Under its painted veneer it might share core competencies with Telltales latest, Oxenfree is not an episodic tale. Its just a single night where some freaky things happens, and youll want to live (survive?) through it all at once.
The night in question finds you as Alex, a high school girl chaperoning her recently met stepbrother Jonas through a local custom, the all-night rager at the beach. In tow is her best friend, Ren, his not-so-furtive romantic interest, the enigmatic Nona, and queen bee Clarissa. Beers are drank and magical baked goods are scarfed. Sure theres a whiff of stereotype clinging to the characters, but soon the night gets darker. And weirder. The cast gets deeper, including Alex, all growing to be more than they first appear with each turn, each twist.
But these arent M. Night Shyamalan contortions, but smooth arcs steered by your conservation choices and actions. These revelations are fueled by frequency modulation. The party takes place on Edwards Island, a derelict naval base turned tourist trap. A place where petty officers learned how to alpha tango over the radio bands. In fact, tuning Alexs radio is the key to the weird science at hand
or is it of a more supernatural origin? To say more would rob you of the terror the triangles and the infinite possibilities of the tesseract.
The term cinematic has been bandied about in the gaming sphere since sprites took to the screen. Here, Oxenfree has bottled the celluloid aura, subtly and not-so-subtly. The setting is modern, complete with cell phone pics. The atmosphere and construction, however, is more of the earnest 80s, wrapped in a VHS dub, sometimes literally. Its also straddling the PG13 line, that valiant struggle to drum up something thrilling without relying on blood and gore, but with concepts, characters and plot. You know, like an actual story.
The look of the game might have you thinking Mario more than Walking Dead. Theres a total lack of close-ups, but, to excuse a trope, it really makes Edwards Island one of the characters. Alex is rarely alone, and her companions will walk an explore the scene as well, with the ultra-wide shots turning each local into a living post card. Even if the action takes place in a beautiful diarama, the animation isnt a slouch. The characters pivot, climb, jump and gesticulate with grand, tiny intention, although when the motions are synched between characters, it can come across as uncanny. The camera work is subtler side. Theres gentle zooms and bobs, tension building blocks, with some lavish effect work mixed with the VHS tracking jitters. It all cuts a contrast to the beautiful, muted trees and paths dressed in that patina of the Pacific Northwest: gloom.
With radio being the McGuffin mechanic, its suitable that the sound work is top notch. The voice acting, including the distorted voices heard on air, land immediately. (Though you might need to toggle on the subtitles if you want to decipher some of the more salient chatter over the airwaves.) The background music is another edge case, needling the boundary of bombast and ethereal. SCNTFCs score sets moods and adjusts pulses without overshadowing the action at hand. Likewise, the sound design, especially its fusion with the music, cements the cinephile findings. All the audio garnish on the tapestry visuals achieves, and heres the 50 cent word, a real gestalt.
But beyond visuals, voice, and sound, the soul is the script and scenarios. Again, to say too much of what Alex and company encounter would be criminal. Its safe to say theres dividends for those who play close attention. Dont fret, playing Alex single-minded or scatterbrained are both valid, feasible and rewarding. There arent really right answers (outside a chilling quiz or two) just reactions, and no ominous So-and-so will remember that just quick caricature flashes, indicating something said or done has had weight on one of your companions.
At times the branching decision seams are visible. Theres also a lot more going on in the periphery. Small ripples make tidal waves. And playing as Alex is a treat. Shes doesnt wear the melancholy cardigan that would be so easy to pigeon hole her into. Her dialog option offerings giving enough wiggle room to have reaction youll most likely be comfortable with as she chatters, informs, and interrupts. Its the interruptions that are the biggest scuff on the game, you never know when Alex will cut someone off mid-sentence or wait politely to give her two cents. And the voice work and banter is the games heart and soul. Youll likely not want to cut too many conversations short, leading to a not-intended mini-game of waiting for the dialog options to start to fade and then quickly selecting before Alex just stews out stony silence instead. Its an extra layer of tension thats not really needed.
At the beginning of this review it was recommended you make a sandwich. Theres a reason. Oxenfree will you take you well over five hours, and even more if you want to scour the island for all of its secrets. Though there are variations to the tale, I recommend shelving it after completion for a little contemplation. But like those well worn VHS tapes, youll want to go back eventually. And, finally, as cinematic as the game is, those certain scenes where the distortion is cranked up and the lights turn eerie red and red again, they would never have the same punch played out on the static screen. Here, you play in it, making the goosebumps all the more earned.