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We build crazy medieval war machines in "Besiege"
by Philipp Rüegg
"Oxygen Not Included" is a mixture of survival and simulation game. The aim is to build a space colony. Things go wrong in a row. On the one hand because of the clumsy colonists, on the other because of clumsy people like Raphi and me. You'll see why at 1pm.
Three colonists find themselves inside an asteroid and don't know how they got there. But there's no time to answer that question now. First of all, it's about survival. That's why the cuddly little humans have to excavate their rocky surroundings to extract resources, which they can then use to produce all kinds of machines and constructions. Everything a thriving space colony needs. "Oxygen Not Included" is a survival and simulation game in equal measure, which, if you're not careful, quickly ends in chaos - kind of reminds me of our editorial team.
If you've ever played a Klei Entertainment game, you'll recognise the design. The iconic, hand-drawn graphic style of "Mark of the Ninja" and "Don't Starve" were already impressive. It also has a lot in common with "Don't Starve" in terms of gameplay.
At the beginning, you control three colonists and give them missions, which they complete independently. If something is particularly urgent, you can manually increase the priority of an order. As the name of the game suggests, the first official acts include an oxygen apparatus. An outhouse and a washbasin are almost as urgent. Hygiene is important if you don't want your clones to catch diseases. Oh, didn't I mention that they're all clones? Where there are three, there are more. You can print new "Duplicants" at regular intervals, with individual abilities and skill trees.
Your colony becomes more complex every day. Your Minions can unlock new technologies at the research table. Ventilation, water filters, spacesuits, etc. After all, your inhabitants don't want to live in a cave forever. Depending on which difficulty level you choose or which procedurally generated asteroid you opt for, the environment harbours different dangers. Toxic gases, temperature fluctuations or voracious aliens are just some of the challenges that await you.
Raphi and I will show you just how deep the game goes, both literally and figuratively, in this Let's Play.
"Oxygen Not Included" is available on Steam and in the Epic Store.
We stream every Wednesday on Youtube. You can also check out our Discord channel.
This is how we stream
Being the game and gadget geek that I am, working at digitec and Galaxus makes me feel like a kid in a candy shop – but it does take its toll on my wallet. I enjoy tinkering with my PC in Tim Taylor fashion and talking about games on my podcast http://www.onemorelevel.ch. To satisfy my need for speed, I get on my full suspension mountain bike and set out to find some nice trails. My thirst for culture is quenched by deep conversations over a couple of cold ones at the mostly frustrating games of FC Winterthur.