It’s the last hurrah of the summer, a hearkening back to a happier time, an attempt to use comforts of the past to assuage distress in the present. Play as Alex, a teen whose life has been in flux for years; her brother drowned in front of her, her mom is getting remarried, and she has a new stepbrother moving in.
Innocent curiosity, as it so often does in horror stories, lands Alex and her group in hot water, as they open communication lines with entities in another dimension. No spoilers here, but the mystery of these seemingly alien personalities is tied directly to the history of the island.
Armed with only her wits and a handheld radio, Alex roams the island with her new stepbrother in search of the rest of their vanished party, experiencing possessions, warnings, and more. Oxenfree is a choice-based game, which each interaction and conversation offering multiple opportunities for Alex to sway the opinions of others, steer conversations, and even choose actions the group will take - including abandoning one of your own to permanent possession.
The beginning of Oxenfree is not spooky, which to me is a good call. It’s almost disarmingly mundane; just some kids who don't quite get along hanging out awkwardly on a beach. Things quickly take a turn for the worse, however, and continue to descend the stairs of unsettling into creepy, even alarming.
To cut through the elongated suspense, Oxenfree offers players multiple chances to learn and engage with their surroundings. The handheld radio can be used to activate supernatural hotspots, open frequency-sensitive doors, and even tune into educational channels at different points of interest around the island.
I had no idea frequency-locks were a thing, and I have to say I want one. These going out of style seems like a huge waste in my opinion.
Oxenfree is a fun, unexpected treat with massive amounts of replayability. At the end of my first playthrough, it was revealed that I got basically all the most common endings in regards to my relationships with the other group members, and you better believe I’ll be returning to the game with more knowledge and more willingness to tell some of these characters what I really think of them!
Oxenfree was developed by Night School Studio and can be found on Steam, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4.