Oxenfree

The game is basically a story-driven walking simulator, and just like most walking simulators, the gameplay is quite dull and tedious. Frequent and long loading screens. There are no puzzles, mini-games, and challenges just tuning in a radio. Even worse there are no shortcuts for fast travel on the map, so you have to slowly walk everywhere and the story is not that great either.

But the main reason I can't recommend the game is the clunky controls and awkward pathfinding. At one point, I was unable to finish the game because my character became stuck in a loop, repeatedly climbing up and down a cliff. Reloading the game didn’t resolve the issue. I only managed to fix it after reading a comment on the forums, which suggested using the arrow keys when the character touches the ground. This kind of workaround should never be necessary in a finished game.

Not a long game, but very good and fun. Worth the price.

gameplay – B
story – S
sound - S+
design – C
detail - B
ui – A
enjoyment - A
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overall - A
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Great game the endings can really get crazy, game play can get a bit repetivie but its not a long game and is much better in the second game!

fantastic spooky game, if you like freaky ghosts, the Pacific Northwest, and time loops you'll like this game

It's an interesting, creepy game. It gets a little annoying when you can't understand everything that's being said during creepy parts so maybe play with the text on if every word matters. You choose the dialogue, or not, walk around, use a radio to tune into songs and more creepiness, worth a play through or 2 or 3.

I've done a full playthrough and this game has held my attention for hours at a time, which is rare (I think I've said this in some other reviews, too). I'm just about to start a new playthrough (iykyk) and am looking forward to once again ending with more questions than answers.

Beautiful game. I grew attached to the characters (especially Jonas my boy) and enjoyed the story. The platforming is clunky at points

I liked the game enough I bought it twice and played it twice

One of those games where you can only really fully experience it for the first time, or when its been so long since you lasted played it, you've forgotten 99% of it

wont be for everyone but i gave it a chance and i really became captivated with the characters and story

Not bad at all. A nice experience start to finish with a really nice flow to the dialogue while presenting an interesting story.

Decent story with great voice acting, though sometimes I wish the characters would STOP TALKING (especially when I'm trying to use the radio and they just keep prattling on).

Graphics are serviceable but inconsequential in a game like this IMO. Music is nice but sometimes overbearing to the point where it was muddying the dialogue. There's also no sound adjustments.

My only real gripe was the character walk / run speed and the platforming that added nothing to the game and made no sense (why am I rock climbing while following path around the island?). These only makes sense from a game-time padding perspective.

I finished the game at just under 5 hours. There are some different endings / choices so there's some replay value if you're up for it.

Worth a play either way but on sale it's a steal.

pros

✅ an interesting paranormal and sci-fi story which kind of reminds me of a Twilight Zone episode
✅ voice acting pretty decent
✅ there is a map that shows you where you're supposed to go
✅ six different characters with different personalities
✅ multiple dialogue choices affect and change the story's progress and conclusion
✅ there are steam achievements and cards
✅ decent lenght

cons

❌This game is basically a story-driven walking simulator, and just like most walking simulators, the gameplay is quite dull and tedious.
❌all characters annoying and stereotyped teenagers, so as an adult, I couldn't care less and relate to their problems, worries, or dramas.
❌These teenagers talk too much. I mean, they really talk too much, mostly about nonsensical stuff, and after a while, it becomes ear-grating and irritating. you can’t also skip dialogue
❌frequent and long loading screens
❌as a walking sim game, there are no puzzles, mini-games, and challenges
❌the game is very indie and designed very primitively. music can be so loud, but there is no volume bar to adjust in the menu. there are no graphical settings in the menu either
❌there is no manual save. only auto save
❌The story is also quite convoluted and confusing. In the end, there was not much explanation given about many things in the story
❌there are no shortcuts for fast travel on the map, so you have to slowly walk everywhere
❌clunky controls and awkward pathfinding

Overall, I found this game interesting and artistic but quite boring. there are obviously novel ideas here and there in the story, but as a walking sim, the gameplay is kind of bland.

I absolutely love this game, One of the best visual novels I've played in a while. The story is so compelling and solid, the characters well structures and relatable for teenagers and all in all it's a great ride. But Honestly If I have one complain it would be the inability to turn the music down. I love the soundtrack of the game but there's times when I need to unwind and music kind of puts me on edge.

I am seriously begging the devs to do sth about this for the anniversairy of the game, sorry but it is a bit annoying not to have a basic feature in a game as good as this.

Nice atmosphere and funny little story. Enjoyed my time spending here.

