Games like Natural Selection 2
If Natural Selection 2 is your kind of game, the closest matches are Nuclear Dawn, Fireteam Breach and The Wall — picked from the ranked list below. Reviewers single out its challenging, competitive and intense. Each pick is ranked by what players of this game also play, shared genres and tags, and review-mined similarity — not a generic popularity list.
Get personalized picks →Natural Selection 2 is a sci-fi multiplayer title released in 2012 that blends first-person shooter action with real-time strategy elements. Players choose between fighting as marines or playing as aliens in teams that must coordinate around a shared commander who oversees territory control and resource management. Creature evolution and asymmetrical faction balance create evolving tactics throughout each match, which players describe as finite 20-minute encounters. The hybrid FPS/RTS gameplay is described by players as unique, with the commander role adding significant strategic depth. Reviewers highlight that resource scarcity forces teams to make difficult decisions, and the experience is generally described as challenging, competitive, and intense. Currently priced at $4.99 USD, the game holds an 85% positive rating from over 5,300 Steam reviews and is marked as playable on Steam Deck.
About Natural Selection 2: A fast paced multiplayer shooter that pits aliens against humans in a strategic and action-packed struggle for survival!
Players who liked Natural Selection 2 also play
Steam players who put hours into Natural Selection 2 also tend to own these titles — a signal called collaborative filtering. imho.run cross-references millions of library ownership patterns to surface games whose real audiences overlap, regardless of whether their genre tags match.
Nuclear Dawn
WHY THIS
Shares team coordination and an intense mood with Natural Selection 2.
Top pick for Natural Selection 2 fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Action and Strategy with Natural Selection 2.
Explore war-torn post-apocalyptic landscapes and take fight against enemies using various weapons in this FPS/RTS hybrid.
Fireteam Breach
WHY THIS
Second-strongest match for Natural Selection 2 fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Action and Strategy with Natural Selection 2.
Fireteam Breach is a tactical 5v5 FPS where precision and teamwork decide victory. Master round-based combat as Attackers or Defenders in Bomb, Hostage, and Secure Area modes. Use strategy, destruction, and unique operators with gadgets to outplay the enemy.
The Wall
WHY THIS
Shares resource management and an intense mood with Natural Selection 2.
Third-strongest match for Natural Selection 2 fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Action and Strategy with Natural Selection 2.
[Servers Temporarily Shut Down!] Build. Gather. Breach. The Wall is a never-before seen mix of genres, where dynamic maps, slick combat, base building, and economy management all come together.
Counter-Strike
WHY THIS
Shares a competitive mood with Natural Selection 2.
Ranked #4 for Natural Selection 2 fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Action with Natural Selection 2.
Play the world's number 1 online action game. Engage in an incredibly realistic brand of terrorist warfare in this wildly popular team-based game. Ally with teammates to complete strategic missions. Take out enemy sites. Rescue hostages. Your role affects your team's success. Your team's success affects your role.
Insurgency
WHY THIS
Shares a stressful mood with Natural Selection 2.
Ranked #5 for Natural Selection 2 fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Action and Strategy with Natural Selection 2.
Take to the streets for intense close quarters combat, where a team's survival depends upon securing crucial strongholds and destroying enemy supply in this multiplayer and cooperative Source Engine based experience.
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege
WHY THIS
Shares a stressful mood with Natural Selection 2.
Ranked #6 for Natural Selection 2 fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Action with Natural Selection 2.
Rainbow Six® Siege is the reference in tactical team shooters, where elite strategy and execution triumph. Enjoy free access to Quick Match, Unranked, and Dual Front game modes with a selection of operators.
PlanetSide 2
WHY THIS
Shares an intense mood with Natural Selection 2.
Ranked #7 for Natural Selection 2 fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Action with Natural Selection 2.
PlanetSide 2 is an all-out planetary war, where thousands of players battle as one across enormous continents. Utilize infantry, ground and air vehicles, and teamwork to destroy your enemies in this revolutionary first-person shooter on a massive scale.
