The Oil Blue

About

"The Oil Blue" is a simulation game that puts players in charge of an oil drilling company. You'll need to explore and drill for oil, manage your employees and equipment, and balance environmental concerns with the need to turn a profit. The game features realistic simulation mechanics and a variety of challenges to keep you engaged.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

75%

Audience ScoreBased on 136 reviews

gameplay11 positive mentions

optimization3 negative mentions

The game offers a unique and engaging experience with its combination of time management and multitasking mechanics, making it both challenging and fun.
The atmosphere is beautifully crafted, with calming music and charming visuals that enhance the overall experience.
Players appreciate the depth of gameplay, as mastering the various machines and managing oil production can be rewarding and addictive.

The tutorial can be confusing and inconsistent, leading to frustration for new players trying to understand the mechanics.
The game suffers from a lack of optimization for modern resolutions, resulting in pixelated graphics and a less enjoyable visual experience.
Some mini-games, particularly those related to repairs, can feel overly simplistic or based on luck, detracting from the overall gameplay experience.

gameplay
38 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
63%
8%
The gameplay is generally well-received, characterized by a mix of micromanagement and engaging mechanics centered around operating steampunk machinery and extracting oil. While some players find the mechanics repetitive and the interface clunky, others appreciate the challenge and depth it offers, particularly in mastering various machines and balancing resources. Overall, the game provides a unique atmosphere and a frantic pace that can be both rewarding and frustrating.
- “The gameplay is good and the aesthetic is genuinely interesting.”
- “Different machines make up for different gameplay mechanics, from scanning for oil deposits, digging into them, and extracting the oil to make the most out of your days.”
- “Mastering each machine, meeting your deadlines, and balancing your profits, repairs, and oil reserves are core gameplay features that don't grow stale and continue to evolve until the very end of the game.”
- “Gameplay is simple but time runs out quickly.”
- “Nice game but the repairing mechanics are just stupid.”
- “The gameplay type is exactly what I expected (and what is marketed), so I won't say too much about it - although it is bland and clunky, even for a micromanagement/tycoon game.”
music
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
69%
12%
The music in the game is widely praised for its peaceful and relaxing ambiance, effectively enhancing the gameplay experience, particularly for stressed players. While the atmospheric electronic soundtrack is considered a highlight, some users noted issues with audio consistency and repetitive tracks, suggesting the need for an audio slider. Overall, the music complements the game's themes of isolation and management, creating a unique juxtaposition between calming sounds and frantic gameplay.
- “The music is peaceful and relaxing.”
- “A multi-tasking management sim with very calming therapeutic music juxtaposed to the frantic operation of your oil drilling machinery.”
- “The music is the high point in the game for me; the music and atmosphere really remind me of Disney-Pixar's Wall-E, where Wall-E is in an abandoned Earth collecting all the trash and storing them into boxes.”
- “However, don't let the calming blue artwork and the relaxing music trick you into thinking that this game actually is calming and relaxing.”
- “The tracks play a little too often though, so you may end up playing your own music instead at some point.”
- “The music is rather mellow, and I guess it's meant to keep you calm while you're trying to manage several machines at once.”
graphics
25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
16%
72%
12%
The graphics of the game are generally described as basic and minimalistic, with a nostalgic 8/16-bit art style that some players find charming despite its age. While the aesthetic is appreciated for its mood-setting qualities, many reviewers note that the resolution and overall graphical fidelity could benefit from an overhaul. Overall, the graphics are serviceable and contribute to the game's atmosphere, but they may not meet the expectations of players seeking modern visuals.
- “The graphics are clean and moody with the game taking place only at night and with dark colors and static backgrounds.”
- “Graphically, the game goes for a realistic yet slightly stylized look that, despite its age, still looks pretty good.”
- “Aesthetically, the game is cool, relaxing, and has a very peaceful calm demeanor about it.”
- “Graphics are basic, and while the control panels set the mood, there's just nothing that stands out as special.”
- “I don't know the history behind this game, but sadly, the graphics suck.”
- “I find it extra sad because a lot of the art is great and there's not much in the way of intense graphics, motion etc. but fullscreen on my 1920x1080 monitor makes everything pixelate.”
atmosphere
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
63%
