Oxenfree Review

There was a time when I heard the name Oxenfree thrown around a lot: people were revving about the game's narrative! Although I was quite curious about it, I never got around to buying and playing it; now that I finally did, I'm glad I didn't sooner. 

For those who might've missed the hype, Oxenfree is a story-rich mystery title where your dialogue choices influence the narrative. In it, you take on the role of a teenage girl named Alex as she and a group of friends — including her new stepbrother, Jonas — take a trip to an old military island and accidentally open a rift, unleashing to powerful ghosts.

At first, I was a bit overwhelmed by the fast-paced dialogue because the game doesn't give you too much time to answer, and in a group of friends who are bickering back and forth, it's a bit difficult to keep up with it all. Whilst this beginning sequence might put some people off, I see why it was absolutely necessary: it really set the tone for the relationships between the characters and did a great job at explaining important details without dragging it out too long, such as the fact that Alex's brother died and she doesn’t get along with Clarissa. Once the introduction is over, it becomes much easier to keep up the pace of the dialogue thanks to it boiling down mostly to our protagonist and whoever is accompanying her at the time (Jonas, in my case). 

The thrilling mystery starts off when Alex, Ren (her childhood best friend), and Jonas all head over to the mysterious cave that is known for its spooky happenings. According to other seniors and rumours, there are hot spots around the island where you can tune into special signals and channels that don't really exist. Reluctantly, the group tries it only to find out that it's true: the radio picks up odd signals and causes weird light flashes to happen whenever it does.

I won't say much more about the story itself because it would be a shame not to experience it first-hand, but I do want to mention that it is a bit vague at times. I struggled to follow along with some aspects of the narrative that I thought were pivotal, such as the ghosts' past, Maggie and Anna's story, and even the ending I got in my run. Although I was disappointed by this, I know by now it's not uncommon for vagueness to be a main factor in thriller and horror titles, and ultimately, it is a good complaint, as despite not fully grasping everything (at least until I searched it online), I was still very much enthralled with the story.  

This leads me to one of the things that most surprised me about Oxenfree — as the credits rolled, I realised there were no puzzles or intricate gameplay aspects; you just walk around, react to dialogue, and fiddle with the radio channels while you watch the story unfold. The craziest part? I never felt anything else was necessary. 

I am truly impressed by the atmosphere and characters Night School Studio managed to create because, despite the game being 2D, certain moments had my blood pumping anxiously, and I lost count of the number of times the game made me jump from the tension. It was very reminiscent to me of good thriller movies, where the situation is so eerie that you can't help but want to run away from the screen. 

This is also, unfortunately, one of my gripes. Whilst at first, I was completely enthralled with the narrative, dialogue, and moments of suspense, it eventually began dissipating. This is, in part, due to the ambiguities of the story: it's hard to be scared when you're not quite sure you fully understand what's happening, especially when a lot of the story's impact is lost when you don't have much knowledge of WW2 events. But I think the bigger issue was the dissonating difference between the character's reaction and tone to certain situations, where they sounded oddly casual or even annoyed when something otherwise terrifying was happening.

I think the biggest cause of this problem is the free will aspect. In order to fully grasp how I felt about Oxenfree, I asked my wife and co-worker, Artura, to try out a run herself. I was quite excited to discuss all the aspects of the game… but then her entire journey was an absolute trainwreck; unlike in mine, where the pacing was fantastic and the bonding experience deep, hers was awkward and all over the place. This happened because she made different choices from me in certain situations, which caused some of the characters’ reactions to feel out of place and uncomfortable. 

I understand why this had to happen, as you can’t claim to allow players free will but also force them down a narrative path. The problem is that in order for both our journeys to make sense, the characters had to have a neutral approach to many things or it would have felt even more mismatched. This means that a lot of people won’t have a smooth journey like mine, where it feels fulfilling and fantastic — some might get an awkward teenage mess, like my wife did!

To avoid too much obscurity on my end, one of the easiest examples I can give is the time loops. Sometimes, Alex and Jonas would get stuck in an odd repetitive moment, where things would only slightly change until something snapped in place. At first, this was absolutely terrifying and did a great job at making me feel uneasy; unfortunately, both characters kind of adopted an attitude of, "Ugh, this thing again?"; eventually, that same attitude of nonchalant annoyance stopped my heart from hammering in anxiety because it kind of weirdly normalised the situation. It made it feel almost like an annoying everyday occurrence. Thankfully, as I went deeper into the story and things got a bit more serious and dangerous, it stopped happening as often and I was able to slip right into the narrative once again.  

Another thing I very much appreciated was the dialogue and interactions between Alex and Jonas. The decision to make us play through the terrifying night with our new stepbrother, who we're only now getting to know, is so much more impactful than if it had been with Ren, our childhood friend. This helped me as the player not only witness but build their relationship up, and after watching them interact in so many ways — from difficult conversations to comforting one another in tough times — I felt very much invested in their stories. I was absolutely smitten by it, especially as it's so rare for me to experience something like this.

I had a bit of a rollercoaster ride with Oxenfree. Sometimes, I'd be so enthralled by the dialogue and story that I feared I'd miss Jonas and Alex, especially because they had such great chemistry. But other times, I'd feel a bit tired of the vagueness and the walking from one edge of the island to the other, over and over and over. It wasn't so much the walking that I had an issue with but rather having to scavenge in order to even begin to grasp the vague story behind the WW2 ghosts; this was particularly disappointing to me at the end, where it felt like me not having any knowledge or empathy for them made me miss out on a narrative impact.

Despite the sometimes dissonating dialogue and convoluted story, I leave Oxenfree smitten. The summary of my complaints is really just, "I want to be able to love/understand the game more", and ultimately, I think that's a good negative to have. It's really no surprise to me why there was so much hype around this little narrative adventure, and I am very much looking forward to exploring Night School Studio's other titles.