Oxenfree is a supernatural adventure game. Rites of passage and Senior year traditions set the stage for a group of friends sneaking off to Edwards Island, an old military outpost with no phone service. Players will take on the role of Alex as she brings her new stepbrother Jonas to an overnight party gone horribly wrong. Inspired by classic cult films like Stand by Me and Poltergeist, Oxenfree is an adventure that pulls from the past but looks to the present. “It’s a coming of age story where players control how their hero comes of age,” says Sean Krankel, co-founder of Night School. “We’re drawing on the fond and mortifying aspects of being in your late teens, and setting it against a dangerous and ghostly backdrop.”
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muito foda, muito mesmo
This review contains spoilers
Oxenfree to me is near perfect - anything from music to art design to the brilliant natural flow dialogue system are top notch. The characters are well written. There are a couple very powerful scenes throughout the game.
It's flaws can be glaring and annoying but ultimately they don't trash the experience - the ending can feel detached from your experience, in my case I felt Jonas and Alex relationship was only influenced by that obnoxious hanged man segment and the companion choice at the tower.
The countless heartfelt conversations between the two of you? Eh tough luck.
The countless heartfelt conversations between the two of you? Eh tough luck.
In a similar notion the game tells you Michael's fate was to some degree Alex's fault and that she was being selfish but then immediately expects you to be more selfish if you want to save him.
Another thing I didn't like was the journal collectathon and the back tracking that follows. It's gamey and slows down the pacing.
There's a new game plus that supposed to add a few scenes.. I get why it's a good idea thematically but I'm not sure if its significant enough to warrant a whole playthrough.. Guess I'll try and see.
I don't buy Ren and Nona as a couple, Alex X Nona head canon forever!!
De maneira geral gostei da história, apesar de o terço final ser meio corrido e deixar o desenvolvimento dos personagens pelo caminho (Clarice, estou falando de você). Algum dia eu volto pra fazer o NG+ só pra ver o final verdadeiro, porque o processo de caminhar é bem chato e o radinho fica velho ainda na primeira jogatina.
I continue in my quest to play every game Josh Sawyer cited as inspiration for Pentiment. Oxenfree definitely knows what it's trying to do, its a sort of teen coming of age story with a paranormal twist, like Stand By Me got made into an episode of X-Files.
In general I think its... fine? I enjoyed my time with it well enough, the music was good and the character dialogue was good for what its was trying to be? I.e American teenager movie dialogue. Its sits more on the VN side of the adventure game spectrum, the puzzles are mostly just "find the right radio frequency" but the dialogue choices are oddly timed, sometimes characters will interrupt each other in unnatural ways and whilst the slow walking speed is clearly meant as a pacing tool, this seemingly did not account for a few instances in which your companion will basically say nothing at all until you hit the predetermined checkpoint.
I think Pentiment had the right idea in making your choices influence the outcome of dice rolls, the combination of RPG and adventure game really does mesh well but here the dialogue choices seem kind of... opaque? Like I was really not sure if I was meant to be gaming the outcomes or choosing naturally but the ending was kind of a mess for this aspect. The "negative" outcomes felt undeserved and the "positive" ones unearned.
I guess I liked it more than Night In The Woods, mainly cause of the faster pace and more sympathetic characters, and at least had the decency to be brief.
There are two types of games (and movies, books, etc) in this world, not good or bad but games which I will remember and games which I will have forgotten about in a week's time. And I guess the harshest thing I can say about Oxenfree is whilst fine, I will definitely forget about it sooner than most.
remember mildly enjoying this one
the story was ok and the game looked good
the story was ok and the game looked good
I loved this game even though playing it at night kind of freaked me out. Also, there was also so much dialogue I started zoning out during it. But I loved the details and the interaction between all the characters especially in the beginning. When I finished I immediately started playing again to get a new ending, but I got so freaked out when there was new dialogue that I never finished that run.