Natural Selection 2

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Natural Selection 2 pits alien against human in an action-packed struggle for survival. Wield devastating weaponry as a Frontiersman marine, or become the xenomorph as a deadly Kharaa lifeform.

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8
Based on
5404 reviews
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Languages:
Developer:
Unknown Worlds Entertainment
Engine:
Spark
Release date:
30 October 2012
Recent Steam reviews:
Mostly Positive (18)
All Steam reviews:
Very Positive (5404)

Game features

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Description



Natural Selection 2 pits alien against human in an action-packed struggle for survival. Wield devastating weaponry as a Frontiersman marine, or become the xenomorph as a deadly Kharaa lifeform.

Strategy Meets Shooter


Natural Selection 2 is a First Person Shooter and Real Time Stategy game rolled into one! Each team, alien and human, has a Commander. The Commander looks down on the battlefield and issues orders, places structures, collects resources, researches technology, and deploys abilities.



Here are some gameplay examples: A human Commander could drop health packs and ammunition to a trapped marine squad, and deploy sentry guns to help them defend their position. Or an alien Commander could grow a new Hive to spread infestation throughout newly captured territory, allowing more alien eggs to spawn...

Two Unique Sides


Aliens players choose to evolve into one of five lifeforms: The fast, fearsome Skulk can run on walls and deliver massive damage with its jaws. Lerks fly and deploy gasses to support their teammates in battle. Gorges heal other lifeforms and build tunnels, hydra turrets, walls, and other tactical structures. Fades blink in and out of battle, picking off marines with giant scythes. Finally, the giant Onos is so massive and so tough, that even entire marine squads can't take it down.



Marines wield rifles, shotguns, grenade launchers, pistols, and other weapons. Cluster grenades can clear ventilation shafts of sneaky Skulks, flamethrowers make short work of alien structures and infestation, and boosts dropped by the Commander increase combat effectiveness.

When attacking on foot doesn't cut it, marines can construct hulking Exosuits wielding miniguns and railguns, and equip jetpacks for high speed assaults on alien Hives.

Long Term Development


Natural Selection 2 receives constant updates. This year, 2019, Unknown Worlds continues to develop new features, content, and improvements.

Mod Tools Come Standard


Natural Selection 2 comes with all the tools we used to make the game. All game code is open source. That means you can create, and play, an endless variety of mods. Publish, share, and download mods from the Steam Workshop, and automatically download mods when you join modded games.

Digital Deluxe Edition


Digital Deluxe Edition includes:

  • Official Soundtrack - 1 hour of tribal, industrial music composed by David John and Simon Chylinski
  • Digital Art Book - 40+ pages of art by Cory Strader, including environments, creatures, weapons and more
  • Exclusive in-game marine model - Exclusive in-game marine model - A new marine model with custom visor and armor plating
  • Exclusive Wallpapers and Avatars - Unique views of the NS2 universe by Amanda Diaz

Recommended system requirements

minimum*

OS:
7 64-Bit (SP1) or Windows 10 64-Bit
Processor:
Dual-core processor 2.4 GHz (Intel Core 2 Duo, i3), 2.6 GHz (AMD Athlon or FX)
Memory:
6 GB RAM
Graphics:
DirectX 11 compatible dedicated video card with 2 GB VRAM
DirectX®:
11.0
Hard Drive:
13 GB HD space
Other Requirements:
Broadband Internet connection

recommended*

OS:
7 64-Bit (SP1) or Windows 10 64-Bit
Processor:
Quad-core processor 3.2 GHz (Intel i5, i7) or 3.6 GHz (AMD Ryzen, FX or Athlon)
Memory:
8 GB RAM
Graphics:
DirectX 11 compatible dedicated video card with 4GB VRAM
DirectX®:
11.0
Hard Drive:
13 GB HD space
Other Requirements:
Broadband Internet connection

User reviews

broccoli snar
Not recommended | 07 Mar 2026
5476h played

Don't bother with this game. The people who play it are god awful. Look for the review by Opti from December 2025-ish. It's full of sick weirdo scumbags (and scammers) and is just not a good one to pick up. If you asked

Helpful: 40
Bagelsworth
Recommended | 21 May 2026
13h played

If you like the Subnautica games and also like pvp games that mix FPS combat with some Top Down Commander Strategy, give this game a try. This game is what happens when the Kharaa from Subnautica gets out of control. No

Helpful: 23
.
Not recommended | 17 Apr 2026
3484h played

game is super actully very dead(if its not prime hours u cant even find a server) and the people who remain are darn toxic. and the main server(BAD) has the most ego driven admins , they will ban and abuse people for no

Helpful: 92
ttv.iRaffer. LOL
Not recommended | 15 Feb 2026
3.0h played

Bought a 4 pack for me and my friends to queue a private lobby. Apparently we have to create a dedicated server which we couldn't be bothered doing. (Should be an in-game hosting feature). We joined a server stated new

Helpful: 51
ThreeEn
Recommended | 30 Apr 2026
139h played

Great game. Just wish the player base was higher still. They should make a Natural Selection 3.

Helpful: 20
NathanYaMutt
Recommended | 11 May 2026
3.9h played

It's been well over a decade since I last played this, so going into it I didn't remember anything about this game. I was surprised to see multiple servers with full capacity. Ended up joining a random lobby and played

Helpful: 14