Prehistoric Planet Pack Review: Dinosaurs Reshape Oxygen Not Included

As a long-time colony sim enthusiast, I paused my RimWorld campaigns to dive into Klei’s Prehistoric Planet Pack for Oxygen Not Included. While the base game has earned a devoted following with its meticulous resource juggling, this DLC adds a prehistoric twist that both expands and complicates the familiar survival loop.

Gameplay Features

• Relica World: A new planet with layered biomes and organic growth mechanics that force you to rethink base layouts.
• Dinosaurs as Resources and Threats: Tameable herbivores yield unique materials, but predators like Rhex and Jawbos can decimate your farms if you’re careless.
• Expanded Tech Tree: Peat generators, amber refining, and iridium processing introduce fresh production chains—and new bottlenecks.
• New Duplicants: Maya and Higby bring specialized skills, yet their quirks occasionally clash with established colonies.
• Asteroid Event: A scripted calamity that promises high rewards but little room for error once the countdown begins.

New Challenges

The Relica environment demands adaptation: living plants on walls can aid insulation but also disrupt pipe networks. Incorporating bio-based resources like peat or dino-byproducts shakes up power and food strategies, yet balancing these alongside oxygen and water remains a tightrope walk. Veterans will welcome the extra layers of risk, but newcomers might find the learning curve steeper than in the base game.

Critical Assessment

Compared to RimWorld’s event-driven narratives or Dwarf Fortress’s sprawling simulation, Oxygen Not Included’s strength has always been its systems synergy. The Prehistoric Planet Pack doubles down on that design philosophy, though at times the new mechanics feel under-tuned—some biomes yield scarce resources, and the reward loop around amber feels weaker than peat power. Long-term replay value hinges on how often you’ll want to revisit the same asteroid scenario, which may lose its novelty after a few runs.

On the upside, the DLC maintains Klei’s trademark polish: clear tooltips, modular structures, and the signature “success brings new problems” pacing. Balance tweaks could smooth out a few rough patches, but for players who thrive on iterative challenge, this pack delivers plenty to chew on.

Conclusion

The Prehistoric Planet Pack isn’t just cosmetic—its fossils, predators, and planet-wide events force you to rethink core strategies. While some systems may feel unbalanced at first, the added depth and high-stakes scenarios breathe new life into an already robust sim. For series veterans hungry for complexity, this DLC is a must-explore experiment; for newcomers, be prepared for a steeper hurdle—but also for some truly memorable colony disasters.