Oxygen Not Included, aka ONI, is an amazing game I immediately recommend to anyone who likes thinking/managing games. It is made by Klei Studios, the masterminds who made Don't Starve and a couple of other such gems.

You start off with three cutely animated mini humans, called "dupes" from "duplicants" at the center of a randomly-generated asteroid. The game runs from a side angle, so it's completely two-dimensional. But if you think if this sounds simple, dear friend, you're in for a surprise.

The dupes need to eat, so you give them food from a little yellow box until it runs out. Meanwhile, as the day progresses, they need to go to the bathroom, so you need to build them some. To build stuff, you dig away at the asteroid, which is made of different materials such as sandstone, copper, and sand (depending on your biome, of which there are plenty). You quickly discover that not all places can be dug out and that some are blocked until one of the little guys becomes more proficient in digging. They squeak and talk and give high-fives to each other as they work and dig, and eventually need to go to bed, which you need to build for them, or they will sleep on the ground and will become "unrested," one of the many conditions which they can develop. In the morning, you realize that because the dupes were using the bathroom without washing their hands, they became sick, and if they're sick, they spread germs, which is a whole thing in itself, and then they can vomit, and if they vomit, there will be vomit all over your base, which will ooze away at your clean water supply, which...

Look, just trust me when I say what I described does not even scratch the basics of the game's first hour.

Being an adorably animated game (they have all kinds of cute critters as well) is one area that makes this management game unique. Another area worth mentioning is the science behind it. So far, it's the most science-like game I know that still keeps things interesting. It's a delicate balance that breaks for me in other more sciency games, but this one keeps it just right.

For example, you can dig out coal in your asteroid, which you can use with a coal generator to produce electricity, but that means CO2 will mix with the oxygen, and if you have too little space for it in your base, it will eventually spread and choke up your dupes. The generator also heats the base, which will eventually cause plants to stop growing, which means you won't have any food. To counter that, you can stash this generator somewhere far (but not too far because getting coal to it will become a problem, not to mention building power cables back and forth). But, because CO2 is heavier than oxygen, you can put it next to a dip hole in the ground, and it will fill it up steadily, pushing the oxygen up to your dupes. Later on you can build a gas pump to pump CO2 somewhere else where you can use it (or even dump it into the void of space if you're an evil environmentalist)

And power is just one such example. I highlighted gas above (of which the game has about 20), and other similar complex systems including liquids (pipes, pumps, filters, and more), entertainment and moral (dupes can get depressed in the game), transportation, and more. All of these systems come with their own unique problems and solutions, which in turn cause other problems you didn't predict, to which you need to find more solutions.

Lastly, I should also mention that this is one of the most well-maintained games I've ever played, and it is easily one of the best investments you can get out of a computer game. ONI came out in 2017, and 7 years later, there are still updates every month. These updates are not just bug fixes: there are new plot twists, more options to play the game, better UI, and more - and I'm not even mentioning the active modding community of this game. Keli Studios understands their audience is usually geeks, so they have the game natively support Linux on Steam (and, of course, macOS), where I spent much of my time playing it. So far, the only extra money I spenton its single DLC, Spaced Out. Worth every penny.

If you're a geek—and if you're reading this on my blog, you probably are—do yourself a favor and at least check this game out. It's highly recommended.

Polygon has a good introduction to Observation:

"Set in the year 2026, Observation's story plays out on a titular low-orbit space station left stranded in the wake of some mysterious catastrophic systems failure. With no way to contact Earth or reliable means to ascertain the location of the Observation's crew, medical officer Dr. Emma Fisher must repair the station's systems, locate and secure any survivors, and re-establish contact with Earth to coordinate a rescue effort."

"But you are not Dr. Emma Fisher. You are SAM: the Observation's semi-omniscient operating system, rebooted following the blackout and tasked with assisting Dr. Fisher in the station's repairs. Which is to say, you're not aboard the space station. You are the space station."

It's a game geared toward people who like scary sci-fi stories happening in space and who enjoy puzzles and mystery-like narratives. In other words, me.

