Survive. Expand. Explode your base with bad plumbing.
All in a day’s work under an asteroid.
Surviving in space isn’t glamorous — and in Oxygen Not Included, it’s barely possible. Developed by the legendary indie studio Klei Entertainment (of Don’t Starve fame), this subterranean survival sim is both hilariously brutal and deeply rewarding.
The Premise: Don’t Die
You control a ragtag group of “Duplicants” — genetically printed colonists who wake up inside an asteroid with nothing but dreams and desperation. Your job? Keep them alive. Your enemies? Lack of oxygen, food, temperature control, waste management, disease, and the occasional self-engineered geyser disaster.
It’s a base-building game at its finest — think Dwarf Fortress meets RimWorld, but with a stylish cartoon aesthetic and physics-driven madness lurking beneath every vent.
The Mechanics: Deep as a Geothermal Vent
What separates Oxygen Not Included from the average colony sim is its brilliant simulation of real-world physics and gases. Oxygen diffuses realistically. Water evaporates. CO₂ pools at the bottom of rooms. Heat transfers and can kill your crops. Every decision, from placing a toilet to building a generator, matters — sometimes catastrophically.
The systems are complex, but the game never overwhelms. Instead, it teaches through failure. Glorious, explosive, fart-powered failure.
The Style: Grim But Goofy
For a game about asphyxiation and starvation, Oxygen Not Included is surprisingly adorable. The duplicants have delightful personalities, exaggerated animations, and names like Meep and Nails. It’s like watching a cartoon where everyone slowly realizes they’re doomed — and tries to make the best of it anyway.
New Content Keeps Flowing
Since its full release in 2019, Klei has kept the game alive with patches, quality-of-life updates, and new content — including the massive “Spaced Out!” DLC. This expansion adds multiple asteroid bases, radiation, interplanetary transport, and more ways for things to catch fire.
Oxygen Not Included: The Deepest Breath You’ll Ever Take in a Video Game
Survive. Expand. Explode your base with bad plumbing. All in a day’s work under an asteroid.
Surviving in space isn’t glamorous — and in Oxygen Not Included, it’s barely possible. Developed by the legendary indie studio Klei Entertainment (of Don’t Starve fame), this subterranean survival sim is both hilariously brutal and deeply rewarding.
The Premise: Don’t Die
You control a ragtag group of “Duplicants” — genetically printed colonists who wake up inside an asteroid with nothing but dreams and desperation. Your job? Keep them alive. Your enemies? Lack of oxygen, food, temperature control, waste management, disease, and the occasional self-engineered geyser disaster.
It’s a base-building game at its finest — think Dwarf Fortress meets RimWorld, but with a stylish cartoon aesthetic and physics-driven madness lurking beneath every vent.
The Mechanics: Deep as a Geothermal Vent
What separates Oxygen Not Included from the average colony sim is its brilliant simulation of real-world physics and gases. Oxygen diffuses realistically. Water evaporates. CO₂ pools at the bottom of rooms. Heat transfers and can kill your crops. Every decision, from placing a toilet to building a generator, matters — sometimes catastrophically.
The systems are complex, but the game never overwhelms. Instead, it teaches through failure. Glorious, explosive, fart-powered failure.
The Style: Grim But Goofy
For a game about asphyxiation and starvation, Oxygen Not Included is surprisingly adorable. The duplicants have delightful personalities, exaggerated animations, and names like Meep and Nails. It’s like watching a cartoon where everyone slowly realizes they’re doomed — and tries to make the best of it anyway.
New Content Keeps Flowing
Since its full release in 2019, Klei has kept the game alive with patches, quality-of-life updates, and new content — including the massive “Spaced Out!” DLC. This expansion adds multiple asteroid bases, radiation, interplanetary transport, and more ways for things to catch fire.
Fans and reviewers alike continue to praise the game for its complexity and charm. In a [detailed review by Gideon’s Gaming](https://gideonsgaming.com/the-genius-design-of-oxygen-not-included-a-review/), the game is called “a genius design,” highlighting its depth and player agency. Meanwhile, [Rock Paper Shotgun](https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/oxygen-not-included-review) praises it as a “masterclass in systems design.”
Watch: A Visual Review
Want to see it in action? Here’s a fantastic video review that breaks down the systems, graphics, and chaos you can expect:
Final Verdict
Oxygen Not Included is one of the most intricate and satisfying survival sims on the indie scene. It rewards creativity, punishes negligence, and makes your every failure feel like a weird, wonderful science experiment gone wrong.
It’s not just a game about keeping air flowing. It’s a game about learning how to breathe again — one tile at a time.
Sources & Media:
YouTube Review by Plump Helmet
Official Website – Klei Entertainment
Watch: A Visual Review
Want to see it in action? Here’s a fantastic video review that breaks down the systems, graphics, and chaos you can expect:
Final Verdict
Oxygen Not Included is one of the most intricate and satisfying survival sims on the indie scene. It rewards creativity, punishes negligence, and makes your every failure feel like a weird, wonderful science experiment gone wrong.
It’s not just a game about keeping air flowing. It’s a game about learning how to breathe again — one tile at a time.
Sources & Media:
