Oxygen Not Included Review Summary

High-quality and fun gameplay: Reviewers consistently praise the game as great, spectacular, and fun. It is noted for its interesting gameplay, high replayability, and deep mechanics, making it a classic and highly recommended.

Deep and engaging gameplay mechanics: The gameplay is described as deep, complex, and engaging, offering a unique and rewarding experience. It is also noted for being challenging and requiring strategic thinking.

Creative problem-solving: The game offers various methods for creative problem-solving, requiring players to use inventive and complex solutions. This aspect is both engaging and rewarding, encouraging experimentation and learning.

Excellent base-building and management: The game is praised as one of the best base-building and management games, offering engaging and challenging resource management. It includes various aspects like oxygen production, farming, temperature control, and power generation.

Complex and interdependent systems: The game features complicated and interdependent systems that grow in complexity. These systems require time and effort to master, adding to the game's depth and challenge.

Overwhelming complexity for new players: The game's complexity can be overwhelming, especially for new players, requiring extensive calculation and testing. This can lead to initial frustration and a steep learning curve.

Performance issues with large colonies: The game may experience performance dips, high RAM usage, and FPS problems, especially with large colonies.

Insufficient in-game explanations: The game lacks clear tutorials and in-game documentation, making it difficult for players to understand the mechanics and get started.

Frequent updates breaking mods: Frequent updates can cause mods to become outdated or break, requiring additional maintenance and potentially leading to crashes.

AI behavior issues: Players have reported frustrating AI behavior and poor AI implementation, which can detract from the overall gaming experience.

Complex resource management systems: The game features intricate systems for managing various resources such as water, air, temperature, and different metals. Players must strategically allocate and process these resources for survival and progression.

Problem-solving and strategic thinking: The game emphasizes problem-solving mechanics, including puzzle-solving and engineering challenges. Players engage in trial-and-error learning and strategic thinking to overcome obstacles.

Physics-based gameplay mechanics: Gameplay is heavily based on realistic physics, including sandbox physics and complex mechanics. This adds a unique and challenging aspect to the game, though it may include some physics glitches.

Survival and colony simulation: The game combines survival elements with colony simulation, requiring players to manage resources and build sustainable systems. This includes managing life support systems and ensuring the colony's survival.

High complexity and learning curve: The game is known for its high complexity and steep learning curve. Players need to invest time in learning and mastering the game mechanics to progress effectively.

Performance issues with large colonies: Players report significant performance drops, including high RAM and CPU usage, as well as FPS issues when managing large colonies. This seems to be a common problem affecting gameplay experience.

Optimization and performance on different hardware: There are mixed reports about the game's optimization. Some players experience smooth performance even with complex calculations, while others report issues on high-end hardware and laptops. There are also mentions of the game being suitable for less powerful PCs and running well on Steam Deck.

Bugs and general issues: The game is reported to be buggy, with occasional bugs affecting gameplay. Some players have also mentioned issues with keyboard movement and camera controls.

Engine and technical improvements: Players have noted the need for engine upgrades and optimizations, including specific mentions of heat exchange calculation optimizations and RAM optimizations.

Historical performance and updates: There are mentions of crashes being historically fixed quickly, indicating that the developers have been responsive to performance issues in the past.

Highly recommended for strategic thinkers: This game is highly recommended for players who enjoy complex and challenging games that require strategic thinking and creative problem-solving.

Highly recommended by players: Many players highly recommend this game for its educational value, entertainment, and overall quality.

Recommended for fans of specific genres: The game is recommended for fans of strategy, management, survival, and base-building games. It is also suggested for those who enjoy long projects and have free time.

DLC recommendations: Several DLCs are highly recommended, including Spaced Out, Frosty, and Prehistoric DLCs, as they add challenge, interest, and more content to the game.

Specific gameplay tips: Various tips are provided for gameplay, such as starting with 'tranquilo' mode, using backup saves, playing blind until 100 days, and reading guides for the early game.

Community fair range: $5.00 - $10.00.

Game completion: 1200.0h.

Story completion: 600.0h.

Session length: 3.0h.

Endgame: 5600.0h.

Oxygen Not Included is initially fun and engaging during the early game phase, but the steep learning curve and lack of comprehensive tutorials can hinder long-term enjoyment. Players often need to rely on external resources to progress, which can disrupt the flow of the game.

Reported time to anchor: 30m.

Engineering Enthusiast: Focuses on designing and optimizing complex systems, particularly electrical and automated processes. Motivation: Mastery of complex systems and automation. Stance: buy.

Hardcore Strategist: Focuses on long-term planning, strategic decision-making, and mastering complex systems. Motivation: Enjoyment of complex, challenging gameplay and strategic depth. Stance: buy.

Casual Observer: Balances casual observation with strategic planning, enjoying both the visual and interactive aspects of the game. Motivation: Enjoyment of the game's unique aesthetic and character behaviors. Stance: sale.

Performance varies significantly across hardware cohorts, with lower VRAM systems experiencing mostly positive outcomes, while higher VRAM systems report severe performance issues.

Windows <8GB VRAM: positive. Players report the game running well with minimal lag, even on lower-end systems.

Windows 8-11GB VRAM: positive. The game is enjoyable but experiences frame rate drops after extended play.

Windows 16GB+ VRAM: negative. Severe performance issues and crashes are reported, especially in later game cycles.

Steam Deck: The analysis of user feedback for 'Oxygen Not Included' on the Steam Deck reveals several critical issues impacting the user experience. Key themes include poor controller support, text legibility and UI problems, performance and stability concerns, and a mismatch between user expectations and the actual experience. These issues collectively contribute to a frustrating and suboptimal gaming experience on the Steam Deck.

Linux and Proton: The game generally receives positive feedback for its native Linux support, with users reporting that it runs well without significant bugs or glitches. However, there is an isolated report of constant crashes on Linux, indicating potential performance or stability issues for some users. Overall, the game seems to be compatible with Linux, especially on high-end hardware.

Monetization: The game has a mixed reception regarding its DLCs. While some players find the DLCs necessary and worth the price, others report issues such as bugs and crashes, and some DLCs are perceived as cash grabs. Overall, the DLCs seem to add significant content and value, but there are notable concerns about their quality and necessity.

External guides: The analysis of user feedback reveals significant reliance on external resources such as wikis and YouTube guides to understand and progress in the game. Users frequently mention the complexity of game mechanics, the inadequacy of in-game instructions, and the steep learning curve. The need for external resources to comprehend building requirements and detailed mechanics is a common theme, indicating that the game's internal documentation is insufficient for many players.

Desire for alien trading: Players expressed a strong interest in having the ability to trade with alien species. They are hoping for features that allow establishing embassies and engaging in diplomatic relations.