The game's puzzles are easy, though it's sometimes frustrating to understand the rules. I've gone in circles for a long time before I gave up and looked into a walkthrough to tell me that at this point in the game, I could blast through air vents or that the communication mode I'm looking for is in another tab on the UI for SAM, for example. These minor annoyances do not happen often enough to ruin an otherwise polished, well-made game.

You won't find fast action here or explosions and guns (ok, /some/explosions), which I find refreshing. The game hooked me enough to want to keep going and see what happens next all the way to the end.

Even if you're not a gamer but like a good sci-fi story, you should try it. The game is easy enough to pick up and play with a keyboard and Mouse on a modest computer (it's 3D in space in parts, but the game wasn't too demanding even when it came out five years ago), and you can probably find a deal for it somewhere on the web.

Let me tell you about MaxiPaine11 (pretty sure that was his name), a random person I found playing this game this morning.

He was waiting for me next to a flag post in the smoldering remains of an outpost. A timer informed us that we had about 2 minutes to hold the spot until the flag would be raised. In the background, I could hear the ominous electronic robotic chipping somewhere nearby - a patrol mission, probably.

Maxi looked busy checking something on the other side of the post next to a vending machine (somehow, these always survive) when I saw them approach. I informed him on the radio, but I wasn't sure if he got the memo because the next thing I knew, lasers were flying by my head; I leaped to a prone position, took out my sniper rifle, and looked down the scope at the big one at the back of the pack, a meanie with chainsaws for arms. I took my aim slowly, carefully, and squeezed. Well, that got their attention.

There was a THUMP sound nearby. "Democracy needs firepower!" I heard Maxi claim. Soon, I also saw what he called for - a machine gun - as he started raining bullets at the oncoming bot army. That was good; I didn't know the guy, but his strategy complimented my sniping cautiousness just fine - BOG! I got one right in the head.

The timer ended, and the objective was met, but we had a hell of a fight ahead of us getting out of there to the extraction point. Drop ship after drop ship, the bots kept on coming faster than we could reload our weapons. Things were about to get out of hand. I had an idea. A crazy one, but this is a crazy game. I called in a minefield, focusing right behind us, missing the advancing robots entirely. I got a "?" from him in chat. That's all he could do before I heard him scream "My leeeeegggggg!!!" as a well-aimed laser blasted it off. My situation wasn't much better.

I told him to follow me, as I was going back, right into the mines I planted. Then I asked again, and once more, for emphasis, switching weapons to my assault rifle and aiming to his left to show him I was right behind him. He saw me standing between the mines, and then it clicked. He was following me. We rushed through my minefield (as carefully as possible) and ran into the forest, the bots right after us.

We opened a gap between us and the bot army as their fastest killing machines rushed after us right into the mines and exploded. We kept running until we found a big cliff to hide behind. I called for supplies; he called down a torrent to cover us. Good thinking. I checked our map, and well, shit, the extraction point was where the bots came from, right back through the exploding mines, or we could go around it, through what looked like a river.

I turned to him and saluted; Maxi did the same. This time, I followed him - he chose the water. On the other side, Looking ahead, right in our way, was a bot factory surrounded by many glowing evil red eyes. Maxi looked hesitant. And then I died. It happened so quickly.

The bots were everywhere. Maxi didn't waste time and ran for cover before calling in reinforcement, which was me, of course, as another patriotic solider: "Democracy has landed!" I claimed as I got out of my capsule, right into the depth of an intense fight. We were surrounded. bots from behind, bot-camp ahead, and water that would slow us down to a crawl to the side. It was time to call for additional help, so I shot an SOS beacon to the side. "Thanks," he managed to voice-prompt me; "Affirmative," I responded.

But additional reinforcement never came. After many deaths and limbs lost, we managed to get to the extraction spot and escape by the skin of our teeth. This was medium?? Apparently, it was. I saluted Maxi one more time and told him I'll be back later. Democracy might never sleep, but it does get hungry. Hopefully, I'll run into Maxi again. Or Someone else, who knows. Every time is a new adventure.