Silica
WHY THIS
Ranked #8 for Natural Selection 2 fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Action and Strategy with Natural Selection 2.
Silica blends FPS and RTS in epic, photorealistic battles. Choose to fight on the ground or command from above as humans or aliens. Dive into thrilling multiplayer combat or master strategic command. Are you ready to survive and conquer?
Reviewers mention these as similar to Natural Selection 2
Surfaced from review text: when other players write 'if you liked X, try Y', we catch the name and resolve it back to a Steam game.
Team Fortress 2
WHY THIS
Shares a competitive mood with Natural Selection 2.
Reviewers of Natural Selection 2 cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Action with Natural Selection 2.
Nine distinct classes provide a broad range of tactical abilities and personalities. Constantly updated with new game modes, maps, equipment and, most importantly, hats!
Squad
WHY THIS
Shares an intense mood with Natural Selection 2.
Reviewers of Natural Selection 2 cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Action and Strategy with Natural Selection 2.
Squad is a tactical FPS that provides authentic combat experiences through teamwork, communication, and realistic combat. It bridges the gap between arcade shooter and military realism with 100-player battles, combined-arms warfare, and base building.
STARSHIP BLOOPERS
WHY THIS
Reviewers of Natural Selection 2 cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Action and Indie with Natural Selection 2.
STARSHIP BLOOPERS is a chaotic co-op space survival game where one wrong move can doom the mission. Play with 2 to 6 crewmates as you traverse space, gather resources, survive disasters, battle aliens and each other's incompetence before the sun goes supernova. Can you keep your SHIP together?
Quake
WHY THIS
Shares resource management and an intense mood with Natural Selection 2.
Reviewers of Natural Selection 2 cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Action with Natural Selection 2.
Developed by the award-winning id Software, Quake® is the ground-breaking, original dark fantasy first-person shooter that inspires today’s retro-style FPS games. With Quake (Enhanced), experience the authentic, updated, and visually enhanced version of the original.
Subnautica
WHY THIS
Reviewers of Natural Selection 2 cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Indie with Natural Selection 2.
Descend into the depths of an alien underwater world filled with wonder and peril. Craft equipment, pilot submarines and out-smart wildlife to explore lush coral reefs, volcanoes, cave systems, and more - all while trying to survive.
Starship Troopers: Extermination
WHY THIS
Shares a stressful mood with Natural Selection 2.
Reviewers of Natural Selection 2 cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Action and Indie with Natural Selection 2.
Starship Troopers: Extermination is a 16-player co-op FPS that puts you on the far-off frontlines of an all-out battle against the Bugs! Squad up, grab your rifle, and do your part as an elite Deep Space Vanguard Trooper to take back planets from the Arachnid threat!
Alien
WHY THIS
Reviewers of Natural Selection 2 cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Indie with Natural Selection 2.
Alien is a visual novel exclusively for adults! This story is about a guy who has been dreaming of having sex with an alien woman for a very long time. At some point, this dream comes true and the guy finally fucked an alien woman!
Cheaper alternatives
Games in the same vein priced at least 40% below Natural Selection 2 at current Steam store prices.
POSTAL 2
WHY THIS
Priced ~80% under Natural Selection 2 on Steam right now. Shares Action and Indie with Natural Selection 2.
Live a week in the life of "The POSTAL Dude"; a hapless everyman just trying to check off some chores. Buying milk, returning an overdue library book, getting Gary Coleman's autograph, what could possibly go wrong?
The Test
WHY THIS
Priced ~60% under Natural Selection 2 on Steam right now. Shares Indie with Natural Selection 2.
You will answer a series of questions that will reveal truths from deep within. These questions may make you uncomfortable, but with great knowledge comes great sacrifice. Can you make it all the way through The Test, and if you do, are you sure you want the answers you seek?
Milk inside a bag of milk inside a bag of milk
WHY THIS
Priced ~70% under Natural Selection 2 on Steam right now. Shares Indie with Natural Selection 2.
