![]() ![]() Certain genres often attract short games, while others are more likely to contain longer titles. Indeed, one of the geniuses of Oxenfree is its ability to utilize multiple playthroughs to break the fourth wall, bringing the in-game phenomenon of looping into the player’s dimension: Subsequent runs are interrupted and distorted with skipped sequences, new dialogue choices, and other heavily implicative yet barely discernable changes that make you feel like something is off center, and ask yourself, “Wait, have I done this before? Did this happen last time?” Through these subtle alterations, the nagging feeling of discomfort and familiarity that you just can’t shake, you literally get to experience Alex’s story on yet another plane.As expected, the time it takes to complete a video game will vary. Thoroughly crafted cause-and-effect with nuanced substance are what bring the story to life, and it’s thrilling to observe the ripple effects of your decisions-sometimes in unexpected corners and places–as you progress through the game, and even across consecutive playthroughs: With a wide range of hidden possible endings, Oxenfree entices the player to tune into the game more than once, and does a tremendously effective job in making the second run feel like a continuation of the first, rather than a repetitive loop. Gameplay consists primarily of dialogue choices, often during stretches of walking traversal in a small, maze-like sandbox world and the occasional scavenger hunt. The game itself is simple in its premise, but masterfully executed. (I daresay that Alex has broken the record for becoming one of my favorite fictional characters ever in the shortest period of time!) By the end of it all, after all everything we’d been through together, I’d become-or wanted to be-one of her friends. Spending time with the characters on their fantastical escapade was having the teenage experience I’d never had By the middle of the game, I had become fully invested in the fate of Alex-the spunky, sarcastic, but resourceful, down-to-earth, brave, good-hearted heroine-and her crew. The writing and voice acting imbue each individual with a realistic and empathetic soul, while their organic interactions and bewitching dialogue are full of personality and spontaneity, effortlessly natural and believable while unpredictably original and true to character. The characters of Oxenfree are the beating heart of the enthralling narrative and what ultimately made me fall in love with the game beyond the point of return. The clever use of color cues to drive certain gameplay mechanics, expressive gestures, and tell-tale gait of each character are just a few of the details that are used to great effect to paint a fully fleshed-out world and engaging, surprisingly fluid, intuitive gameplay within the tricky in-between space of 2D and 3D.Ĭharacter movement transpires within a curiously confined 3-dimensional space ![]() While minimalistic, the game is like a perfectly packaged gift–charmingly and compellingly so. And as the cinematic backdrop to all the action and narration, the evocative, can’t-quite-put-your-finger-on-it layered score itself weaves a sense of hazy mystery and unidentifiable, timeless nostalgia that permeates the world, hanging in the air like an impenetrable fog. ![]() In fact, the sound design is one of the shining gems of this indie production: From the piercing tones of a mysterious device, to garbled, hair-raising static that conjures to mind otherworldly existences, every note, noise, and sound is engineered with such precision so as to suck you into an alternate reality. The game itself is relatively short–a quick search on the web shows ~3 hours as the time to beat–but in such a short span, I found myself completely submerged within a hauntingly beautiful universe, drawn with a unique yet endearing art style and amplified with an eerie, enchanting soundtrack. ![]() Oxenfree is a beautiful game that doesn’t overstay its welcome–in fact, once you immerse yourself in the world and get to know and love the characters, the story feels like it’s all too short, and you’re left with peculiar sense of beautiful sadness that makes you wish it would never end…īeing a relative newcomer to choice-driven narrative games, Oxenfree really blew me away, and in a way I would have never expected. ![]()
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