Game details:
Developer:Night School StudioGenre:Adventure, CinematicPlatforms:PC – Xbox
In recent years, it has become increasingly hard to find an adventure game with a good story, narrative and atmosphere. One reason is that younger players’ demand for action-packed first-person games full of combat has pushed developers in that direction. Oxenfree is not especially long, but its atmosphere and storytelling make it worth the time you spend on it. It begins when a group of young people take a trip to an abandoned island and find themselves drawn into a mysterious series of paranormal events. Unlike many adventure games, Oxenfree does not confront you with particularly difficult puzzles. That makes it a gentle, cinematic experience even for players unfamiliar with the genre.
Oxenfree focuses on the relationships and conversations within a close group of friends aged around 16 to 18, as well as the past and memories of its protagonist, Alex. The dialogue that flows constantly throughout the game is so well written and natural that you really feel as though you are talking to the characters. The time you are given to respond is designed to keep the conversation moving. You can answer what is said to you by choosing from three dialogue options. If you don’t want to answer, or don’t respond in time as the conversation continues, you remain silent. The following dialogue then adjusts accordingly, and the characters react to your silence. Not many games have such a beautifully constructed web of conversations.
The story centres on trying to unravel the mystery of the paranormal forces that begin haunting the island and the whole group after you open a dimensional gateway using radio frequencies in a cave you enter with Jonas. As we investigate, we try to discover what these forces want and how they are connected to the island’s history and to the past of Alex, the character we control. Your conversations with the other members of the group determine how well you get along with them. Alex’s brother Michael drowned on this island a few years earlier. Having buried that painful loss in her memories, Alex returns to the island where she spent part of her childhood, accompanied by her stepbrother Jonas and her old friends. At first, the group sits around a fire on the beach, chatting, drinking beer and playing games. After Alex and Jonas explore the cave, their fate takes a turn towards paranormal suspense. The horror elements are fairly mild, with the atmosphere leaning more towards gentle tension. The aim is not to make you jump out of your skin, but to build excitement that makes you increasingly curious as you get drawn into events.
The decisions you make are designed to change the outcome. The fate of your friends will therefore depend, at least partly, on your choices. At the end of the game, you can also see a chart showing the percentage of other players who made the same decisions.
Oxenfree won an award at the 2015 IndieCade Awards, which each year recognise promising developers and games whose names are not yet widely known. It was also a finalist in the visual art category at the 2016 Independent Games Festival (IGF), receiving honourable mentions for audio and narrative.
If you enjoy adventure games, or want to try a different kind of game, and a mysterious story driven by flowing conversations in a gentle, cinematic atmosphere sounds appealing, Oxenfree is a game that definitely belongs in your collection.