A short story about what sort of challenges everyday little things can be. Help the girl buy milk, be the first not to disappoint her.
Blood and Bacon
WHY THIS
Priced ~80% under Natural Selection 2 on Steam right now. Shares Action with Natural Selection 2.
This Co-op Shooter , has Day and Night levels, multiple maps, players will take on 25 enemy types and numerous bosses, like Gargantuan Monsters and Minibosses every 10 days as you explore, shoot and run for your life against the onslaught of porcine monstrosities.
STAR WARS™ Republic Commando™
WHY THIS
Priced ~50% under Natural Selection 2 on Steam right now. Shares Action with Natural Selection 2.
You are the leader of an elite squad of Republic Commandos, your mission is to infiltrate, dominate, and ultimately, annihilate the enemy. Your squad will follow your orders and your lead, working together as a team - instinctively, intelligently, instantly. You are their leader. They are your weapon.
shapez
WHY THIS
Priced ~80% under Natural Selection 2 on Steam right now. Shares Strategy and Indie with Natural Selection 2.
shapez is an easy-going, minimalistic factory building game about the automation of shapes through extraction and satisfying production lines. Adapt to increasingly complex shapes and grow your factory across an infinitely expanding map. Your only limitation is your creativity!
STAR WARS™ Jedi Knight - Jedi Academy™
WHY THIS
Priced ~50% under Natural Selection 2 on Steam right now. Shares Action with Natural Selection 2.
Forge your weapon and follow the path of the Jedi Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy is the latest installment of the highly acclaimed Jedi Knight series. Take on the role of a new student eager to learn the ways of the Force from Jedi Master Luke Skywalker.
The Test: Hypothesis Rising
WHY THIS
Priced ~60% under Natural Selection 2 on Steam right now. Shares Indie with Natural Selection 2.
The second chapter in The Test trilogy. Answer a series of in-depth questions to reveal hidden truths about yourself and unlock secrets to discover how your life can change drastically with just a few, slight modifications. ...But are you sure you want the answers you seek?
Free alternatives
Free-to-play games that recommended players of this title also tend to enjoy.
Life is Strange - Episode 1
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Action with Natural Selection 2.
Episode 1 now FREE! Life is Strange is an award-winning and critically acclaimed episodic adventure game that allows the player to rewind time and affect the past, present and future.
Ultimate Custom Night
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Action and Indie with Natural Selection 2.
Welcome to the ultimate FNAF mashup, featuring 50 selectable characters and custom difficulties!
Indigo Park: Chapter 1
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Action and Indie with Natural Selection 2.
Explore the abandoned childhood wonder of Indigo Park! Guided by Rambley the Raccoon, help restore power to the destroyed amusement park while you run from the reason it shut down.
STRAFTAT
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Action with Natural Selection 2.
STRAFTAT is a 1v1/2v2 ONLINE first person SHOOTER with quick rounds in over 350 MAPS ; Including all WEAPONS, proximity chat and 4 players FFA.
Counter-Strike:Global Offensive
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Action with Natural Selection 2.
Counter-Strike:Global Offensive (CS:GO) expands upon the team-based action gameplay that it pioneered when it was launched over 2 decades ago. CS:GO features new maps, characters, weapons, and game modes, and delivers updated versions of the classic CS content (de_dust2, etc.).
The Expendabros
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Action and Indie with Natural Selection 2.
The Expendabros have assembled and set their sights on the forces of ruthless arms dealer Conrad Stonebanks in the forests of Eastern Europe.
Star Fetchers
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Action and Indie with Natural Selection 2.
The introduction to a wild ride with gangsters and deep state conspiracy theories
Dagon: by H. P. Lovecraft
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Indie with Natural Selection 2.
Face unspeakable horrors. Succumb to madness. Welcome to a free daemonic narrative experience inspired by H. P. Lovecraft.
