Oxygen Not Included - Spaced Out! Review Summary

Adds extensive new content: The DLC includes new biomes, critters, materials, skills, buildings, and more. It also introduces new resources, challenges, and gameplay mechanics, greatly expanding the game's content.

Enjoyable and fun gameplay: The expansion adds fun gameplay elements and new strategies, making the game more enjoyable. It is particularly fun for those who enjoy building and upgrading rockets.

Worth the price: The expansion is considered worth the purchase price by many players. It is seen as a reasonable investment for the amount of content and improvements it adds.

Increased difficulty and complexity: The DLC increases the game's difficulty and complexity, which many players find enjoyable. The game becomes more challenging as you progress, especially with new tiny asteroids.

New gameplay strategies: The DLC adds new gameplay strategies and changes the entire gameplay experience. It introduces variety and new interest to the late-game.

Asteroid mining is slow and unrewarding: Mining from asteroids requires significant infrastructure investment and the rewards are random. Additionally, performance issues arise when simulating multiple asteroids.

Managing multiple colonies is frustrating: Players find it inconvenient and not interesting to manage multiple colonies due to the slow pace and difficulty involved.

Performance issues and bugs: The game suffers from performance issues, especially in later stages, and has various bugs and crashes.

DLC feels like a separate game: The DLC is perceived as a rewrite or a different game rather than an expansion, which can be confusing and disappointing for players.

Rocket mechanics are flawed: Building and managing rockets is not interesting and involves tedious micromanagement. Additionally, rockets lack full automation and have limited internal space.

New space and colony mechanics: The DLC introduces various new mechanics centered around space exploration, colony management, and interplanetary logistics. These include managing multiple colonies on different asteroids, new cooling systems, food preservation, and resource gathering.

Interplanetary travel and logistics: The DLC features interplanetary travel, spacefaring mechanics, and logistics challenges between planets and asteroids. This includes resource management and transportation across different planetary bodies.

Resource management and collection: Players must manage and collect different resources across multiple asteroids and planets. This includes dealing with resource scarcity and the challenges of maintaining bases.

Rocket mechanics and design: The update includes new rocket mechanics, such as construction, gameplay, and managing life support systems within the rocket cabin. Players can ride rockets and must manage temperature and gas interactions.

New exploration and colonization: The update includes new ways to explore the world, such as colonizing new planetoids and exploring different asteroids. This adds to the complexity and challenge of the game.

Performance issues prevalent: Many players report performance issues, including low FPS and general performance problems, especially noticeable in later stages of the game and with multiple bases.

Loading and saving times slow: Players experience slower loading times and long save times, which can disrupt the gaming experience.

Technical glitches and bugs: Players encounter various technical issues such as stuttering duplicates, logic and game glitches, and overheating CPUs.

Crashes and launch issues: There are reports of game crashes and issues with launching DLC, which can prevent players from accessing content.

Optimization concerns: Some players believe the game is poorly optimized, leading to lag and performance issues even on modern hardware.

DLC recommended for base game fans: Players who enjoyed the base game are highly recommended to get the DLC, especially if they have spent significant time (100+ hours) on it. It is considered a must-have and the best DLC available.

Try base game before DLC: New players or those unsure about the DLC should try the base game first to understand its mechanics and enjoy it before considering the DLC.

DLC not for beginners: The DLC is not recommended for new players due to its high difficulty and potential to overwhelm. Some reviews suggest that new players might find it too challenging or buggy.

Wait for DLC updates: Some players advise waiting before purchasing the DLC until more content, such as starting planets, is added.

Consider DLC for Vanilla+ content: Existing users should consider the pros and cons of the DLC for additional Vanilla+ content.

Community fair range: $10.00 - $13.00.

Game completion: 300.0h.

Endgame: 200.0h.

The game has a slow and tedious start but becomes more enjoyable in the mid to late game, particularly after overcoming initial resource and progression hurdles.

Reported time to anchor: 2h.

Friction: Time and resource-intensive tasks; Manual and repetitive tasks; Game lag and performance issues; Tedious logistics and rocket travel.

Unlock drivers: Overcoming the mid game hump; Focusing on space exploration and colonization.

Complexity-Seeking Strategist: Strategic and methodical, focusing on resource management and colony expansion. Motivation: Enjoys the challenge and depth of complex gameplay mechanics. Stance: buy.

Franchise Fan: Engages deeply with the game's content, appreciating the additions and improvements. Motivation: Enjoys the expanded content and enhanced experience of a game they already love. Stance: buy.

Cautious Newcomer: Tentative and exploratory, focusing on learning the game mechanics. Motivation: Seeks to understand and enjoy the game but is cautious about the steep learning curve. Stance: sale.

Monetization: The DLC for the game has received mixed reviews. While many users appreciate the new content and improvements brought by the DLC, there are significant concerns about the state of the DLC at release and specific gameplay issues. The positive reception of the DLC's content and fair pricing are notable highlights, but the negative feedback on its release state and gameplay balance issues cannot be overlooked.