Oxygen Not Included adds oil – what could go wrong?

The relaxed mining of Steamworld Dig 2 is still satisfying my desire to burrow deep underground but today I am reminded of another (more disastrous) subterranean delight. Sci-fi management sim Oxygen Not Included [official site] has recently been given an earthy update, bringing both oil and petroleum to the cavernous underbelly of your homely asteroid. These fossil fuels are bound to be a safe source of energy for your space colony, and will not result in any of the game’s Rimworld-esque disaster cascades. However, if you are a bit of an Over-cautious Oscar, don’t worry, the developers have also added some hazmat suits.

You can check the patch notes for a full list of additions, but here are the highlights for people who just want to huff the best fumes of the update:

Oil Biome: Journey down into the asteroid's depths to obtain the valuable Crude Oil that awaits in this new biome. You may even make some new creature friends along the way.

Oil Wells and Geysers: Seek out Oil Geysers and tap them with Oil Wells to extract their precious fuel. You may need to sacrifice some fresh water in the process, however.

Petroleum Generator: Use the new Oil Refinery to produce Petroleum and fuel your new high-powered Petroleum Generator.

Plastics: The Polymer Press will allow you to start manufacturing your own plastics, unlocking a new tier of advanced and germ-resistant materials. Try not to heat them up though; Naphtha byproducts are no use to anybody.

Suits: Suits are heavy-duty hazard gear designed to keep your Duplicants breathing in any environment. With these new additions, you control when and where Duplicants must wear protective suits as they go about their work and keep your base running.

Happy days. There are also sinks with running water, “comfy” beds (a bit too luxurious for my tastes) and a new type of creature called a “slickster”, which naturally turns carbon dioxide into fuel. I don’t want to know how.

My own underground settlement in this playful impending-disaster sim quickly turned into a stinking, gassy hell-colony but I nevertheless enjoyed my time there. Even if we had a dead body floating in our only well of fresh water. It’s mostly a silly game of pumping gases and balancing air quality with vents and futuristic machinery, but the problem of housing frail cartoon human beings ensures there are some darkly funny misadventures. I’m happy to see Klei tinkering away at it.