I had no idea what to expect. I remember hearing about this game, forgetting about it, and then trying to recall the name so I could buy and play it. It took me a while to track it down, but I'm so glad I did. What a story! Although it shows I’ve played almost 9 hours, I've actually spent around 20 hours in the game so far, and I'm still not done. Highly recommend :)

Good story and effective jumpscares/atmosphere.

Controller config a little broken when selecting items in the menu, but serviceable.

8/10. Buy on sale for a good spooky time :)

Cool game and fantastic story, but the movement made me quit after the 1st playthrough. I had fun for ~5h and reached the desired conclusion, but honestly I don't want to play it again. After reading about the 2nd playthrough and beyond, I just thought it was not worth it. I enjoyed the time I spent with this game, so it would only ruin that.

An absolute gem no doubt. By God I have found aesthetic purpose in this game and its visuals are the salt of the earth.

Oxenfree always seemed like a weird game based on what I’ve seen. I’ve played it purely for the 90% off sale on Steam and the fact that it’s a highly regarded game. So the gameplay can basically be boiled down to: go from point A to B, use your radio device to open doors or advance the plot, walk 90% of the time while you’re hearing conversations, make choices based on those conversations, see different outcomes/endings and find a few collectibles along the way. That’s really all there is to it, it’s simple but it’s well presented. The voice actors did a great job, the game has a good visual style and you can get some wildly different outcomes with the dialogues. I played it completely blind the first time and I was a total prick the second time to the point that everyone hated me. It was hilarious!

I highly disliked some of the achievements though. They’re not difficult but they’re incredibly tedious. You need to complete a run where everyone hates you and I felt like I did a good job but the game doesn’t agree, so I had to do another run to get it right. I’ve also tried to get certain characters to date twice and I failed both times because of one or two things I might have not chosen in the conversations. You guessed it, that means you can start a new run. Then there is the achievement where you have to complete the entire game without picking a single dialogue choice. OMG! What is the point of this aside from forcing you to play another run specifically for this and nothing else?! I don’t mind completing the game twice or so, but maybe be less strict about the requirements so you don’t ruin the fun of choices and consequences? Even though it was over 12 hours total, it’s a horrible feeling when you feel your time is being wasted.

With all that said, it’s still a good game to lovers of mysterious stories and different outcomes. When it comes to completionist players, you might want to keep a guide nearby at all times. It’s a shame since it’s all about making your own choices, especially the first time. The normal price of €10 isn’t outrageous but I’m not sure I consider it worth it. €5 or less is better safe than sorry.

This game, gosh where do I even begin? I originally played it on Xbox one many years back. I think it was free with gold or something and It was and still is one of my favourite decision based games I've ever played and I've played em all. Detroit become human, the wolf among us, the walking dead, the life is strange games, (specifically 1 and true colours those are my favourites). You get the picture I LOVE DECISION GAMES! They provide a more simple form of entertainment that doesn't involve like 40-80 damn achievements (usually). Those being more casual to collect is also a factor but that's not important.

The point is when your damn story has me playing again and again along with gathering all the collectables just to get the best possible outcome for the characters? You know I like your game and I was happy to do it too. My sweet boy Jonas, I would sacrifice all for him. I loved all the characters but Jonas omg just making a character so naturally likeable, so lovable it cant be easy but yet here he is in all his grace. I'm trying to keep this spoiler free as best I can but I just cant stress how much my little heart ached trying to get the best outcome just for him.

He's so believable in every way and you just cant help but be attracted to his warm demeanour and brotherly nature, Gavin Hammon did an excellent job voicing him and we cant forget about Alex played by Erin yvette. Both her and Jonas have such spectacular chemistry (unless your like deliberately being a dick or dismissive of him ofc then in which case shame on you).

I know some people are picky when it comes to how a game is presented. Like "Oh its not totally 3D?" Like you are seriously selling the game short if that's whats turning you away. This is a game created by people with passion with so much thought and love put into their characters, world and ideas. Normally I would say wait for a sale for most story games blah blah blah and although I did get it on sale I'd buy it again at normal price cuz its worth so much more than that to me and hell id still pay twice that too. If your considering playing it please do I personally think its life changing stuff and I don't say that lightly.

Now I'm gonna go cry in a corner because I'll never have a cool teenage step brother to hang out with.
11/10 Would Tune in again📻

Played back in 2016 and whatever but then came back to it this year and I have never had a game make me experience such visceral emotion in that way, It was a very strange experience for me as someone typically numb to games in that way. I would greatly recommend this game and for what it's worth give it a go due to the low cost.

