When a group of teenagers accidentally opens a rift that allows ghosts into their world, their intended party turns into a horrific nightmare. Determine their fates in this dialogue-driven supernatural thriller.
Oxenfree
Developer: Night School Studio
Price: $19.99
Platform: PC (reviewed), Mac, Xbox One, PS4 (forthcoming)
Monstervine was provided with a PC code for review.
Oxenfree tells the story of Alex, a teenage girl who encounters supernatural forces beyond her control. Along with her new stepbrother, her best friend, and two other friends, Alex visits an abandoned island for a secret overnight party.
These characters talk and act like teenagers, which makes them realistic and a bit annoying. Nevertheless, things become delightfully spooky when they open a rift to another dimension. While it isn’t horror, the story is filled with creepy twists, tension, and genuinely unsettling moments. In true thriller fashion, it soon becomes a race against the clock as Alex fights to save herself—and her friends—from the ghostly forces they’ve unleashed.
Oxenfree’s gameplay is comparable to that of Telltale’s recent games. You interact with a few key items in the environment, but the majority of the gameplay comes through your dialogue choices. These choices influence events later in the game, how other characters view you, and which outcomes you get at the end.
The dialogue system is one of the game’s few flaws, as you often have to make your choice before the other characters finish speaking. Although it fits certain high-stakes, urgent situations, it feels bizarrely unrealistic at other times, since you can’t listen to a whole statement or question before replying. If you wait too long, you lose the ability to reply with anything but silence.
Alex also has a radio, which plays an important role in the gameplay. You can check different stations for more details about the island, and at times you’re required to tune in to the supernatural forces with your radio. It’s a nice touch that helps Oxenfree stand out.
The radio also helps you find the game’s hidden collectibles, anomalies. Anomalies are secret radio messages scattered across the island. In addition to these, you can find hidden letters that help clarify the backstory.
Navigating the island was a bit frustrating, as your map is fairly unhelpful and only shows the connecting paths of the area you’re currently in. Nevertheless, since there are only a handful of locations, you won’t waste too much time if you go in the wrong direction.
Although I had trouble caring about the characters for their own sakes—even Alex was often more sarcastic than what I thought my dialogue selection meant—Oxenfree’s story is gripping and compelling. There are multiple ending variations you can get based on your choices, so it’s worth replaying, and the overall plot is worth the ride.
The Final Word
Oxenfree is a spooky game perfect for anyone who enjoys ghost stories and dialogue-driven gameplay. Although the story is short, its multiple endings and lingering questions will pull you back for more.
– MonsterVine Rating: 4.5 out of 5 – Great
