Oxenfree

A genuinely creepy creation, Oxenfree combines a clever story and smart dialogue mechanics with superbly sinister music to leave a deep and lasting impression on the player, one that should encourage an all-important second playthrough. Fans of Stranger Things and Poltergeist will love the direction this game takes – if not to hell and back, exactly, then absolutely to some other place where horrors abound, just waiting for an invitation into our world. It’s yet another Switch essential.

Five teenagers unleash something unpleasant on a spooky island.

Hide and freak.

Oxenfree executes what it set out to accomplish in a great way, providing a rather unique adventure game filled with interesting methods of interaction and some pretty shocking moments. You’ll feel a wide range of emotions, but above all you’ll be moved as it gradually dawns on you that the teenagers are simply struggling to let go of the inner demons that dwell on the inside.

Every neighborhood has that one creepy abandoned house, or the recluse that lives in a huge building all to himself but hasn’t been seen in years. Stories get passed on about how these places are haunted (usually due to some terrible tragedy that occurred years prior), and stupid teenagers typically test their luck & attempt to find the truth of the situation. Typically nothing comes from this type of mischief, but what if the rumors were actually true?

The story took me around four hours to finish and tends towards creepy or unsettling rather than SCARY. If it had been SCARY I would probably have thrown the Steam key back in Adam's face and hidden under a duvet for a few hours. I liked how it resolved (or at least I liked how I resolved it) and how it was paced. It came together cleanly and it mostly served to support the strongest part of the game which is the discovery/building of these other relationships.

Oxenfree is a fantastic horror game, and Night School Studio has definitely pulled out all the stops to bring this story to life. Its classic Telltale meets the horror movies of the 1980s, and they’ve hit all the right notes. The branching storylines, likeable characters, and underlying dread and mystery really help this game to accomplish everything it could. Oxenfree is sure to keep you guessing until you reach the final ending screen. At which point I can’t promise you won’t just start over, ready to explore the ghostly realm ocne again.

Oxenfree is everything that is right in the indie development scene. It tells a great story, has really unique gameplay that's almost completely dialog driven, and has some of the most subtle horror elements I've seen in a game. This is one of those games that you shouldn't sleep on, make sure you check it out.

Despite its slightly vague story and note-collecting-based narrative, I was completely smitten by Oxenfree, so it's an easy title to recommend, especially if you know a lot about World War 2.

Unique, with a strong cast of relatable characters, this is a supernatural mystery thriller with a compelling narrative and setting.

Narrative is often overlooked in favour of the more natural forms of interactivity that are inherent to video games. But in the last few years, we've gotten a series of thoughtful and engaging titles that have really pushed the medium forward in this regard. Not only have they changed our perceptions of what constitutes a game, but they have also highlighted the narrative flaws of many beloved of the series of the past – no matter how good their gameplay. It's because of this that perhaps the term "walking simulator" is a tad disingenuous. And yes, Oxenfree certainly fits into this category if...

But ultimately your mileage will vary with Oxenfree, which makes it hard to outright recommend. The story is unique and the themes are mature, but the telling of that story isn’t as sharp as it could be. Moreover, the actual mechanics of the game are surprisingly straightforward for a game all about mystery; so don’t expect to face any major challenges along the way. Truthfully, the major conflicts in Oxenfree are the dialogue choices, which further influence the growth of Alex as a young woman faced with an extraordinary scenario.