Oxenfree

[JaySevenZero]

Here's where you can contribute your thoughts and opinions of Oxenfree for potential inclusion in the forthcoming podcast.

A friendly reminder to all that where feedback for the podcast is concerned, we love it - but self-editing (brevity) is appreciated. We do want to include a breadth of opinions where appropriate, but no-one wants a discussion podcast that’s mainly reading. Better to save yourself time and cut to the chase if you can.

[timmytimer]

I wish there was a bit more to this one. I love the dialogue system, but I just didn't find it particularly memorable. I can't remember a single one of the character's names. There are some good spooky moments, but the whole thing is just a bit 'light on' and toothless. Three word review: "Could Be Scarier"

[Alex79]

I need to try to actually finish this at some point. I've played the first 90 minutes three times now...

[ReprobateGamer]

Oxenfree is probably one of my favourite games that I will almost never play and comes down to one particular thing.

The first time through it's a competent side on narrative game with the usual trappings of teenagers headed somewhere remote and getting involved in supernatural events. Enjoyable, some sneaky bits, not outstanding.

Then the ending and it loops back to the beginning.

And on the title screen, it says

Spoiler: show

Continue Loop rather than Start

. That's the moment where the game suddenly clicked and I realised the whole

Spoiler: show

infinite time loop

thing. It's a small detail certainly but it speaks to the care that Night School Studio put into the game. It is extremely well-crafted, particularly the score which perfectly sets the mood and keeps the tension mounting up as the game progresses. The voice acting is of a high standard, though there are a few remarks that can feel a little out of place depending on which path you choose at a given moment.

Three times through the game and, though I have all achievements, I know that I haven't seen all the variations but it's the subsequent playthrough that make the game work with the changes to dialogue, more 'glitches' and the crossover moments with other player's games.

I'm not certain how much replayability there is in Oxenfree beyond a few playthroughs - but it was a wonderful experience to get here. And I can see myself coming back to in several years from now to soak in the atmosphere of Edward's Island again.

Three Word Review: Better Second Time

[Caliburn M]

I only played this through once but enjoyed it a great deal. I enjoy short well made games that don't require a huge commitment of time and do what they set out to do without unnecessary bloat and this defiantly is one of those. The graphical style fitted well with the story and seemed quite unique while the voice acting and the writing seemed particularly well done for a game with teen protagonists and didn't slip too neatly into the normal serotypes helping the characters to seem real rather than the usual cut outs still all too common in games.
I thought that on the whole the narrative worked well and really managed to give the game an increasingly spooky vibe as it progressed and while it may not be the most original premise ever it was done better than in most bigger more expensive games.
Would definitely recommend people give this a try as while it may not be game of the year material its certainly worth a look and won't outstay its welcome

[Nupraptor]

Just finished my first play through yesterday on Switch. I thought it was a clever and well-told ghost story. Creepy rather than scary. The final stinger, literally sent a shiver down my spine.
I loved the animations on the characters. They move in a really natural fashion.
The game makes excellent use of the central concept of "Don't distorted radio transmissions sound a bit creepy?" It's a good example of how making a story like this into a video game can elevate it beyond what it would achieve on film or as a short story. If you are the one working the dial on the radio and you stumble across a creepy voice, garbled transmission or suspiciously apt clip from an old Warner Brothers cartoon, then it has much more impact than if you were just watching or reading about a character doing the same thing.
I sometimes got a bit frustrated with the traversal. Getting from one side of the screen to the other can sometimes seem to take far too long and I was itching for a run button or similar. If you take a wrong turn, then backtracking is a chore. It's a shame, because it discourages exploration and replays and this is a game that seems to be intended to be played through more than once and there are collectables that require you to diverge from the main path.
My only other real complaint is that there isn't a bit where a character says "It's a g-g-ghost!" , but I guess you can't have everything.

[Ordinary Coalscuttle]

I'd been looking forward to Oxenfree and keeping an eye on its development for quite a long time, especially on the heels of games like Gone Home and the early acts of Kentucky Route Zero. After completing it for the first time though, I remember being a little bit disappointed -- the dialogue system was brilliant, and the atmosphere (propelled by the Boards of Canada meets Stranger Things pulse of the music) was enrapturing too -- but this was definitely the point when I started to feel a bit of (sorry in advance) "walking simulator fatigue". I remember wishing that there had been more to it in terms of interactive storytelling -- perhaps doing more with the character pairings and less twiddling analogue sticks to tune a radio.

