Oxenfree

TL;DR: Play this for the story and/or the atmosphere. These are the strongest points of this game, and they ARE strong. Overall, this game earned its money from me. I wish I bought this when it wasn't on a promotion, just because I want the game devs to get more money for how enjoyable an experience this was. Worth every bit of cash. The bad: * the game is not very replayable, though I easily got two run-throughs out of it. I'll let you decide whether it's a good or a bad thing. It was a high-quality experience both times, getting a better ending the second time * the teen drama mentioned in other reviews - it's mostly OK and bearable. The good: * the sense of atmosphere is phenomenal * the game has a conversation mechanic that I've never seen. It's walk-and-talk, you literally pick the conversation options as you walk-and-talk across the landscape with your companion(s). It's quite fluid and a pleasant change from 1-to-1 "freeze the world" convos from Fallout etc. * extra-dimensional shenanigans and horror! What more could you possibly want? I mean it, kinda. This has some Gravity Falls vibes if you've watched that, but with more mature themes and older characters. * haven't expected to say this ever for a 2D adventure game, but the VFX are on-point and very satisfying * the central mystery is pretty cool, and with a plot twist I wasn't quite expecting. * the radio is fairly cool side-mechanic for solving puzzles and backstory exposure. The meh: * there is no ability to run, fast-travel, or otherwise accelerate your journey across the island. Sometimes you'll do a wrong turn, and have to endure long stretches of walking silently with your companions. Even with Syberia, where you CAN run, was annoying in this aspect. * convo replies are timed. You either say your bit, or the options fade away as you choose to say nothing. Might be bad if you can't make up your mind fast enough, or if it reminds you too much of IRL. Might be good if you wanna RP the silent type.

If you are the kind of person who enjoys the narrative potential of the videogame format, this game is for you. The writing and characters shine, with plenty of memorable moments. My only complaint is that getting around can be a slog the second or third time around, and besides dialogue there is not a whole lot to do gameplay-wise. But if you are willing to accept such compromises for an awesome genre aware supernatural story, a fantastic concept, an engaging mystery, and an absolute god-tier soundtrack, I cannot recommend this enough.

Oxenfree lives up to most of the tropes you expect out of an indie Point-and-Click game on the surface. The graphics are fairly simple, there obvious mechanics you expect for the genre are simplified to the point that some are non-existant, and it’s about a teen-girl in generic horror situation X. But if you dig deeper, you find the horror situation is executed with extreme talent and skill, making it much more involving then you would ever expect, the obvious mechanics missing are taken over by new subtle and exceedingly well crafted ones, and the graphics while simple, are used exceptionally well along side the sound to create one hell of an eerie atmosphere that will keep you rolling. Simply put this game is going to come out of left-field to those that look past the obvious, and in fairly refreshing way. It won’t challenge you much in the traditional sense, but you will be left wondering which choices you made and how you talked to the other characters affected your end result. If this intrigues you and you have a taste for creepy games, you might want to give this game a shot. But you still might want to wait for a sale since, like many games of this type, it is actually very short (I finished it in under 4 hours). However, if you are looking for a challenge to finish the game rather then to see your way to the best ending (which in itself could be up to you to decide), this game is simply not made with you in mind.

I really enjoy this game. Mostly adventure games bore me at some point - this one I finished second time and I'm going to take another round. It's fresh, it gets you in, you care about characters, and the mood is mostly fantastic. This game won't scare you. It's to relaxing and it's more like reading a good book. It's not bad, just - hardcore horror players, be warned, this is more mystery, than creepy. If you like "Stranger Things' mood, mixed with "Life is Strange" and "Firewatch" - you'll like it. The plot seems to be pretty simple, but after you finish the game... you propably will start a new one - there is a good reason for it, but I won't spoil. Yet, there are cons: As was said before - the option of picking course of conversation looks good on trailers, and it's one of reasons why I bought the game, but time for pick the dialog opiton is DRASTICALLY short. You have to read three sentences in those bubbles, written with kinda teenage font, most of the time characters are still having a conversation, so it's hard to focus (especially if English isn't your primary language) dialog bubbles soon dissapear, leaving you with no option. Often you don't hear the whole conversation - you choice cut it in the middle, with Alex saying the option you picked. Besides playing another game leaves the main character with precisely the same dialog options as the first time... and it shouldn't. Those who played know why.

First off, if you're looking for a game that's primarily based on tough action or challenging puzzles or something of that nature, this isn't what you're looking for and you should move on to something else. If you're more interested in storylines, then keep reading. This game is almost entirely focused on the dialogue and storyline, and that is where it really shines. The dialogue is realistic and interesting, and leaves a lot of room for interpretation by the player. The game leaves multiple surprises and changes depending on how one plays (without going too far in detail, one of the first interactions in the game allows to player to either be open and welcoming, hostile and confrontational, or just stay out of things), and the storyline is compelling down to the very last sentence of gameplay and even on replays. I highly recommend it for anyone who enjoys games for their characters and storylines.