If you are digging through the massive pile of PC games looking for something that will completely wreck your sleep schedule, Oxygen Not Included is calling your name. This quirky space colony management sim looks incredibly cute on the surface, but do not let the cartoonish art style fool you. It is a wildly deep and challenging experience where you have to micromanage absolutely everything from complex plumbing to breathable air. It is the kind of title where you sit down thinking you will just play for an hour, and suddenly it is 3 AM and you are panicking because your entire base is rapidly filling up with toxic gas.
Storyline
The setup is delightfully weird and throws you right into the deep end without a life vest. Your crew of adorable, slightly clueless clones (affectionately known as Duplicants) suddenly wake up deep inside a giant, procedurally generated space rock with zero memories of how they got there. There is no grand villain to defeat or universe to save; the only narrative here is the chaotic story of your own survival. You have to guide these little guys as they dig out a home, research crazy sci-fi tech, and try not to accidentally starve to death while slowly unraveling the hidden mysteries of the asteroid.
Gaming experience
Playing this game feels like juggling flaming chainsaws while trying to pass an advanced science exam, and it is glorious. Every single decision you make has a ripple effect. You start off just trying to secure basic food and clean oxygen, but soon you are building complex thermodynamic cooling loops and massive automated power grids. The true beauty of it is that every colossal failure teaches you something vital for your next run. Watching your meticulously planned colony finally thrive—or spectacularly collapse because someone made a mess in the fresh water supply—is what makes this one of the most rewarding and hilariously addictive management sims out there.
