It’s trying to tell both a story, and immerse the player, balancing the thin line of being taken on a tour through a game and impacting the conclusion.Īgain, visually, it’s an impressive world, with a painted look to everything. This game definitely has that movie-level script going for it. Sometimes, no matter what I could say of the three options provided as responses (or the ability to not answer and have those options time-out was equal to just not responding), I knew that Alex would end up hurting one of the other characters –like how life works. But again, the relationships that these characters have with one another is where I was enjoying the game the most. They come across the supernatural, opening the door to possession, time loops, and a whole other deal of weird anomalies. After some arguments, the group divides, and soon Alex discovers a cave with Jonas and Ren, which is where the story really unfolds. At first, the plan for the group is to chill and get lit drinking. That motley group is definitely not a standard sort of cliché teens. Also present is Alex’s stepbrother, Jonas, and Alex’s late brother’s ex-girlfriend.

Alex takes a trip to an island with a group of friends: a stoner named Ren, and his crush, Nona. Simply put, the angst-y teen, Alex, is still trying to figure out her feelings over the death of her brother, while also battling feelings about now having a stepbrother. Story-wise, it’s hard to share, because the core of the game is how the cast interacts with one another in the adventure. Imagine any RPG, but you can move around and interact with the environment while the characters are talking and sharing information. This small mechanic, escalated the immersion I experienced in the game to another level. Small details like stoking a fire, throwing rocks, and such are just examples of what Alex can do amidst the plot. The beautifully painted world contains many interactive features, giving a lot of character and nuance to what is a simple game (picking dialogue choices). Occasionally, that can lead to the quirk of the group of friends wanting to do something, but are waiting on Alex to return to where the conversation took place. Interestingly, while the player can explore while the conversations are going, they still are represented in a fashion that they are right there, next to the rest of the cast. For example, do you agree with your stepbrother that you should enter the mysterious cave? Or do you agree with your friend, that you shouldn’t bother with it, in fear of the worst.Īlex is able to move around even in the midst of her conversations. Every conversation, many of which can be cut short by the player, can be viewed in a way that makes you wonder where the story might go had you have chosen a different response. Branching paths in the dialogue are not in short supply here. Players take control of the character, Alex, but the main focus is around the group of friends who Alex interacts with. The mechanic itself is just the narrative. This is in due part to how the narrative operates. Often, particular moments in the story are revisited with a small change, that was noticeable enough for me to realize that there was something else happening and I wasn’t even aware of it.

It’s one of those haunting, very intriguing tales that you learn more about when you come back to the beginning, or see earlier scenes from a new perspective. Yet, Oxenfree finds a way to differentiate itself from similar plots like in Stranger Things, Harry Potter, or Scooby Doo.

There are also a bunch of surprises heading your way that have their own effects, but, again, I'm not going to spoil them here.The story of a group of teenagers exploring in a mysterious setting is nothing new. You get three choices to answer with as Alex, and each will provoke a different conversation or action to take place. You click on the speech bubbles, or tap on them with your finger if you have a touchscreen. Items you'll need to interact with are highlighted with a little white circle, while interactions between characters are highlighted in the form of speech bubbles above their heads. But given the nature of it, keyboard and mouse is probably the best on the PC. Or, if you prefer, you can hook up a controller and do it that way. There are a couple of other, more specific controls, but the game does a great job of letting you know the what and the when. One key element to navigating the story of Oxenfree is the pocket radio Alex keeps with her at all times - it's never more than a mouse click away. Oxenfree (Image credit: Night School Studio)

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