The makers of Dont Starve launch a new survival game that makes living in space seem even more difficult than youd imagine.
Weekend Hot Topic, part 1: Your favourite video game universe
The recent 50th anniversary of the first Moon landing was an odd experience. Despite how much technology and society has changed since 1969 manned space exploration has all but stopped, to the point where the space shuttle has been mothballed and the International Space Station is the only reason humans now go into space. Supposedly thats going to change in the next decade or so, but many kids today must view NASAs glory day exploits with the same sense of unrealness as the average sci-fi film.
Although there was nothing specific to tie in with the anniversary, and in general video games rarely attempt to portray space in any kind of realistic way, they are an obvious avenue for those frustrated at humanity being currently earthbound. Of course, surviving in space is very difficult and theres an almost infinite number of things which can go wrong when you try, which are two issues at the heart of this new survival game from Canadian developer Klei.
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We always preferred Kleis other work on Mark Of The Ninja and Invisible, Inc. but since Dont Starve seems to have been their most successful title its no surprise to find them returning to similar ground with this new game. Although new is a relative term, since Oxygen Not Included has been in early access since 2017 and its only now that its been officially launched. Theres no sign yet of a console version but we hope its just a matter of time because this is one of the best survival games in a long while.
Although it is a survival game in the strictest sense theres also a business management element to Oxygen Not Included thats not a million lightyears away from games like Prison Architect and Two Point Hospital. The set-up is that youre in charge of a trio of cloned colonists who arrive on an asteroid with only a few pockets of breathable air to survive on. Realising that help is not going to be forthcoming any time soon you have to help them survive on their own, something like the film The Martian, and eventually build a rocket to escape.
All this is done with a knowing sense of humour, as your unhappy charges mine out parts of the asteroid for floor space and resources and get to working creating sustainable greenhouses and researching new equipment. Despite the cute 2D visuals many elements of the game are surprisingly realistic in terms of the technology and underlying scientific principles, especially in terms of the way gases and liquids behave (remember: oxygen floats, carbon dioxide does not).
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Youve got three primary resources to keep an eye on for each colonist – oxygen, hunger, and waste – but you also have to make sure they get enough sleep, exercise, and stimulation to keep them healthy. Colonists can easily go stir crazy, but while its funny to see them freak out occasionally, they otherwise dont have particularly obvious personality traits, which is a bit of a missed opportunity.
If were making all this sound very orderly and mannered then we should make it clear that it Is anything but. Although the theory behind what youre doing is very straightforward every step is extraordinarily complex and the unexpected sense of realism means your colonists are subject to far more dangers than it first seems, from freezing to death and unsanitary toilets to chlorine poisoning and the unwanted attention of various alien creatures.
In most games of this sort you plonk down a few generators and attach them to a Ferris wheel or electric fence – or whatever the theme of the game is – and thats usually it. Maybe youll have to give the equipment a maintenance check every now and again but with Oxygen Not Included its much more involved than that.
Machinery and pipes often have to be kept at specific temperatures, filters are needed to keep out unwanted gases, and water and other liquids seem to always end up exactly where you dont want them. Cave-ins are commonplace, illness can spread in minutes, and colonists will literally go mad in the chaos – even if you dont.
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In other words, Oxygen Not Included is a hard game. In fact, its an incredibly hard game, not just in terms of the basic difficulty but the fact that it refuses to explain many of its details. If it werent for early access ensuring the Read More – Source
