Earlier this year, after learning that a sequel was coming out, I decided to play through Oxenfree after having it in my backlog for years. I found the first game's story quite interesting and thought the voice acting was well done, but I found the pacing to be a bit slow and I was put off by several weird design decisions (character dialogue being interrupted when choosing a response, a slow walking speed, frequent and long loading screens, and a world that wasn't overly interesting to explore). Though I finished the game with mixed feelings I was surprisingly excited to see how the developers mixed things up in the sequel.
Oxenfree 2 follows very closely in the shoes of the original game. You still take control of one person (in this game it is a girl named Riley), you explore a large outdoors area (that still has little to interact with), and you select dialogue responses for whatever conversation is going on. The story is a continuation of the first game, and it is almost assumed that you know about the events that occurred there. I highly recommend new players start with that game before diving into the sequel.
In the first Oxenfree you had a larger group of friends to interact with, but in Oxenfree 2 most conversations are between Riley and a young male named Jacob (there are still interactions with others, it's just that most are between these two). I actually quite enjoyed this change to a smaller cast as it really highlighted the growth of a new friendship between Riley and Jacob. The voice acting for these two was incredible and the voice actors really brought these characters to life through realistic banter and dialogue. Both were very likeable, and the conversations were fun to listen to. For me, the voice acting was probably the game's biggest highlight.
The developers made a good number of improvements to this game over the first game. The graphics, while still retaining the look of the original, felt more polished and created a unique look for the world and its inhabitants. The music is entirely instrumental and felt somewhat spooky and created an interesting atmosphere. Thankfully, a lot of the issues I had with the original game were also ironed out in the sequel. Choosing a dialogue option no longer interrupted conversations mid-sentence and instead didn't start playing until after the current statement had finished being spoken, which was such a huge quality of life change. Also, load times seemed shorter (though they were still far too frequent) and the amount of backtracking seemed reduced too. It really felt like the developers listened to players complaints about the first game and made sure to fix them in the sequel, which I really appreciated.
Despite really only saying positives about the game so far, it left me a bit disappointed. Sure, it improved on the original game in almost every way, but it falters with regards to its story. While still good, it was less memorable than the first game's story. The early and mid-game events (everything excluding the ending) were flashier and more interesting than those in the original game, but when all was said and done, I just felt a bit underwhelmed. I finished the game with what I assume is the "good ending", which while somewhat satisfying (with regards to the series as a whole), ultimately left me feeling a bit disappointed. The game's story wasn't bad by any means, and I was quite captivated by it at times, but I can't deny that it was less memorable than the first game.
I enjoyed my playthrough of Oxenfree 2. Mostly, I was impressed by how the developers improved on the groundwork that was laid by the first game. Graphics, music, voice acting, pacing, and load times were all improved, but sadly the game was held back a bit due to a less interesting story and a somewhat underwhelming ending. Despite being not blown away by the story, I do still highly recommend that fans of the original check this game out. For anyone interested in checking this series out for the first time, I advise them to start out with the first game as the stories are deeply connected.
Oxenfree 2 follows very closely in the shoes of the original game. You still take control of one person (in this game it is a girl named Riley), you explore a large outdoors area (that still has little to interact with), and you select dialogue responses for whatever conversation is going on. The story is a continuation of the first game, and it is almost assumed that you know about the events that occurred there. I highly recommend new players start with that game before diving into the sequel.
In the first Oxenfree you had a larger group of friends to interact with, but in Oxenfree 2 most conversations are between Riley and a young male named Jacob (there are still interactions with others, it's just that most are between these two). I actually quite enjoyed this change to a smaller cast as it really highlighted the growth of a new friendship between Riley and Jacob. The voice acting for these two was incredible and the voice actors really brought these characters to life through realistic banter and dialogue. Both were very likeable, and the conversations were fun to listen to. For me, the voice acting was probably the game's biggest highlight.
The developers made a good number of improvements to this game over the first game. The graphics, while still retaining the look of the original, felt more polished and created a unique look for the world and its inhabitants. The music is entirely instrumental and felt somewhat spooky and created an interesting atmosphere. Thankfully, a lot of the issues I had with the original game were also ironed out in the sequel. Choosing a dialogue option no longer interrupted conversations mid-sentence and instead didn't start playing until after the current statement had finished being spoken, which was such a huge quality of life change. Also, load times seemed shorter (though they were still far too frequent) and the amount of backtracking seemed reduced too. It really felt like the developers listened to players complaints about the first game and made sure to fix them in the sequel, which I really appreciated.
Despite really only saying positives about the game so far, it left me a bit disappointed. Sure, it improved on the original game in almost every way, but it falters with regards to its story. While still good, it was less memorable than the first game's story. The early and mid-game events (everything excluding the ending) were flashier and more interesting than those in the original game, but when all was said and done, I just felt a bit underwhelmed. I finished the game with what I assume is the "good ending", which while somewhat satisfying (with regards to the series as a whole), ultimately left me feeling a bit disappointed. The game's story wasn't bad by any means, and I was quite captivated by it at times, but I can't deny that it was less memorable than the first game.
I enjoyed my playthrough of Oxenfree 2. Mostly, I was impressed by how the developers improved on the groundwork that was laid by the first game. Graphics, music, voice acting, pacing, and load times were all improved, but sadly the game was held back a bit due to a less interesting story and a somewhat underwhelming ending. Despite being not blown away by the story, I do still highly recommend that fans of the original check this game out. For anyone interested in checking this series out for the first time, I advise them to start out with the first game as the stories are deeply connected.