Game

Oxenfree

2016 · PlayStation 4 · Linux · Android · PC (Microsoft Windows) · iOS · Mac · Role-playing (RPG) · Adventure · Indie

77IGDB player score
438 ratings

Previously Take

A 77 average that undersells it — ask the 438 people who rated it. An RPG that understands the assignment: fantasy, science fiction, meaningful choices, and combat with actual teeth. Just you and the game. No lobbies, no teammates, no excuses.

About this game

Oxenfree is a single-player graphic adventure game played from a 2.5D perspective, with the player controlling a teenager named Alex. Its central mechanic is a "walk and talk" system, where dialogue appears as speech bubbles and the player chooses responses in real time while still moving and exploring, shaping relationships with the other characters. Puzzles are solved largely by tuning a handheld radio to specific frequencies or adjusting tape recorders. The game has no fail state, and the player's choices lead to one of several possible endings. It was followed by a sequel, Oxenfree II: Lost Signals.

On a weekend trip to the fictional Edwards Island, teenager Alex arrives for a beach party with her new stepbrother Jonas and her friend Ren. Once there, they meet two other teens and learn about the island's history as a former military site. While exploring the caves, the group hears that certain radio frequencies are rumored to trigger strange events, and when Alex tunes her radio to an unusual signal, she unexpectedly opens a rift and unleashes a paranormal force. As the night takes an increasingly eerie turn, Alex and her friends must work out what they have awakened and how to set things right.