16%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its relaxing and serene qualities, providing a calming contrast to the fast-paced gameplay. Users appreciate the atmospheric electronic soundtrack, which evokes feelings reminiscent of a near-future setting, akin to the film "WALL-E." Despite minimal graphics, the overall ambiance is well-crafted and engaging, making it a perfect choice for unwinding after a long day.
- “Highly recommended, the fantastic and perfected atmosphere will have anyone in a twentieth-century state of zen.”
- “In terms of atmosphere, it is pretty relaxing, which contrasts with the pace of the game most of the time, since you have to be quick to meet the deadlines.”
- “I can't say enough about how well crafted the atmosphere of this game is, as experiencing it is the truest way to appreciate it.”
- “The graphics are rather minimal (a crappy little drawing of an island surrounded by water, and the rest is nothing but the user interfaces for the various machines) but it works, and it helps to give a sense of atmosphere.”
- “It had a strange tense but relaxing atmosphere.”
- “Cook, serve, delicious has a very light atmosphere - oil blue does not.”
story
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
63%
19%
The game's story is described as minimal and primarily serves as a backdrop to the main gameplay focused on oil drilling and profit accumulation. While some players find the narrative interesting and authentic in a postmodern context, others note that it lacks depth and is overshadowed by the mechanics of micromanaging drilling operations. Overall, the story is seen as functional but not a central highlight of the experience.
- “Moral of the story: you never know what life has in store for you, and if I had given up when all odds were against me, I wouldn't be where I am today.”
- “The environment of the oil blue, from the sound to the art to the story, is a very welcome experience that is honestly what attracted me to the game in the first place.”
- “A mix of difficulty levels that requires you to master multiple modes of problem-solving, and a story that serves the game well enough to hold it together.”
- “The game’s 'story' serves more as a background, and the drilling for oil part takes center stage.”
- “It's too bad the story is paper thin and you can’t spend your money on anything.”
- “A mission can sometimes be about not making oil but making money in a specific time, which means you have to gain more money... whaaaatever.”
optimization
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
33%
50%
The optimization of the game has received criticism for not being suited for modern monitors, with users noting issues like slow animations, stuttering, and limited resolution options that detract from the experience. Additionally, the requirement to replay the entire tutorial when starting a new game is seen as a frustrating design choice. Overall, the game's performance is deemed adequate but lacking in necessary optimizations for a smoother experience.
- “Rendering is if you need more performance but you should be fine.”
- “For people who enjoy hardcore clicker games: 4/10: will gladly drill, baby, drill, but a point had to be deducted for the resolution not being optimized for modern monitors.”
- “Is there anything worse than a developer who sells old games on Steam that aren't optimized for modern computers and/or modern monitor resolutions?”
- “Really slow animations, stuttering, no resolution options besides 'window', 'full', 'stretch' which all looks like trash.”
stability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
The stability of the app is mixed, with some users reporting it as slightly buggy and potentially unstable with future Windows updates, while others praise it as bug-free and commend the meticulous work behind its re-release. However, there are also mentions of bizarre glitches that can be exploited, indicating that while the game may function well overall, certain issues persist.
- “It's completely bug-free.”
- “I would rate this app as slightly buggy and potentially unstable in the future if Windows makes any significant changes.”
- “There's also bizarre and very abusable glitches, like I managed to set all my battery cells in one of the drills to be above 700 each day, while they're clearly intended to be capped at 100.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players appreciate the high replayability of the game, noting that the machines available in each stage can vary with each playthrough, enhancing the experience beyond merely aiming for high scores.
- “The machines you get per stage can also change with each play, so that adds some good replay value beyond just trying to beat a score.”
- “Excellent replayability.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is noted as both funny and surprisingly engaging, providing an enjoyable experience despite frequent crashes during gameplay, particularly when performing repairs.
- “At first, I only bought the game to make a funny review, but this game is good and deserves some real insight.”
- “Funny and surprisingly engaging game.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, particularly due to the lack of a 'sell all' button for oil, which adds to the repetitive nature of the gameplay.
- “It's simply tedious.”
- “Secondly, there is the tedious feature of not having a 'sell all' button for your oil.”