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Oxenfree Review by Vincent Spallino
Video Game Review
The small indie game Oxenfree instantly broke the minds of me and my friends, more than once (three times to be exact). After playing Oxenfree for the first time, it genuinely surprised me so much I naturally had to present it to my friends and play it with them (me playing, them eagerly watching). If you're eagerly anticipating a remarkable, story propelled, indie game that will nervously toy with your emotions whilst offering you a charming bit of spook, Oxenfree just may be your most attractive option, and it's available on XBOX-ONE/PS4/PC/IOS/SWITCH.
Background
Oxenfree is a “supernatural mystery graphic adventure” video game carefully developed and published by Night School Studio. The game touches on unusually brilliant concepts like time travel, ghosts, and don't forget the most interesting of all: The Inside of Teenagers’ Minds. The game has 5 leading characters: Alex, Jonas, Ren, Nona, and Clarissa. You'll be diving into the youthful mind of Alex, who is a teenage girl devastated from the profound loss of her deceased brother, Michael. Alex is a clever rebellious teenager that inevitably tends to be extremely sarcastic and witty, but the active player can easily develop her personality to be unique, while Alex (you) and her friends explore and unveil the creepy mysteries of a post-apocalyptic island.
The Good
As I stated before, the thrilling experience of playing Oxenfree caused me to show it to one of my best friends which, in turn, led us to play the game for the next 8 delightful hours, properly finishing at about 5 a.m. Usually in indie games like this, all character conversations are typically done in thought bubbles with standard text, which in turn you have to read attentively. Ew. However, in Oxenfree, Night School Studios decided to have voice overs instead of text which established the game in a considerably more enjoyable way. Properly hearing the characters’ voices immensely helps powerfully convey their genuine emotions which remain such a massive part of this game. Hearing their voices really gets you connected with the characters, in good or bad ways, supporting you when it's time to make tough decisions that decide your friends’ fate.
Oxenfree also emerged with creative ways to intentionally keep you interested in the game by having the leading character, Alex, operate an old radio to connect and tune into certain signals that could open up doorways or areas that you couldn't get to before. This was an extremely cool and creepy concept that Oxenfree did a really good job with and I haven't seen it done in this specific way before. There are also separate mysteries that you can unravel off the main story which is completely optional, so if you are into running around and eagerly looking for clues, then Oxenfree has you covered. Now, if you're like me, a swifter paced approach is what we all desire. Attention spans these modern days seem to continue to shorten as the years go by. Initially, the game feels slow and it's a little bit annoying, but that's all part of the grand scheme.
It's impossible to know what’s coming next. I paid attention to all tangible clues and tried to place them together as I experienced the game but I was proved wrong around every possible turn. Oxenfree has a lot of walking in it which, to some, may be quite annoying but for some mysterious reason, it was actually very enjoyable.
The Bad
If I'm being honest, there wasn't much I didn't like about this game. All the bad things about this game all come down to personal preference. As I said before, Oxenfree has a lot of walking in it. This could be very tedious to some. The only other thing that this game could have done a bit better with was the illusion of life or death. In Oxenfree, there is no way to die, no way to get set back. This is a very easy thing to ignore because in this game I feel that this concept isn't needed, but if you only like playing games where you can die or lose everything, this may not be the game for you. Keep in mind this is all just nitpicking and I personally think that none of this should keep you from playing the game!
Overall
Play it! Play it! Play it! Oxenfree is one of the absolute best games I have played in a long time, especially with mainstream repetitive games like BO4, Madden, and Fortnite, everything feels extremely repetitive and fake. Oxenfree is a one of a kind game and I think that anyone who truly plays games to enjoy them as art should play Oxenfree! (Oh, and it's free!)