stated 14 levels
- Those who prefer simple combat without weapon customization or resource management
- Players looking for a multiplayer-focused action game
Our take on Dark Matter
Light and darkness define the experience beyond its visual style: visibility, shadows, and illuminated spaces are integrated into encounters aboard the infested spaceship.
What is Dark Matter?
Dark Matter is a two-and-a-half-dimensional scrolling survival-horror game set on a derelict spacecraft overrun by an alien entity and lethal parasites.
Playing as an Ensign, players search abandoned corridors and facilities for scrap, extraterrestrial materials, components, and blueprints. The arsenal offers four guns and four ammunition varieties, including rounds that freeze, dissolve, or ignite foes. Three upgrades can be crafted to modify weapons, while collected supplies produce tools and medical packs. Across 14 stages, exploration and narrative follow branching paths. Enemies adapt to player behavior and combat choices. Darkness, illumination, dynamic shadows, and real-time lighting shape play, while the music shifts with changing circumstances.
How Dark Matter plays
- 01Four Weapon Types
- Four ammunition categories include effects that freeze, dissolve, or set enemies on fire.
- 02Weapon Customization
- Three craftable upgrades let players modify their weapons for different combat approaches.
- 03Resource Crafting
- Scrap and alien materials can be turned into tools and health packs.
- 04Reactive Enemy AI
- Enemies respond to the player’s actions and chosen tactics during encounters.
- 05Nonlinear Exploration
- The 14-level campaign combines branching exploration with storytelling.
- 06Light-Based Gameplay
- Light, darkness, and real-time shadows affect the presentation and gameplay.
Dark Matter compared to similar games
Sundered: Eldritch Edition is described as a metroidvania, while Dark Matter focuses on survival horror, tactical combat, weapon customization, and exploration across 14 levels. Abyssus emphasizes multiplayer shooting and roguelite progression, whereas Dark Matter centers on crafting, reactive enemies, and a deep-space horror setting.
Dark Matter: platforms & release
Is Dark Matter worth it?
It is worth it if: survival-horror fans who want a deep-space setting. Skip it if: players seeking a campaign with more than the stated 14 levels.
Where can I download Dark Matter?
Use the Download Now button on this page: it opens Dark Matter's store page, where you can choose how to get it.
What platforms is Dark Matter on?
Windows, macOS and Linux.
