Oxygen Not Included: Delve into the Depths of an Astroid to Build Colonies

Oxygen Not Included is a colony management and survival simulation set in the depths of a hostile asteroid. Players oversee a group of spacefaring individuals called Duplicants, managing their needs while engineering an underground base to survive the harsh environment. Balancing resource management, scientific progression, and Duplicant well-being, the game challenges players to thrive in a procedurally generated, oxygen-starved world.

Plot and Setting

Stranded on a desolate asteroid with limited supplies, the Duplicants must dig, build, and innovate to create a sustainable colony. The environment is unforgiving, with scarce resources, extreme temperatures, and hazardous gases threatening their survival. The game has no traditional narrative but allows players to create their own stories of triumph and disaster as they transform their asteroid into a habitable sanctuary.

Gameplay Mechanics

Colony Management: Players guide Duplicants in mining, building, and maintaining the colony. Each Duplicant has unique skills, traits, and stress responses, requiring thoughtful task assignment and morale management.
Resource Management: Oxygen, water, food, and power are essential to survival. Players must balance resource consumption and production, often under tight constraints.
Environmental Systems: The asteroid’s ecosystem features dynamic elements such as temperature gradients, gas diffusion, and liquid flow, requiring creative engineering to maintain a stable environment.
Research and Progression: Players can unlock advanced technologies, from renewable energy sources to complex automation, enabling more efficient and sustainable solutions to survival challenges.
Procedural Worlds: Each game starts on a randomly generated asteroid, providing unique terrain, resource distribution, and challenges that encourage replayability.

Visuals and Audio

Oxygen Not Included features a vibrant 2D art style with a cartoonish charm. The animations breathe life into the Duplicants, humorously highlighting their struggles and triumphs. The detailed environment changes dynamically as players dig, build, and expand their colony. The audio design complements the gameplay, with satisfying sound effects for construction and mining and atmospheric music that adjusts to the player’s progress and challenges.

Reception and Impact

Oxygen Not Included has been praised for its depth, complexity, and engaging mechanics. Critics and players alike have commended its systems-driven gameplay, which rewards creativity and careful planning. The game’s combination of charm and challenge has made it a standout in the colony simulation genre, earning a dedicated fanbase and high replay value due to its procedural worlds and open-ended nature.

Have you played Oxygen Not Included? What’s your favourite part of it? We’d love to hear from you.

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