Throughout the adventure there is a ton of dialog, and it’s a pretty smart system, characters will start to repeat themselves if you happen to interrupt them with a response, the dialog feels pretty natural if a little hokey, and the acting is actually pretty good.Ī lot of what drives the story though comes from your own interactions with the characters. Each area has its own secrets as well, where your radio can be used to find some hidden and secret messages that give you more insight into what’s actually happened in the past and why the island has become a hotbed for supernatural activity. You move from place to place on the island to various locales, like a dilapidated military barracks, or a radio communications tower, or the large forest. The gameplay is a simplistic 2.5D platformer, well, more like walking simulator, but I hate that term. There’s multiple endings to find as well, depending on how you interact with the other characters in the game, and what actions you perform. The game does have a share of jump scares, but they’re not excessive nor ill-timed, instead this game likes to go for more subtle and psychological plays to mess with you. One surprise that I didn’t see coming was the horror angle this all takes on, in a way that reminds me of old horror movies in the 80’s, stuff that easily gets under your skin, and pierces the moment at just the right moment. I’d dig deeper, but I really don’t want to go into spoiler territory. You’ll learn of the secrets of Edwards Island, a military accident, and what it all means for Alex and her future. And this is where the story really begins. One of the activities involves using a radio to tune in to various frequencies which causes some weird things to be heard. Jonas, Alex, and her best friend Ren are headed for Edwards Island for what is an annual school tradition, the Junior class spends the night on the beach, and experiments with various things as kids are want to do. It’s been such a long time since I’ve finished again and immediately thought, ‘I need to play through it again right now.’ I’d honestly kind of forgotten what that sort of feeling was, and it’s funny because Oxenfree is a little bit less of a game and more of an adventure novel given an interactive form, featuring branching dialogs, multiple endings, and some of the best storytelling I’ve seen in a game in quite a while.Īlex is a teen that many can identify with, she comes from a broken family, with a mother who is trying to mend her life, and has in turn has found a new step-brother who she’s meeting for the first time at the outset of the story.
It’s been out since January on PC, but I’ve just now discovered it thanks to the PS4 release, and I’m really glad I did. Which means we get to experience awesome things like Oxenfree, from Night School Studio. The gaming landscape is as diverse as it has ever been.
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