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Name of the app you are reviewing: Oxenfree
Oxenfree is the debut narrative choice based game by Night School Studios. Alex and her friends go to Edwards Island for a party that consists only of them. However, an incident occurs which releases a paranormal force upon the teenagers which they must solve to get off the island.
Review:
Oxenfree is one of those game's that I come back to every so often because of how utterly wonderful and well written it is. It takes a different spin on the usual Telltale formula that came to rise heavily in the early 2010s. Instead of the usual adventure game, behind the character third person view that we see in most of these games, Oxenfree goes for a different style. Unlike those games, Oxenfree is akin to a 2.5D style as opposed to full 3D. Similarly, the choices you make are done in real time.
You play as Alex, a blue haired teenage girl who is visiting Edwards Island with her friend Ren and her future step-brother Jonas. Alex has not been to the island in one year, having lost her older brother, Michael, to a drowning incident the last time she was on the island. On the island she meets with her brother’s former girlfriend, Clarissa, and Clarissa’s friend, Nona. They five attempt to have some sort of party, but without most of the people who said they were coming not come, the five are forced to make their own fun. This eventually results in Alex, while playing with a radio, recently a paranormal force out on the island. Now trapped and separated, the five have to work together in order to get off the island.
While the game does have supernatural elements, it never relies on jump scares. This is a good thing, because the game relies on this neverending sense of grief in order to feel suspenseful. You never know what the paranormal hivemind will do. The game itself is rather short on a single playthrough, only about four to six hours if you do as much as you can. There are collectibles to collect in the form of letters from a recently deceased woman to hidden radio frequencies all over the island. Collecting these letters and frequencies allow for a better understanding of the Island’s history and it can get rather unsettling.
Choices are made in real time, as mentioned earlier. Conversations flow as real conversations would, making your choices seem more real as if you yourself are thinking of the correct response. From being a stoic silent to a normal friend to a complete ********, Alex can be any of these depending on the choices you make. The story itself is extremely interesting, and it takes turns you wouldn’t actually think your normal paranormal teenage story would go. The game can be fun and depressing at the same time. The main themes of the game are primarily dealing with grief and how you react when people are blaming you for the death of your loved one.
Finally, the soundtrack is one of the best game soundtracks I’ve ever heard. Composed by scntfc, the electronic music can range from utterly haunting to some of the most upbeat calming music you can find. In addition, there are eight unused tracks composed by scntfc available called Side Stories. They were composed for use with the game, but were never actually implemented. I highly recommend separately getting the music for this game, because it’s one of the best. From beautiful visuals to haunting music to great characters, this is a game you shouldn’t pass up.
Would you recommend this to other users? I would highly recommend this game to anyone who is a fan of games similar to Telltale's The Walking Dead or Dontnod's Life is Strange series. The game can be played through several times and is available on other platforms such as PS4, XBONE, and PC.
Rating (1-5):
Oxenfree is the debut narrative choice based game by Night School Studios. Alex and her friends go to Edwards Island for a party that consists only of them. However, an incident occurs which releases a paranormal force upon the teenagers which they must solve to get off the island.
Review:
Oxenfree is one of those game's that I come back to every so often because of how utterly wonderful and well written it is. It takes a different spin on the usual Telltale formula that came to rise heavily in the early 2010s. Instead of the usual adventure game, behind the character third person view that we see in most of these games, Oxenfree goes for a different style. Unlike those games, Oxenfree is akin to a 2.5D style as opposed to full 3D. Similarly, the choices you make are done in real time.
You play as Alex, a blue haired teenage girl who is visiting Edwards Island with her friend Ren and her future step-brother Jonas. Alex has not been to the island in one year, having lost her older brother, Michael, to a drowning incident the last time she was on the island. On the island she meets with her brother’s former girlfriend, Clarissa, and Clarissa’s friend, Nona. They five attempt to have some sort of party, but without most of the people who said they were coming not come, the five are forced to make their own fun. This eventually results in Alex, while playing with a radio, recently a paranormal force out on the island. Now trapped and separated, the five have to work together in order to get off the island.
While the game does have supernatural elements, it never relies on jump scares. This is a good thing, because the game relies on this neverending sense of grief in order to feel suspenseful. You never know what the paranormal hivemind will do. The game itself is rather short on a single playthrough, only about four to six hours if you do as much as you can. There are collectibles to collect in the form of letters from a recently deceased woman to hidden radio frequencies all over the island. Collecting these letters and frequencies allow for a better understanding of the Island’s history and it can get rather unsettling.
Choices are made in real time, as mentioned earlier. Conversations flow as real conversations would, making your choices seem more real as if you yourself are thinking of the correct response. From being a stoic silent to a normal friend to a complete ********, Alex can be any of these depending on the choices you make. The story itself is extremely interesting, and it takes turns you wouldn’t actually think your normal paranormal teenage story would go. The game can be fun and depressing at the same time. The main themes of the game are primarily dealing with grief and how you react when people are blaming you for the death of your loved one.
Finally, the soundtrack is one of the best game soundtracks I’ve ever heard. Composed by scntfc, the electronic music can range from utterly haunting to some of the most upbeat calming music you can find. In addition, there are eight unused tracks composed by scntfc available called Side Stories. They were composed for use with the game, but were never actually implemented. I highly recommend separately getting the music for this game, because it’s one of the best. From beautiful visuals to haunting music to great characters, this is a game you shouldn’t pass up.
Would you recommend this to other users? I would highly recommend this game to anyone who is a fan of games similar to Telltale's The Walking Dead or Dontnod's Life is Strange series. The game can be played through several times and is available on other platforms such as PS4, XBONE, and PC.
Rating (1-5):
