I wanted to like this game, I really did. But in the end it's just too tedious to me. I don't like any of the characters, the dialogue is...blegh. I thought I was gonna like the mystery but it never clicked, nothing that happened left an impression. I don't know why because I really like games like Life is Strange or Gone Home and that has similar characters to this but for some reason most characters in this are just aggravating to me. Didn't enjoy it much. I liked it for the first hour and was curious to see where it would go, but after that the game just made me angry.
I wanted to like this game, I really did. But in the end it's just too tedious to me. I don't like any of the characters, the dialogue is...blegh. I thought I was gonna like the mystery but it never clicked, nothing that happened left an impression. I don't know why because I really like games like Life is Strange or Gone Home and that has similar characters to this but for some reason most characters in this are just aggravating to me. Didn't enjoy it much. I liked it for the first hour and was curious to see where it would go, but after that the game just made me angry.
Pretty much the same as me then. I really wanted to like this game but as I played on nothing really clicked and it became a drag. Most characters are annoying as hell and the ending felt rushed.
Looked forward to it before playing it but would not recommend.
So I started playing through this game a while ago, but had to turn it off (I got to the beach area), as I found the character Ren to be completely insufferable. I would like to try the game again, as I've heard nothing but good things.
So I started playing through this game a while ago, but had to turn it off (I got to the beach area), as I found the character Ren to be completely insufferable. I would like to try the game again, as I've heard nothing but good things.
I'm glad I am not the only one! Yeah, I guess on some level it shows how good the writing and the voice work is. Will try and jump back in to the game this week and will post in the thread to let you guys know how I got on!
I played through (what I would guess to be about) about half of this game last night. Midgame spoilers ahead:
I just reached the part where you're flashing back in time to hanging out with your dead brother and Clarissa.
I'm honestly not sure if I'll keep going. The sound design is phenomenal and some of the horror bits have been pretty effective, but I find the characters just absolutely unpleasant to the point where I'm not really interested in seeing what happens to them. It's frustrating how slow they are to decipher what's happening around them. The bits with
going to rescue Clarissa and watching her act strange, disappear/reapper, speak in tongues etc. Then she jumps out a window, and their conclusion to seeing her not on the ground when they get downstairs is that she must have survived the fall and gotten up and walked away. I feel like I'm constantly frustrated with how "dumb" these characters are because it feels like "badly written" dumb and not "they're just teenagers" dumb.
Is there anything really interesting to look forward to after the point I'm at in the game or will I continue to feel like I've kinda seen what the game has to offer? I'm not really jazzed about jumping back into the game and enduring a long flashback sequence about characters I'm just not emotionally invested in.
Started playing this yesterday, and while I enjoy the quality and the tone of the dialogue, it's a bit annoying that it feels like you have to stop at points of interest and before exiting a scene to let the characters finish their dialogue, because there just so much of it.
And it doesn't help when you also feel that the walking is already so slow.
I played through (what I would guess to be about) about half of this game last night. Midgame spoilers ahead:
I just reached the part where you're flashing back in time to hanging out with your dead brother and Clarissa.
I'm honestly not sure if I'll keep going. The sound design is phenomenal and some of the horror bits have been pretty effective, but I find the characters just absolutely unpleasant to the point where I'm not really interested in seeing what happens to them. It's frustrating how slow they are to decipher what's happening around them. The bits with
going to rescue Clarissa and watching her act strange, disappear/reapper, speak in tongues etc. Then she jumps out a window, and their conclusion to seeing her not on the ground when they get downstairs is that she must have survived the fall and gotten up and walked away. I feel like I'm constantly frustrated with how "dumb" these characters are because it feels like "badly written" dumb and not "they're just teenagers" dumb.
Is there anything really interesting to look forward to after the point I'm at in the game or will I continue to feel like I've kinda seen what the game has to offer? I'm not really jazzed about jumping back into the game and enduring a long flashback sequence about characters I'm just not emotionally invested in.
Started playing this yesterday, and while I enjoy the quality and the tone of the dialogue, it's a bit annoying that it feels like you have to stop at points of interest and before exiting a scene to let the characters finish their dialogue, because there just so much of it.
And it doesn't help when you also feel that the walking is already so slow.
Yeah, this has tripped me up a couple times already. I don't want to accidently skip any dialogue so I end up hanging around the beginning of each zone while the characters chat, then sloooowwwly crawl my way across the environment in silence after the characters are done talking. Fiddling with the radio helps a bit, but it still feels inelegant when other games have already solved these types of problems.
Yeah, you're probably right. I'm interested in the mystery of the island and the tone they create with it is fantastic, I just wish the vehicle for that plot (the characters) were more my style. It's a frustrating experience because there's as much stuff that I like about Oxenfree as there is stuff that I wish I liked.
Finished the game once. Story is a little shallow and I didn't get attached to the characters much. What it lacks in plot it makes up for in ambiance, because it's the most atmospheric walking simulator I've played this or last year. It's actually really difficult for me to take in everything in this game because I need the subtitles (hearing impaired), which makes me miss out on little details in the scenery and whatnot and then I lose track of what's happening. While this is annoying as a player, it enhances the verisimilitude of Alex's situation. So I applaud their courage for forcing me to stay on my toes, player experience be damned.
I wish I moved a little faster. I get that they want to set a specific pace but it makes exploring and backtracking a huge chore.
First ending:
Bonded with Jonas
Ren and Nona didn't get together
Patched up with Clarissa
Didn't manage to save Michael
Replaying it again now. I'm glad they put so much effort into making New Game+ seem different.
depressing ending that even though you can save Mike, Get two people together, make up with another, etc you will always repeat the loop. Though I'm not sure if the assumption is that if you send yourself a message in the NG+ and avoid going to the island that closes the loop but my understanding is you can play again?
I'm not complaining though, I liked the characters though personally they made it too easy for me to bond with and for her to be over
Michael
. Plus it's a staple of many horror stories of days past that there
is a loop that continues regardless of all of the effort
so I kind of got nostalgia for some stories I used to read back in the days. Good times.
I think my biggest complaint is that
actually bothering to find the clues throughout the island seemed to have done absolutely nothing besides an achievement
. And of course the walking speed. God the walking speed. You can be an atmospheric mystery/discovery game and let me run ffs.
That's cool I guess, but I couldn't hold my interest and watched the true/best ending anyways so I have little reason to lmao. Curiosity killed the dog.
I still think it's a solid game with one playthrough. To be fair I also got it for 5 bucks today, so with the entertainment I got out of it it's a freaking steal.
Finished my first run through the game, it's clear the game wants me to start over.
I must've skipped something because I don't understand the ending I got.
I:
bonded with step-brother/now turned just friend.
Got Ren and Nona together
Fixed things with Clarissa and saved Michael.
What I don't understand is how I did the last part:
I understand how I may have fixed things with Clarissa as I was never outwardly mean to her and always tried to be sympathetic to her. However I never "saw" how I saved her when the ghosts wanted to keep her (I never allowed them).
Also I don't know how I saved Michael. At all. Apparently he was with me the whole time and all the photos are changed so that he's in them. Don't know how that happened.
I'm assuming I have to play another run through of the game in order to find those answers but I don't know how to go about it. I'm guessing I have to pick different answers? If anyone can tell me what I should be looking out for in my next run that would be helpful.
Finished my first run through the game, it's clear the game wants me to start over.
I must've skipped something because I don't understand the ending I got.
I:
bonded with step-brother/now turned just friend.
Got Ren and Nona together
Fixed things with Clarissa and saved Michael.
What I don't understand is how I did the last part:
I understand how I may have fixed things with Clarissa as I was never outwardly mean to her and always tried to be sympathetic to her. However I never "saw" how I saved her when the ghosts wanted to keep her (I never allowed them).
Also I don't know how I saved Michael. At all. Apparently he was with me the whole time and all the photos are changed so that he's in them. Don't know how that happened.
I'm assuming I have to play another run through of the game in order to find those answers but I don't know how to go about it. I'm guessing I have to pick different answers? If anyone can tell me what I should be looking out for in my next run that would be helpful.
You won't get those answers in the game as far as I'm aware. The thing that mattered in your playthrough that gave you that ending was that
during the flashbacks with Michael you must have told him you wanted him to stay and not go. You were being clingy while in the original timeline you are supportive and in his going away party he drowns. Jonas turns into a friend because in this timeline you just changed, Michael never died therefore your parents didn't divorce therefore Jonas isn't your new brother. But apparently he still came to the town and became friends with ren. It's a bittersweet ending because you get your brother back and Clarissa got the supposed love of her life back, but all of the development you had with Jonas went out the window
I beat this last week and I'm starting another play through. I do have a question about end game stuff hopefully someone can answer.
Towards the end when you're in front of the water by the tent, my username is shown in green above Alex. What's the deal with that? Is there some sort of online component to the game?
I beat this last week and I'm starting another play through. I do have a question about end game stuff hopefully someone can answer.
Towards the end when you're in front of the water by the tent, my username is shown in green above Alex. What's the deal with that? Is there some sort of online component to the game?
New Game Plus, it continues the story as a narrative is a big time loop (much like the smaller ones from throughout the game), your character begins to remember things that happened and can react differently, different possible ending, etc
New Game Plus, it continues the story as a narrative is a big time loop (much like the smaller ones from throughout the game), your character begins to remember things that happened and can react differently, different possible ending, etc
I'm purchasing this game today (for the Nintendo Switch), and aside from knowing the premise of "group of teenagers exploring an abandoned military base on an island", I'm going in blind so that I can get the most out of the experience.
Just started playing myself, love the ambience and voice acting. Reminds me a little of Until Dawn and Life Is Strange. Here's hoping it's a great time!
The founders of Night School Studios talk about the game on its fifth anniversary, and how plans for a movie have turned into plans for a potential TV series.
