There isn’t anything groundbreaking about OXENFREE. It’s a simple game that is dialogue heavy, where you make choices that lead to slight non-linear consequences. If you can pull back far enough, you can see this structure has been done over and over again, and mostly from the good folks at the late-great LucasArts in the 90s when point-and-click ruled the PC. Again, this structure of gameplay isn’t anything groundbreaking, new or special. That isn’t taking anything away from the game, but it is what it is. 
Now, having said that, what a developer like Night School Studio does with that structure is what makes it special and unique. What a game like OXENFREE is wrapped in when it comes to presentation and how it is driven from point A to point B in regards to story is what makes the big difference when it comes to how good this game can be. And folks, despite what you might have heard about this title, this game is damn good. If you enjoy story-driven games that have been evenly sprinkled with atmosphere and superb dialogue delivery, then you’re in for a treat with OXENFREE. Despite its short length, 6-7 hours of gameplay, the story is good enough to accept the brief treat.
Here is how the story goes.
A group of teenagers, each haunted by something in their past, has grouped together at a beach on a recommissioned military island for their annual drink fest in front of a bonfire. The island can only be reached via ferry and the locale is mostly occupied by a rich old woman named Maggie Addler, who is now deceased. In addition to what is pretty much an abandoned place, the island is also known for a great submarine tragedy from World War II, where a submarine was sunk and all on board perished. See, creepy beginning!
In the game you play as Alex, a teen that is haunted by the death of her brother, Michael, and looking for a way to move forward and find much needed direction with the help of her friends. Trying to take her mind off of her troubled days, her friend Ren and her step-brother Jonas explore a cave on the island that has some mysterious lights flickering when a signal from a portable radio (which Alex has) is toyed adjusted. What starts as a fun game of flickering mysterious lights via the radio soon turns into scariness when the group is transported separately onto parts of the island. From that point on, the former residents of the island begin to take control…and I will stop there.
As you can probably tell, the story is the driving point of the gameplay, which can be credited to directors Adam Hines and Sean Krankel. It’s completely backed up by the atmosphere (music and sound effects) and the superb acting abilities of Erin Yvette (Alex), Avital Ash (Clarissa), Gavin Hammon (Jonas), Britanni Johnson (Nona), Aaron Kuban (Ren) and Joe Zieja (voice in the radio/tour guide), who really sell the story’s characters. Without these folks the story doesn’t work. Without the story the game doesn’t work. These are the elements that hook you into OXENFREE. They push the game along, sell it and make it a fascinating romp on an abandoned island, as well as provide you with a fair amount of goosebumps.
The actual/typical gameplay elements are supported by the above, and they work well within the structure built for them. You find clues all over the island, get to choose dialogue with different attitudes and different outcomes, as well as solve medium-level puzzles that don’t take a lot to get through. The elements aren’t over-complicated as a whole, but they certainly fit find within the world built for them. Let’s break this down a bit further.
One element of interest in the actual gameplay is finding clues and solving medium-level puzzles. You will have a lot of walking to do because the island is huge and a lot of discovering locations and items. For example, at the beginning of the game, you’re given some information about using your radio to open up some creepy triangles. You have to tune it to the right channel to do so. It’s not difficult, but it’s interesting. The same radio will become useful for multiple items later in the game and you can use it to hear weird things that have nothing to do with the game (like random morse code that I haven’t had the to decipher yet). You also have to solve puzzles like when your characters slip back and forth into different dimensions/timeframes. You have to find a way to get out of them and have to make sure you’ve seen everything you were meant to see in the process. Simple stuff, but certainly creepy gameplay elements.
The other element of gameplay that is vital is the dialogue. Going back to what I said earlier in the review, this basically has a point-and-click feel to it. The dialogue is started by characters, Alex (who you play as) responds and is given three different choices on how to respond to the other characters. Dialogue bubbles appear above her and depending on your choice, different reactions are provided by the characters. I believe, and I’ll have to replay the game to find out, it might serve as different outcomes depending on responses. This is an important part of the gameplay and seamlessly moves the story around depending on response. It may not be much in terms of actual control movement, but the decision making involved when it comes to responding certainly adds a layer of intrigue.
Beyond these elements there is not much more to the gameplay. The story really does act as the hooking mechanism to the game. It will keep you going and will leave you feeling uneasy for the majority of the game. It creates an intense atmosphere that can be comparable to a lighter version of a Silent Hill title – minus all the masked twitching nurses and blood. I have always crowed to whoever would listen that putting together a good story means that your video game is going to be memorable, regardless of gameplay elements included. If you think about it, games like Metal Gear Solid have terrible controls that fight you the majority of gameplay time, but the story is what makes you endure such shortcomings and push forward. Snatcher is another game that has a strong story, and weak gameplay elements, but because the story is so good, it’s still one of the best games of all-time. While OXENFREE certainly has good controls the actual gameplay elements might be on the light side a bit. The story picks those lighter elements up, carries them through out the game and makes the gaming experience so much better than it might deserve, respectfully.
Overall, OXENFREE is an amazing story that doesn’t ask a lot of extra attention from its players other than listening and occasionally playing out some puzzles/problems/actions onscreen. It’s one of the better stories that I’ve played in 2016 and I hope that Night School Studio does a follow-up to it sometime soon.
On the presentation side of the game, OXENFREE has a nice unique art style that fits perfectly to the style of gameplay it offers. Much like the game itself, the art style is clean, simple and visually contains a cartoonish version of Twin Peaks-esque attitude. Picture animation from the 60s and you’ve got yourself in the right visual mindset for how OXENFREE looks and feels. The shading, texture and movement of the world/characters built for the game fits the bill for reinforcing the title’s atmosphere. It is visually unnerving at times, especially when the antagonist(s) show up, but again it fits the bill.
Having said all of the above, is the game fun? Hell yes, it’s fun. Once I get a break with reviewing and E3 next week, I fully intend on returning to this game for a second go around. The ending opens the door to encouraging the player to dance with the devil once again and I fully intend on doing so when the schedule is open. Yes, it’s that much fun.
Anyway, onto the summary!
