'OXENFREE II' Left Me With More Questions Than Answers — And I Loved It (REVIEW)
By Sara BelcherJul. 12 2023, Published 3:00 a.m. ET
Let's get one thing directly: I love a sport with a good story. Narrative-heavy titles with rich lore are the bread and butter of my video game library — and although I'm not often a fan of spooky titles, the OXENFREE games outmoded the expectations first of all set for them.
The first OXENFREE sport, launched in 2016, follows top schooler Alex and her cohort of friends on Edwards Island as they by chance almost unencumber the restless ghosts stuck between this international and the next. OXENFREE II: Lost Signals is its sequel, following long-graduated Riley as she gets trapped in the same vicious and difficult decision-making cycle as Alex, battling the similar spirits.
Though this is technically a review of OXENFREE II for the Nintendo Switch, it's onerous to talk about the 2d without speaking about the first. So imagine this a look at the franchise as a whole, and a recommendation that sure, you should spend a weekend binge-playing both of those games in succession to fully clutch the story developer Night School Studio has crafted.
'OXENFREE II: Lost Signals'
Our Rating
A sequel that does more than simply reinforce upon its predecessor.
Developer: Night School Studio
Publisher: Netflix, MWM Interactive
Release date: July 12, 2023
Platforms: PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Netflix
In OXENFREE II, you play as Riley, who returns to her native land of Camena to take a role investigating unusual local radio frequencies. It's transparent Riley left the town for some difficult causes, and she'll grapple with the ghosts of her previous (and long run) whilst attempting to faucet into the atypical frequencies.
Throughout the journey, you'll be able to attach (or not) with more than a few folks, many via the walkie-talkie given to you at the start of your task.
Despite those characters being little greater than voices over the radio, they have got full-fledged personalities that soar out at you. Shelley, a park ranger, is a wealth of knowledge on the native cult looking to touch the lost spirits. Maria, the local highschool radio's nighttime DJ will spill the tea on her classmates (who you'll be able to meet around the town). Nick, the lonely fisherman, turns into a good-natured virtual companion to check in with throughout the night time.
As a dialogue-driven title, OXENFREE II improved upon its original gameplay mechanics in some way that made the tale infinitely extra immersive. While playing thru the first, I would continuously by accident reduce conversations brief when advancing to the next location or attempting to reply sooner than Alex's dialogue options disappeared. In the sequel, you can know if a dialog will proceed when transitioning between places, helping you better pace yourself.
The sport's sprawling conversation trees had been herbal, flowing better than many conversations I've held with strangers. Of course, it helps that Jacob, your former classmate-turned-co-worker, may cling the dialog by way of himself if left to his personal units, but it surely also provides the significant other a distinctly dorky-yet-loveable persona. While his ramblings may seem nonsensical at times, Jacob's personality used to be a brilliant spot in even the darkest moments.
Despite the distinctly other protagonist and site from OXENFREE I, it doesn't take lengthy into your playthrough of OXENFREE II to understand simply how intertwined the two stories are. Night School Studio did extra than simply construct upon the lore crafted for the first sport — the builders wove the two games in combination so intricately it's laborious to walk away without taking a look in awe at the tapestry of lore left in the back of.
The sport takes about seven hours to finish — just a little too much to consume in a single sitting, but with a quick-enough pace that you'll want to dive back in once imaginable.
OXENFREE II is more a spouse game than a real sequel, and those taking a look to explore each conceivable story branch can change between the two video games to apply the lore threaded thru every.
By the time the ultimate credits rolled on OXENFREE II, I was shell-shocked and on the verge of tears, asking myself a sequence of questions I didn't suppose I'd ever get the answers to. The major (and simplest spoiler-free) one circling round in my head: Did I make the proper resolution?
The OXENFREE games are best long past into as blind as possible (and I've attempted to stay this review as spoiler-free as one can), regardless that you possibly can be doing yourself a disservice to play the 2d without playing the first. OXENFREE II builds upon the whole thing created in the first with out dropping the preliminary attraction and thriller you found gambling thru Alex's tale.
Where OXENFREE inspired you to replay via the various endings, OXENFREE II offers a type of finality to your remaining plot-altering decision that permits you to walk away — but it would possibly not can help you put out of your mind Riley, Alex, and the spirits of those misplaced on the USS Kanaloa.
OXENFREE II: Lost Signals is now available on PC, Switch, PlayStation, and through Netflix.
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