Platform: PC
Developer: Night School Studio
Publisher: Night School Studio
Release Date: January 15th, 2016
Genre: Adventure / Indie
Nerd Rating: 8 out of 10
Reviewed by Kikopaff
Déjà vu. The feeling of having already experienced the present situation. Like that soccer ball; I had just kicked it a minute ago and somehow, oddly, it’s back where I first spotted it. Or perhaps the eerie weight sitting in your gut, that you have walked through this part of the woods over and over and over again. Oxenfree encompasses this experience of mind games, horror antics and beyond. Winner of IGF 2016’s Excellence in Visual Art award and Night School Studio’s first video game slash supernatural coming-of-age mystery, Oxenfree forces you to assess your paranoia and channel it towards digging for clues lying on Edwards Island. After about five hours of anticipating, sweating and worrying over the mysterious paranormal activity set in the island, I stand amongst other critics who have praised Oxenfree‘s ability to leave you feeling raw and exposed – an exposure you’ll be feeling for many nights to come.
You play as Alex, a 17-year-old, blue-haired rebel and are joined by her best friend, Ren and her new stepbrother, Jonas. You’re on your way to Edwards Island for the overnight senior high school beach party, a tradition that appears to have dwindled in popularity. Upon arrival at the island, you are joined by Clarissa, ex-girlfriend of Alex’s deceased older brother, Michael and who Alex seeks to reconcile hard feelings with, and Nona, Ren’s total Woman Crush Wednesday and Clarissa’s best friend. What innocently starts as a hang at the beach with some beer cans and a game of Truth or Slap, slowly becomes a teen thriller as Alex and her friends accidentally unleash ghostly spirits and are soon forced to solve the haunting secrets of the island, with time ticking and their lives on the line.
Oxenfree will serve you well if you have a natural knack for curiosity; exploration is a key mechanic as you navigate through Oxenfree‘s woods, old forts, barracks and towers. Despite the undertones of horror and mystery, I appreciate that as you wander through Oxenfree‘s world, you’re given time to do exactly that – wander. The deeper I searched into the various landmarks, read over the worn down signs and peeped inside antique shops, the richer and more authentic my experience as Alex felt. I truly felt immersed in the island and my usual, ‘let’s-leave-before-my-mom-turns-this-into-a-lecture’ mentality was put aside, even for a few hours. Some other critics felt the pacing in Oxenfree felt annoyingly slow, but as someone who naturally enjoys learning new things about the game’s lore or the backstories of characters around me, I thought the game offered enough balance between exploration, story and responding to the adrenaline rush. Don’t get me wrong, Oxenfree isn’t just a nice walk in the park – there were spooky events I encountered that made me flinch or jump out of my seat. Even after playing it for the second time, Oxenfree knows how to keep you on your toes.
As you explore the game, it offers various endings for Alex and her friends, depending on the choices you make. Your navigation and responses as Alex can greatly affect the conclusion you’re given at the end of the game. In my first playthrough, I was confused, a little jarred and unsure about whether I agreed with the decisions I made. In my second attempt, I was more content with the outcome. The urgency lies not only in escaping or solving Edwards Island’s riddles, but to also unravel Alex, her friends, and ultimately, yourself. I felt compelled to do the second replay of Oxenfree not only because of how immersive the world is, but because I realised that I am responsible for my choices and how that affects others. As a coming-of-age story, you get to decide what kind of person you want Alex to become. Her life is in the palm of your hand.
This night has turned banana bread, really fast.
As you converse with characters, dialogue bubbles appear and you can choose how you’d like to respond. Each response led to unique banter, emotions and outcomes, and each choice felt distinct. Responses flowed with the conversation, but there were times when I interrupted someone mid-sentence and it felt awkward and rude. It was a little frustrating and I wish the developers added some consistency to this mechanic, as I often chose to wait until the end of my companion’s story before I chose a response. But dialogue bubbles eventually fade out, meaning that if you’re not quick enough to choose, you end up saying nothing. Sure, silence can often evoke emotion far louder than words – but in one instance, I had caused a lot of unwanted tension, thanks to not being able to click a response.
