Oxenfree is unlike any other game I've ever played. It's platforming sections aren't really platforming sections and it's puzzles aren't really puzzling. So why is Oxenfree the first must buy Xbox One game of 2016?
When I first started playing Oxenfree I was expecting to find myself playing a pretty run of the mill puzzle/platformer. I couldn't have been more wrong. The game opens with a group of friends sailing towards Edward's Island for a night of teenage drunken partying. And it's this simple opening that sets the tone so effectively that you're instantly invested in the characters and it's a bond that just gets stronger as the game progresses. After landing and traversing the island to meet the last two members of the group a quick game of truth or dare begins. Things soon start to get freaky from here on and the real adventure begins. You'll awaken something or someone that has laid dormant and whatever it is, it doesn't want to be friends. From here on in your group becomes splintered and the friendships that were once strong become tested to their breaking point. It's your job as 17-year-old, blue haired Alex to keep these bonds strong and ensure everyone survives.
After landing and traversing the island to meet the last two members of the group a quick game of truth or dare begins. Things soon start to get freaky from here on and the real adventure begins. You'll awaken something or someone that has laid dormant and whatever it is, it doesn't want to be friends. From here on in your group becomes splintered and the friendships that were once strong become tested to their breaking point. It's your job as 17-year-old, blue haired Alex to keep these bonds strong and ensure everyone survives.
There are no weapons of any kind in Oxenfree and once the story starts to unfold you soon find out you don't need any. It's your choices during dialogue scenes that truly drive the story forward. Every answer you give or don't give steers your relationship with each character one way or another. Annoy one character and you may get the chance to regain that friendship or it might be damaged for the rest of the game. You're going to spend a lot of time going from point A to point B finding your friends and solving puzzles and after a while it becomes frustrating and that's down to the pacing of the game. A simple run or sprint option would have helped to move these sections along. The puzzle sections if you can call them that won't tax you in the slightest they are merely there to explain the same strange circumstance you find yourself in. There
There are no weapons of any kind in Oxenfree and once the story starts to unfold you soon find out you don't need any. It's your choices during dialogue scenes that truly drive the story forward. Every answer you give or don't give steers your relationship with each character one way or another. Annoy one character and you may get the chance to regain that friendship or it might be damaged for the rest of the game. You're going to spend a lot of time going from point A to point B finding your friends and solving puzzles and after a while it becomes frustrating and that's down to the pacing of the game. A simple run or sprint option would have helped to move these sections along. The puzzle sections if you can call them that won't tax you in the slightest they are merely there to explain the same strange circumstance you find yourself in. There
A simple run or sprint option would have helped to move these sections along. The puzzle sections if you can call them that won't tax you in the slightest they are merely there to explain the same strange circumstance you find yourself in. There are platform sections, sort of but they are very limiting in their scope and remind more of snippets from Another World, Flashback and Prince of Persia and even that's a stretch. The only item you possess throughout the story will be your trusty radio. Remember those kids? You can tune the radio to different stations to hear eerie conversations, strange sounds and old music and the less I tell you about the radio the better your experience with Oxenfree will be.The art style is beautifully drawn and via soundtrack and background noise fit perfectly. The voice acting is superb and along with the branching dialog
The only item you possess throughout the story will be your trusty radio. Remember those kids? You can tune the radio to different stations to hear eerie conversations, strange sounds and old music and the less I tell you about the radio the better your experience with Oxenfree will be.The art style is beautifully drawn and via soundtrack and background noise fit perfectly. The voice acting is superb and along with the branching dialog system everything flows seamlessly. Every line of dialogue is delivered with just the right amount of emotion so it doesn't become hammy.
Everything hinges on the interaction between each character and you can't help but fall in love with lead protagonist Alex. It's her conversations with the game's other characters that drag you deeper into her world and by default these conversations became more important than the underlying story. Night School Studios boasts former Disney and Telltale Games illumine in their ranks and it clearly shows because Oxenfree is character driven. All the characters here are teenagers but thankfully they don't use the stereotypical teenage bullshit that you might expect from a video game. These conversations are meaningful and delve deep into some heartbreaking moments. My only criticism is the game's length. It's very rare that I can complete a game in a single four-hour sitting. A simple yet compelling experience which makes Oxenfree the first must play game of 2016. Oxenfree is available now from the
My only criticism is the game's length. It's very rare that I can complete a game in a single four-hour sitting. A simple yet compelling experience which makes Oxenfree the first must play game of 2016.
Oxenfree is available now from the Microsoft Store. Thanks to Night School Studios for supplying us with the review code.
Thanks to Night School Studios for supplying us with the review code.