It has smart characters and an unpredictable story that I was invested in finishing. It creates an eerie atmosphere that is as alluring as it is unnerving. Oxenfree manages to do a lot of things most games can’t or aren’t as interested in doing. But these types of games have plenty to offer to the tapestry of the medium. There has been some pushback in recent years from gamers over the emergence of these so-called “walking simulators”. Aside from a few missteps here and there, Night School Studio does a pretty good job of making the characters feel three-dimensional, with feelings and motivations that make sense with the version of the story that you're participating in. ![]() Writing for teenager characters is usually a disaster, especially in video games. But overall, the writing for these conversations is impressively grounded and realistic. There were a few times during the game where the piece of dialogue I chose didn’t mean what I thought it would, or it took a different tone than I expected. This is where Oxenfree stumbles slightly. The answers you give offer the chance to learn about the backstory of the characters, as well as affect the interpersonal relationships between the characters. The dialogue trees are pretty nuanced, offering three options that rarely skew into simple “good” or “evil” answers. You spend most of your time in the game having conversations with your friends as you walk through the assorted areas on the island. Plot and character development take precedence over gameplay in Oxenfree. ![]() The gameplay is very light, but the game’s other qualities and short runtime (you can finish it in four or five hours) made it possible for me to focus on the things the game does well. If you’re ever unsure about what to do next, scrolling through the frequencies on the radio is probably the answer to your question. At any point, you can bring up the radio to learn information about the island, hear some music that sounds like it’s from the 1950’s, or some strange and unsettling messages from beings who are not of this dimension. The radio is the Macguffin that gets Oxenfree’s story rolling. The gameplay mechanic that differentiates the game from other adventure games is the radio. The ethereal nature of the threat makes it impressively uncomfortable at times. But you always feel like you’re being watched, as if there is something just off-screen that is watching your every move, always one step ahead of you no matter what you attempt to do. You are never in immediate danger of death in Oxenfree. The game is clearly influenced by psychological horror and thriller films, where the enemy is not merely some serial killer who lives in a shack in the woods. There is a creeping sense of dread that permeates every inch of the island that Alex and her friends traverse through. The game moves at a deliberate pace, forcing you to soak in everything the game has to offer. You can see most of the island where the game is set from the start, but the separate sections of the island don’t have much to interact with until the plot sends you there. You walk around the 2d environment searching for clues and information to keep the story moving forward. It shows this invasion of our dimension through the heavy use of VCR-style glitches and time loops that make you replay certain moments that deliver weirdly different results. The game’s themes heavily revolve around time and space and the possibilities of what could exist outside of our realm of existence. The graphics, combined with the excellent synth-heavy soundtrack, creates a really strong aesthetic that fits with the game’s surreal and twisting plot. Due to its great use of light and color, the whole game feels like an interactive painting. Edwards Island is depicted in a beautiful art style. The most immediately striking thing about the game is that it is absolutely gorgeous. Over the course of the night, You must help Alex and her friends get through the night alive while discovering the secrets of the island. All hopes for a fun night on the beach quickly fade as Alex inadvertently awakens a supernatural force that puts the group’s lives in peril. ![]() You play as Alex, a bright, blue haired high school student who joins a group of friends on a night trip to a local island to drink and party. Oxenfree isn’t much of a “game”, but its strong characters and spooky vibe are well worth seeing through to the end.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |