Choose Red Matter
Choose Red Matter if it's currently about 50% cheaper on the Steam Store. Red Matter launched in 2018.
Red Matter vs Red Matter 2
Red Matter and Red Matter 2 both land in Indie, Adventure 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 Indie, Adventure on Steam. Red Matter (2018) is 4 years older than Red Matter 2 (2022). Red Matter 2 scores higher on Steam reviews (91.4% positive) than Red Matter (89.7% 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 Red Matter 2
Choose Red Matter 2 if you want an Action experience. On Steam, it's the newer release (2022) and ships with the modern feature baseline. Red Matter 2 launched in 2022.
Both Red Matter and Red Matter 2 sit in Indie and Adventure on Steam and both list Tracked Controller Support and VR Only, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Steam reviews are nearly tied (89.7% vs 91.4% positive), so genre fit is the cleanest tiebreaker — scroll the table for the feature-by-feature view.
Side-by-side comparison
 Red Matter |  Red Matter 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2018 | 2022 |
| Genres | Indie, Adventure | Action, Indie, Adventure |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Unsupported | Deck Unsupported |
| Price | 14.99 USD | 29.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 89.7% positive (650 reviews) | 91.4% positive (373 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Vertical Robot | Vertical Robot |
Side by side
- Both share Indie, Adventure on Steam.
- Red Matter (2018) is 4 years older than Red Matter 2 (2022).
- Red Matter 2 scores higher on Steam reviews (91.4% positive) than Red Matter (89.7% positive).
- Red Matter is currently ~50% cheaper on Steam than Red Matter 2 (14.99 USD vs. 29.99 USD).
- Both are Deck Unsupported.
Red Matter vs Red Matter 2 — FAQ
- Which is better, Red Matter or Red Matter 2?
- On Steam reviews the two are nearly tied: Red Matter sits at 89.7% positive (650 reviews), Red Matter 2 at 91.4% (373). The choice usually comes down to genre fit and the platform features each one supports — see the comparison table above.
- Should I play Red Matter or Red Matter 2 first?
- If you want chronology, Red Matter (2018) came out before Red Matter 2 (2022). 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 Red Matter and Red Matter 2 similar?
- They overlap on Indie, Adventure 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.