Narrow it down
Head-to-head comparisons
More from Unknown Worlds Entertainment
Other recommendable Steam games by Unknown Worlds Entertainment, ranked by review count so the studio's hits land first.
Subnautica
WHY THIS
Another title from Unknown Worlds Entertainment, the studio behind Natural Selection 2. Shares Indie with Natural Selection 2.
Descend into the depths of an alien underwater world filled with wonder and peril. Craft equipment, pilot submarines and out-smart wildlife to explore lush coral reefs, volcanoes, cave systems, and more - all while trying to survive.
Subnautica: Below Zero
WHY THIS
Shares a challenging mood with Natural Selection 2.
Another title from Unknown Worlds Entertainment, the studio behind Natural Selection 2. Shares Indie with Natural Selection 2.
Dive into a freezing underwater adventure on an alien planet. Below Zero is set two years after the original Subnautica. Return to Planet 4546B to uncover the truth behind a deadly cover-up. Survive by building habitats, crafting tools, & diving deeper into the world of Subnautica.
Subnautica 2
WHY THIS
Another title from Unknown Worlds Entertainment, the studio behind Natural Selection 2. Shares Action with Natural Selection 2.
Subnautica 2 is an underwater survival adventure set on an all-new alien world, developed by Unknown Worlds. Play alone or with friends in 4-player co-op. Adapt to survive by building custom bases and crafting tools. Explore the unknown to uncover the mysteries hidden within the depths.
Moonbreaker
WHY THIS
Another title from Unknown Worlds Entertainment, the studio behind Natural Selection 2. Shares Action and Strategy with Natural Selection 2.
Moonbreaker is a turn-based strategy, tactical skirmish game. The game is designed to be a true digital miniatures experience, set in an expansive sci-fi universe crafted by Brandon Sanderson. Direct Captain and Crew in gripping, ever-changing competition and adventure.
Zen of Sudoku
WHY THIS
Another title from Unknown Worlds Entertainment, the studio behind Natural Selection 2. Shares Indie with Natural Selection 2.
From the creators of Natural Selection comes Zen of Sudoku, a relaxing, easy to play version of Sudoku for your PC.Relax with hand-painted Japanese-styled backgrounds, no timer and lush natural soundscapes.Stimulates your brain to keep it healthy and alert.
Future Perfect
WHY THIS
Another title from Unknown Worlds Entertainment, the studio behind Natural Selection 2. Shares Action and Indie with Natural Selection 2.
Future Perfect breaks down the barrier between having an idea for a game, and playing it with friends. The Future Perfect interface allows you to create, play, and share multiplayer games quickly and easily.Games created with Future Perfect are published on Steam Workshop. You can browse, rate, and download games that interest you.
Frequently asked about Natural Selection 2
- Does Natural Selection 2 run on Steam Deck?
- Natural Selection 2 is rated Playable on Steam Deck — it runs, but expect some manual adjustments (control remapping, text size, or graphics settings) for the best experience.
- How much does Natural Selection 2 cost?
- Natural Selection 2 is listed on Steam at 4.99 USD (current store price; Steam sales may reduce this temporarily).
- Does Natural Selection 2 have multiplayer or co-op?
- Yes — Natural Selection 2 supports multi-player play according to its Steam store listing (Multi-player, Online PvP, PvP).
- What games are most similar to Natural Selection 2?
- Based on Steam play patterns and shared genres/tags, the games most often recommended alongside Natural Selection 2 are Nuclear Dawn, Fireteam Breach, The Wall.
- Who developed Natural Selection 2?
- Natural Selection 2 was developed by Unknown Worlds Entertainment and published by Unknown Worlds Entertainment, KRAFTON, Inc..
imho.run ranks Steam game alternatives using a mix of collaborative filtering (ALS / iALS / EASE / LightGCN), content scoring over genres, categories, Steam tags, developers, and publishers, plus AI-extracted vibes mined from review text. The page above is generated in seed mode anchored on Natural Selection 2.
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