After spending half an hour with Oxenfree II: Lost signal at the Summer Game Festival, there was an immediate feeling that the sequel was shaping up to be a bigger, bolder, and real stranger more experience than its predecessor.
As it probably should be. In speaking with the founder and director of Night School, Sean Krankel, he confirmed that while the original Oxenfree completed in 16 months, the sequel took the studio three years to produce. You can certainly see the fruits of the studio’s labor as well, with this entry proving to be a much more complete work in every respect: much more detailed character models with enhanced animations; vivid environment with beautiful colors and lights; The feeling of playing the game is much smoother and more fluid than before.
Narratively speaking, Oxenfree II takes place five years after the first game and stars Riley Poverly, a woman who returns to the seaside town of Camena to investigate strange things that happen after random electromagnetic waves often cause radio signal interference. It’s all very reminiscent of the mysteries posed in the first game, and even in the short time we’ve played, there are plenty of narrative seeds planted that we can’t wait to exploit. when embarking on the whole game.
We also enjoyed Riley. While the main character of the first game, Alex, is a cranky teenager surrounded by mutually irritable teenagers, Riley is a little older, a little wiser, and a lot more outspoken. much. The back and forth with her partner, Jacob Summers, reminds us a lot of the dialogue between Henry and Delilah in Campo Santo’s fire clock, and certainly in a good way. Honestly, it’s nice to start with just two core characters, instead of the five you got right in the first game.
Aside from that, it’s clear that Night School has made some big strides in overall gameplay. It certainly resembles the first game in many ways, but Oxenfree II is definitely a more immediately satisfying experience. Character movements are a lot more intuitive, climbing is a lot faster, and it’s much easier to gauge where you need to go.
The biggest improvement, however, comes with the game’s new walkie-talkie system. This time, the characters you’ve met are assigned specific numbers through your walkie-talkie, and you can call them at any time, even if you’re talking directly to someone else. This means that while our time with the demo was mostly linear, there will be parts of the entire game that require independent investigation, needing you to call up multiple characters to follow the themes. certain narrative. It’s a great addition and makes the world feel much more alive.
If you find yourself hooked so far, but haven’t played the first game yet, don’t worry. As with most sequels these days, Krankel confirms that while players will certainly benefit from getting acquainted with the first game, Oxenfree II has been designed to be a standalone story. that newcomers can join right away. In fact, he explains that the team initially struggled to decide where to pick Oxenfree after the first game, reluctantly turning protagonist Alex into some kind of “hero”. After creating other games, including the excellent adventure title After the partyThe group realizes that Oxenfree is more than just Alex’s story and decides to branch out and tell other stories in the same world.
Needless to say, if you’re a fan of the first game, then Oxenfree II looks like it’s out of the question. Oops, even if you haven’t experienced it before, we definitely recommend keeping an eye on this as its release date approaches. July 12, 2023. It’s a game that is clearly full of mystery and intrigue, and if you like complex narratives led by well-recognized characters, then you really can’t go wrong.
What do you think of Oxenfree II so far? Did you play the first game? Think you can squeeze it in before this one arrives? Let us know what you think by commenting below.