Despite the fact that Oxenfree‘s characters are teenagers, their speech didn’t feel whiny or obnoxious as I remember it sounding when I was 17 years old, but rather, intelligent and complex. The voice acting was compelling and established familiarity with Alex’s friends. Some former Telltale Games developers (The Walking Dead, The Wolf Among Us and Tales from the Borderlands) are responsible for building the backbone of Oxenfree, which is its dialogue, thanks to their storytelling roots; Oxenfree ultimately explores the power of human connection, navigating through our choices and often dealing with the consequences. With over 12,000 lines built into the game, Oxenfree demands your full attention and demands you to listen to what both the characters have to say and what the island, more importantly, wants you to uncover.
This island is a lie. There are many concealed truths about Edwards Island.
As I interacted with the island’s landmarks, there was a complex layer added in the gameplay through the radio Alex can tune into. You can access a portable radio throughout your time on the island. Each station welcomed different sources like warped, jazz music or old news reporters muffling through announcements. As I slid through different frequencies, the graphics also transform, making the radio an eerie, yet inviting tool. I appreciate that the radio serves as a way to navigate through the levels and objectives of the game, never letting you feel like you were out of options. Be warned though: the radio stations also welcome unwanted presence, give you goosebumps down your spine and make you question, “Wasn’t I here just a minute ago?”
My doctor isn’t going to be happy with my blood pressure this year.
Aside from the clever use of radio stations to satisfy your ears, the music composed by Scntfc is warped, distorted and eloquently composed as it beautifully illustrated the mood of every ‘chapter’ I explored through. In one instance, I was drowning in the ominous urgency the instrumentals provided, causing me to despair with fear. Other times, I felt nostalgic about my own childhood thanks to its lighter, sentimental beats. Throughout Oxenfree, you also encounter special tape players that you spin at certain speeds which evoke unique melodies that sounded suspicious, unearthly and daunting. Combine these flavours and you receive an explosion of atmosphere that stands well on its own without the support of graphics, plot or voice acting. Oxenfree‘s soundtrack is worth listening.
But of course, what would a video game be without its graphics. Oxenfree‘s visuals are unlike any I have seen in any other game. Lead artist, Heather Gross, takes inspiration from her own childhood of walking through the woods and spending time on the beach, to masterfully paint this darkly playful, yet soft blending of children’s illustrations with adult complexity. Many of Oxenfree‘s settings have dark palettes, especially with the entire game being set during the evening and early hours of the morning. But Gross includes many subtle highlights that visually complement one another, creating a creepy, curious atmosphere. I enjoyed staring at the green glow of caves, the red hues caused by flickering lamps and undertones of purples and browns amidst the woods. Much of the graphics were smooth, with a few glitches where the characters climb over a fence but seem to be climbing the air instead, but despite these minor hiccups, the visual landscape of Oxenfree is satisfying.
The caves look beautiful, sure, but it’s about to get a whole lot messy.
Oxenfree is a poetic, coming-of-age teen thriller that both magically captures the fantasies of ghostly spirits, mysteries on an island and time-warped loops, and the significance of history, relationships and our choices. These underlying messages and features are eloquently presented through unique visual palettes, a soundtrack that teleports you through time and a radio that somehow summons both answers and the monsters we all want to hide from. Despite minor hiccups in dialogue pacing and glitches, these small road bumps will be the least of your worries. If you enjoy games like Limbo, Life is Strange and What Remains of Edith Finch, you will find satisfaction in exploring Edwards Island. Now, if you see that soccer ball I mentioned earlier, give it a kick for me, will you? Come and see me when you’ve done that.
Written by Kikopaff
Kikopaff is an avid fan of comics, slurps many bowls of ramen, and lives in the Land Down Under. When she’s not writing about video games, she is playing Sid Meier’s Civilization VI or buried in a Terry Pratchett book. She also loves cooking up a storm in her kitchen.
