Posted on: December 23, 2017
XTRMNTR2K
Verified ownerGames: 598 Reviews: 4
An engrossing, unforgettable experience
Even though I really enjoy a good adventure and love a well-told story, this game for some reason remained almost completely under my gaming radar until a few days ago. Sure, I've heard the title, but that was it. When I started playing this game I practically knew nothing about the gameplay or story, and my expectations weren't all that big. To say I was in for a massive surprise would still be an understatement. Oxenfree tells its story in just the right way; there is a lot of dialogue - all of it superbly voiced - and even the letters you can find scattered around the island are (while not narrated) commented on by the main character. The overall tone of the game is one of mystery and discovery, which is perfectly strengthened by its amazing soundtrack. Retaining such a relatively positive atmosphere is quite a feat given some of the darker themes in this game. As for the characters you could argue that they are a bit on the clichéd side, but for me that didn't get in the way of enjoying their bits of banter. In fact, I grew to like and care about them, something that very few games managed in recent history. So far I've played through this game two full times over the course of 11 hours, with maybe one or two more playthroughs at a later time (to get the remaining three achievements). During my first run of the game I played exclusively using keyboard and mouse, and didn't find much of a fault with the controls. That being said, for the second playthrough I switched to gamepad and found the overall flow of the game a little better (especially since you can usually run instead of walk easily using the analog stick, whereas you need to keep your movement key pressed for several seconds using a keyboard). Conclusion: If you are fine with relatively basic gameplay, but like having meaningful choices and an interesting, well-told story, this is for you. Besides, the gameplay is still more complex than that of Telltale games, so there's that.
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