Deciding to play it again a few years later, I came to it with a mind that Oxenfree was enjoyable, but a bit of a missed opportunity. On this replay though, I was able to appreciate the game for what it does well instead of being let down by what it lacks. Though I stand by the fact that it could stand to be a bit more interactively adventurous; there's a lot to love about the game. The writing, and the way that the player engages with it, makes for one of the most organic dialogue systems I've seen in a game -- there's none of that completist urge to pursue every option, there were points where I was happy to say nothing because I felt like that's how the character would react. The amount of care and artistry put into building the world of Oxenfree more than makes up for the game's shortcomings, I feel -- evocative backgrounds (the solemnly cosy lighthouse being a favourite spot) and the often-haunting, always richly detailed sound design elements as you trawl among the radio stations...

The new game plus, which plays on your half-remembered previous playthrough, really resonated nicely with me as well; considering it had been about four years since my first go through. I keep meaning to check out the studio's subsequent game, 'Afterparty'.

[Toon Scottoon]

Oxenfree is the first walk and talk game I’ve ever played. It hooked me pretty quick with its ingenious twist of using a radio dial to function as a sort of ouija board, which felt symbolic of how the player is always trying to find just the right balance in this game to bring everyone home in one piece.

This isn’t the only time the game found the right signal for me, the location, the aesthetic, and the set pieces like the house and the old base all functioned together as a good old fashioned goosebump making machine.

That said, my biggest complaint with Oxenfree was with Erin Yvettes line reads for Alex. Several times I made a dialogue choice in an attempt to role play as Alex, but then the tone with which she delivered the line would be totally different than the words signaled it would be to me, and that would really throw the whole conversation off. This made it feel less like I was communicating with my party and took me out of the game. I suppose that could have been intentional because it creates a real life dialogue scenario where we think we are saying something and it is interpreted by the person we are speaking to in a completely different way, but it felt like it robbed me of actually having a choice. It sort of made me wish it had the mechanic that Fire Emblem Three Houses has, where you can backtrack a predetermined amount of moves during an exchange.

My complaint aside, Oxenfree introduced me to an arresting and complex gaming genre that is so very different from what I usually play that I’d love to hear a few further recommendations from the Cane and Rinse team or fellow forumites.

Three word review: Stay Tuned Kids

[Doctor Raphael]

I played this not long after it released on switch. I was invested enough in the experience at the time to complete it over a few nights (a rare thing these days) but not enough to play through a second loop to completion. Weirdly, for a game I had a great time playing I do not have a lot of detailed memories about it. I know I enjoyed the story, tragic teens listening to SPOOK FM on a poorly chosen party island, but I’ve just had to watch a play through to remember the finer points. I know I liked the characters at the time but all I could recall was that they were quite a solum lot who seemed way more mature than any teens I’ve ever known. The gameplay was mainly walking slowly, choosing a conversation option and twiddling a radio dial which I found less dull than that sounds.

What has really stuck with me is the atmosphere. The colour scheme, the glowing of lights throughout the world, the otherwordly noises, the radio static, the music. This all added up to an irresistibly dark and dreamlike sense that permeated through the whole game, through the TV and out into my living room, ensnaring me for the duration of the game and gone as quickly afterward. It achieved this without ever veering into horror (I’m a big wimp when it comes to horror games so that I made it through this unscathed is essentially mathematical proof that it isn’t scary). It pushes on the cord enough to cause spine tingles without such pressure as to cause a loss of bladder sensation. More recently playing Control has given me a very similar vibe although I’m much more obsessed with that game than Oxenfree.

I would certainly recommend Oxenfree to anyone who likes a bit of paranormal mystery, adventure games or just a bit of very American high-schooly teen drama. It isn’t very challenging, it isn’t the greatest example of its genre and it may not be all that memorable years down the line but oh boy the vibes.

I would like to point out that although I said this game wasn’t scary, in real life if my radio started picking up similar signals to the ones in Oxenfree I would be locking myself under several blankets with all the lights on and 999 pre-dialled on my phone as quick as you like.

[Mr Ixolite]

I’ve taken to the habit of playing low-stress narrative-driven games before going to bed, and thought Oxenfree a suitable candidate for this concept. However, as I started the game, I was put under pressure by the timed dialogue options. I thus spent the first while as my fumbling, indecisive avatar being washed over by a dialogue from an annoying character who sounded like he wanted to air out his entire vocabulary in every sentence. As I started managing hitting the reply cues in time to partake in the conversations I discovered that, to my shock and horror, this sometimes caused me to jarringly interrupt whatever person was speaking. The system is supposedly in place to foster more naturalistic dialogue, but this take a blow when the interruptions are executed by literally cutting other characters voice clips short. Sometimes it worked fine and would find a natural break point to insert my response, other times It felt as if I was clamping my hand over their mouth in order to have my say.

I resolved to try manually timing my responses to breaks between sentences, which was hampered when I broke my right arm which left the simple task of picking dialogue choices a bit more work than I was looking for. I did not make it far. But the games atmosphere was still compelling enough that I intend to give it another shot down the line, under different circumstances. Maybe I just need to commit to the fantasy of being the person willing to talk over everyone else.