Spirit of the radio

Oxenfree may be a scary recreation, however to me, it’s additionally a summer time recreation. It’s concerning the in-between components of your life, as you progress from one main milestone to the subsequent, and all of the regrets and feelings that kick up in that point. So if Oxenfree was a summer time trip ghost story, Oxenfree II: Misplaced Indicators is a haunted summer time gig.

Set 5 years after the primary recreation, Oxenfree II follows Riley Poverly’s return house to the coastal city of Camena. From the outset, it has plenty of summer time gig vibes; you’re tasked with heading to designated places in Camena to arrange radio transmitters, in order that scientists can collect knowledge concerning the unusual radio alerts taking place across the space.
Clearly, this doesn’t go so effectively. And what begins out as a chill job begins to really feel uneasy and tense, till one thing paranormal and fallacious ensues. Phenomena happen. Portals open within the sky. Is leaving even attainable?

Stroll and discuss

These are the spooky, supernatural, but emotional and relatable emotions that drive Oxenfree, and appear to return for the sequel. Whereas characters take care of unusual occurrences, additionally they appear to be wrestling with their very own ghosts, and navigating the previous typically means confronting the latter.

An enormous function of Night time College’s work has been its walk-and-talk gameplay. You navigate round Camena and its numerous locales, however all of the whereas, characters nonetheless chat and reply to one another. Chat bubbles can pop up, and give you alternatives to be taught and develop as you progress by way of the house.

Oxenfree II amps up the walk-and-talk with one in every of its new options: a walkie talkie. This intelligent addition isn’t only for wordplay, however for speaking with different characters at any time. Within the demo I performed at Summer season Sport Fest 2023, I used to be capable of flip between channels and chat about my environment with Evelyn, my point-of-contact again at base. It was a pleasant approach to encourage me to discover a bit extra, discovering new objects or factors of curiosity I may chat with Evelyn about.
It’s a wise system that opens up additional dialogue, makes strolling round and taking within the sights extra fascinating, and retains the tangible really feel of Oxenfree‘s tech front-and-center. Quite a lot of Oxenfree II offers in the identical tangible, analogue tech as the primary recreation. Turning radio dials, keying into totally different channels, and activating your walkie has an intent behind it. You push a button, or flip a knob, and one thing occurs. It’s that feeling of continuous to show and press, regardless of the strangeness of what’s taking place in entrance of you, that sells Oxenfree‘s stress and horror so effectively.

Night time terrors

In fact, I may be overselling the scares of Oxenfree II. I wouldn’t say it’s a horror recreation within the sense of jump-scares or something. Although, there are definitely moments the place sudden cuts or shifts occur in fast succession.

Oxenfree II has extra of a surreal, creepy, supernatural vibe. It’s the type that makes you surprise if one thing’s fallacious together with your TV. The model of horror that slowly seeps in and begins to make you query shadows, or surprise what’s lurking simply behind the purview of the display boundaries.

There’s nonetheless downtime with out the scares, the place Riley and her new coworker Jacob can get to know one another. I ran right into a heap of great little moments of sincerity and social awkwardness. If you happen to’ve ever been engaged on a job and had a coworker you barely know abruptly ask in case you consider in ghosts, this may ring a bell.
As you’d count on, the nice thriller is why the radio portals are again. And naturally, the looming query mark of Edwards Island, what impact the occasions of Oxenfree had, and the way they carry over into Oxenfree II. There are some moments while you chat with individuals about one thing that occurred there, however in any other case, all we have now is theory… for now.

Left of the dial

I solely obtained to play the primary half-hour or so of Oxenfree II: Misplaced Indicators, but it surely was simply greater than sufficient. I’ve loved Night time College’s tackle the narrative journey style, and the best way the crew there tackles each gameplay and writing round fascinating matters. Oxenfree II, in its first 30, didn’t disappoint on that entrance.

I’ve obtained plenty of questions on what awaits in Camena, and even Edwards Island. However fortunately, it’s not an extended wait. Oxenfree II: Misplaced Indicators arrives on July 12 for PC, Change, PlayStation, and the Netflix platform.

Eric Van Allen

Senior Information Reporter – Whereas Eric’s been writing about video games since 2014, he is been enjoying them for lots longer. Normally discovered grinding RPG battles, digging into an indie gem, or hanging out across the Limsa Aethryte.

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