This is a fun little adventure game! The story is pretty cool and it's very well voice acted. I played it on GOG first and then replayed it on Steam when I bought a bundle. Enjoyed it just as much the second time! It is short, which I think is fine, but maybe buy it on sale if that matters to you. There are also a couple of issues that are a bit annoying. One is that there is no volume control; another is that the controller, while it worked fine in-game, didn't want to work in the menu; and finally, the choices for what to say sometimes don't give enough time to really think about what you wanna say. Regardless, if you're a fan of narrative walking simulators, this is a good one!

Story and atmosphere are awesome. The dialogue system is a bit clunky, and choices vanish fast. So especially as a non-native speaker it often feels stressful. Some important choices can feel forced cause you don't have much time to think.

Oxenfree is a narrative supernatural thriller. Gameplay wise it's largely a walking sim with the primary game mechanic being a radio you use to tune into frequencies to open doors, deal with supernatural events and the like. Has great atmosphere and story with a couple of minor different endings (time travel/loops play a bit of a role in the story) and the voice acting is good.

Dialog plays an important part of the game and was designed to simulate natural, free flowing conversation. You're giving a a choice of 2-3 dialog bubbles to select from in a limited period of time, NPCs will continue conversations if you do not respond in time. In theory this sounds good but in practice I found it was hard to properly parse the choices before the timer ran out. The dialog itself is fine through. My solution was simply to pause the game whenever a dialog choice appeared so I could actually read stuff without feeling rushed.

You're intended to do multiple playthroughs. I guess each run is ~4-5 hours? It gets a little dull after a couple runs through imo as the overall story is mostly the same. Or maybe that was just because my third run for the last achievement was the slient run which is boring af lol.

This game is SO UNDERRATED! I love the multiple endings depending on your interactions with friends and surroundings. Spooky vibes, you and your group of friends go to a beach party on a haunted island and wind up exploring the sea caves, and timeloop shenanigans ensue! 10/10 would recommend; each timeloop is about 4hrs, I'm on my fifth playthru and still unlocking dialogue and hidden achievements!

The story of Oxenfree is rather intriguing, and the visuals and sound design/music help bring that out, in my opinion. There are certain scenes that I felt were unnecessary to move the plot forward (that could also be triggering to viewers with no background knowledge of the game), but beyond that, the mystery was well done and I do look forward to go back and see the other endings (yes, there's more than one ending)!

I just played a game called Oxenfree.
It's pretty good.
It's kind of like those old point and click adventure games. Really reminds me of the LucasArts games like Monkey Island. It's got really good voice acting too.
It's got a sort of retro 80's sidescroller feel to it as almost everything has this sort of artsy left-right scroll feel to it (though there are plenty of ups and downs too as you navigate around the island).
But the best part is the story. I love story games. Especially if your actions can alter the story or even just guide the personality of your character as you react to the actions going on in the story (as is mostly the case in Oxenfree -- though you may have to navigate around a bunch in order to unlock many of the clues in the game).

The story takes place in modern times as you (a young adult teenage girl) and your school buddies decide to sneak off to "party" on the beach -- though you are all basically a bunch of nerds. And speaking of nerds. One of the main attractions of this remote island beach is a strange phenomena where there are strange radio signals that you can listen to -- like rogue radio broadcasts of music, drama shows, animated conversations across shortwave radio, and so forth. Some are just downright spooky. And they all seem to become clearer and clearer as you approach a little seaside cave. When you and your friends decide to explore the cave the shit hits the fan. And before you know it, you have to start exploring this strange island to unlock the secrets of the old abandoned military communications installations to release your friends from some kind of "supernatural" time-travel loop.

What happened to the crew of the nuclear submarine that was destroyed near the island back in the 50s? Who is the mysterious woman who "inherited" much of the land on the island? Why was the military communications academy shut down in the 70s? What are the mysterious ghost signals coming from the radio and who is transmitting them? And how do I get out of this gall-darn time loop I'm stuck in?

Well, not all answers will be revealed, but many of them will. And once you escape from this mysterious time-loop murder island will you ever go back again? Well, yes, apparently you will because there's also an Oxenfree Two game, which I just downloaded and am about to play. Get this game. Enjoy. I know I will.

Fun walking sim set on an island off the Oregon coast. The gameplay is fairly simple: go from place to place, occasionally solving puzzles that usually involve your handheld radio. Where the game really shines is the dialogue and the story, as Alex and her friends investigate the island.

Before I played it, I read a review that said "Try to go into this game knowing as little about it as possible," and I'm glad I did. So in that spirit, all else I'll say is: probably worth buying at full price, *definitely* worth wishlisting and picking up on sale.

