Choose Natural Selection 2
Choose Natural Selection 2 if you want the Valve Anti-Cheat enabled side of the pairing. On Steam, it carries the stronger Steam consensus at 84.9% positive across 5,398 reviews.
Natural Selection 2 vs Silica
Natural Selection 2 and Silica both land in Action, Strategy, Indie on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both share Action, Strategy, Indie on Steam. Natural Selection 2 (2012) is 11 years older than Silica (2023). Natural Selection 2 scores higher on Steam reviews (84.9% positive) than Silica (76.6% positive). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.
Which should you pick?
Choose Silica
Choose Silica if you want an Early Access game with Online Co-op and Co-op. On Steam, it's the newer release (2023) and ships with the modern feature baseline. 3,488 Steam reviews back the pick.
Both Natural Selection 2 and Silica sit in Action, Strategy, and Indie on Steam and both list Multi-player, Online PvP, and PvP, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Use the side-by-side table for the feature view, or follow the "Games like" links below to see ranked alternatives for either title.
Side-by-side comparison
 Natural Selection 2 |  Silica | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2012 | 2023 |
| Genres | Action, Strategy, Indie | Action, Strategy, Indie, Early Access |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Playable | Deck Playable |
| Price | 4.99 USD | 19.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 84.9% positive (5,398 reviews) | 76.6% positive (3,488 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Multi-player | Multi-player, Online Co-op, Co-op |
| Developers | Unknown Worlds Entertainment | Martin 'Dram' Melichárek |
Side by side
- Both share Action, Strategy, Indie on Steam.
- Natural Selection 2 (2012) is 11 years older than Silica (2023).
- Natural Selection 2 scores higher on Steam reviews (84.9% positive) than Silica (76.6% positive).
- Natural Selection 2 is currently ~75% cheaper on Steam than Silica (4.99 USD vs. 19.99 USD).
- Silica has co-op; Natural Selection 2 does not.
- Both are Deck Playable.
Natural Selection 2 vs Silica — FAQ
- Which is better, Natural Selection 2 or Silica?
- On Steam reviews Natural Selection 2 scores higher (84.9% positive) than Silica (76.6% positive). Both have enough reviews to trust the signal, so for players using reviews alone, Natural Selection 2 is the safer pick. Genre fit still matters — check the side-by-side table for the categories each game lands in.
- Should I play Natural Selection 2 or Silica first?
- If you want chronology, Natural Selection 2 (2012) came out before Silica (2023). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.
- Are Natural Selection 2 and Silica similar?
- They overlap on Action, Strategy, Indie on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.