Developed and published by Klei Entertainment, Oxygen Not Included drops you into an underground asteroid base with a handful of wide-eyed dupes and a mandate to survive using whatever systems you can build. It’s a colony sim driven by physics, pressure, temperature, and engineering logic, where every solution unlocks deeper layers of complexity. Simple controls hide an ecosystem of interlocking mechanics, and the journey from surviving to thriving depends entirely on the systems you learn, refine, and eventually automate.
Oxygen Not Included Game Review
Gameplay Experience: 19/25
Oxygen Not Included sinks its hooks in early. The first several dozen hours feel like a mix of chaos, discovery, and constant problem-solving, where simple controls hide an intimidating amount of depth. Water becomes the great teacher: conserving it, routing it, and realizing how every system eventually ties back to it marks the first true turning point. From there the game widens—plumbing loops, waterlocks, early automation, and eventually the satisfaction of watching a SPOM push oxygen into a struggling base. Each breakthrough feels earned, but every solution creates new problems, pushing you deeper into midgame engineering. It’s demanding, often exhausting, and incredibly rewarding, especially as earlier failures shape clearer, stronger attempts. The progression is steady, the learning curve steep, and the moment burnout hits is usually the moment you understand exactly what needs fixing next.
Presentation & Immersion: 15/25
This game isn’t driven by story, characters, or narrative progression; its immersion comes entirely from systems interacting in believable ways. The art style is cartoonish, cute, and expressive enough to make chaos feel charming rather than overwhelming, and the animations give dupes a personality that writing never tries to carry. Sound design supports the experience well—alerts, machines, and environmental cues are clear and informative—but the game rarely builds atmosphere beyond functional audio. The HUD is dense and initially unfriendly, delivering a flood of information that only becomes intuitive after long hours of play. There’s no real sense of worldbuilding, but watching gases shift, machines hum, and your base breathe gives the game its own kind of immersion. Oxygen Not Included is not cinematic, but it feels alive in the way a complex simulation should.
Design & Technical: 23/25
Oxygen Not Included shows its true strength in the depth and interlocking logic of its systems. Everything—gases, liquids, heat, power, automation—operates on rules that stay consistent no matter how chaotic the colony becomes. This makes engineering solutions incredibly satisfying, whether it’s plumbing, water conservation setups, or the first time a SPOM stabilizes an entire base. The design rewards experimentation and punishes oversight, but never feels dishonest. AI behaviour supports the simulation well: dupes follow priorities logically, even if their enthusiasm occasionally creates unintended disasters. Settings are extensive and flexible, and technical performance remains solid despite the complexity on screen. For many players, mods become essential quality-of-life upgrades. Aside from burnout caused by the sheer mental load the game demands, the technical foundation is remarkably polished for a simulation this intricate.
The Skinny About Oxygen Not Included
Final Considerations: 23/25
Oxygen Not Included (Steam Link) delivers an absorbing simulation experience that rewards patience, experimentation, and long-term planning. Across dozens of hours, the sense of discovery and problem-solving remains strong, driven by systems that stay consistent and fair even as complexity ramps up. There are no microtransactions, and the value is exceptional given the amount of content and the near-limitless replay potential. Burnout is likely—especially once midgame engineering demands full attention—but satisfaction is high for players who enjoy learning through iteration. Mods enhance the experience without undermining the intended challenge, and the technical stability is impressive for a simulation this layered. It’s a demanding game, but for anyone who enjoys colony builders with real depth and a strong emphasis on systems mastery, this game is an easy recommendation.
Disagree with our take?
Score Oxygen Not Included yourself using our Steam Review Template. It only takes a few minutes—and at the end, just copy your results to clipboard and paste them into your Steam review. Easy.
Want more?
• Join the conversation on the Player Opinion Steam Community
• Developers: get noticed on our Steam Curator Page
• Or browse more reviews in our Game Reviews section
Player Opinion exists to make reviews better—for gamers, by gamers.