Nice point and click game. Plot is nice and entertaining, but there is not much replayability. After second playthrough the game are getting very stale. Walking mechanics is very clunky. You need to direct Alex manually or she will be eternally stuck in the walking loop on a random wall. 8 out of 10

Interesting story. Controls are kinda bad. I had to switch to mouse and keyboard at several points because I couldn't get the controller to work.

Feels kind of boring to me, i don't know,.. you have to decide very quick which answer you gonna give on their comments/reply/questions. There's no possibility to wait until someone's finished with their sentence, because your options will fade out and you end with nothing to answer.

I really tried to play it a little longer than 48 minutes, or give it a second chance.

Graphics 10/10
Story 10/10
Creepiness 100/10

great voice acting intriguing story overall a decent game 8/10

A good chill game, choices matter and trying to fill in the blanks of the story while playing can be a fun challenge, was hoping to hit most of the achievements first try, but naw... overall a fun game for what it is, on to the second game of the series.

Pros: Music, the art style, voice acting, the spooky atmosphere, making different choices.
Cons: The game is too short!

The best part comes when you start to figure out the story. That was quite jaw-dropping!

Tip: You have to play the game twice to get the "true" ending.

Oxenfree had been on the periphery of my wishlist for ages. It teetered between OK and good throughout, but the final scenes really elevated this a rung or two in my overall enjoyment. Play this game.

[Minor spoilers ahead?] This didn't feel like a choose-your-own-adventure title, but as the end credits began explaining my particular outcome, and showing how incredibly rare my play-through was (I wound up with a couple decisions that were in a sub-5% of total players), I was floored trying to reverse engeineer the decisions I had made, tying them to those plot outcomes.

The story itself also left me thinking, and I know there is optional content available that should help further explain what really went down on Edwards Island.

Would I recommend this game? yeah, why not. I paid for it 1€ so of course for that price it's truly worth a try. Story driven completely, don't expect any puzzles of any kind or any complexity. The story is quite shallow and it's seen a million times in movies and shows son don't expect much of a wow factor. The characters are ok, maybe not my style but ok, they are fine. What I can't understand is that a game that is nearly 9 years old and with its simplicity hasn't had many of the bugs solved: issues with mouse and keyboard, music interfering with the dialogs, voices cutting off midway in a conversation... come on guys, I'll give you a B for effort on this one. By the way, for some reason it's given me a lot of "The Dig" vibes, maybe it's the style, or the story (somehow) or the music. Ah, the music: it is truly magnificent. The game might have not been anything to call home about but the music is an absolute beauty.

Great story and atmosphere, and a lot of depth considering the simple, low-stakes play style. I especially enjoyed the commitment to theme after the game ended.

Quite a cosy short game, Oxenfree has been on my radar for some time now but I played it now with the recommendation of a friend.
First of all, the atmosphere of the game is great. Love the art style, soundtrack, and setting. The gimmick of interacting with story events using a radio was high up my alley, I'd be keen to play more games with some similar mechanic.

As for more my personal experience with the game, it felt like it conveyed a kinda introspection on grief with the characters that touched me quite hard. There's a bizarre liminal period being young and having lost a family member, the heaviness of their loss while trying to regain a sense of normalcy often competing with a desire to remember the pleasant times with them.
Perhaps I am being dramatic but I'm thankful for Oxenfree holding my hand with the latter, and remembering the pleasant times with my mother.

So, chur.
lol

the dialogues' options are way too quick, u dont even get to read all of them before picking one. also the characters often talk over each other and the music is way too loud for my liking. im sure the story might be interesting but its unplayable with all these issues. i refunded it after 30 mins

Bought this game and played it multiple times on different platforms. Bought it on the huge sale going on right now to support the devs, and write this review encouraging others to pick it up.

The gameplay is very much point and click but the story is very engaging. Have not found another game that feels like this and the visuals have their own feel to them. this is a very unique game that is worth a visit. I also love the horror elements added to the story which is a mystery that you and the group of friends try to uncover as the game unfolds.

i first played OXENFREE in around 2018 or so. i remember it leaving me with a very strong impression, playing it six years later i felt that impression once again. at its core oxenfree is an adventure game, it's pretty dead-simple in terms of gameplay, which is a good thing. i could very easily see oxenfree being someone's very first video game, it feels almost designed in such a way to do that. it's also available on most platforms i can think people would have on-hand, including mobile and even as a part of netflix games (i dont actually know how that works, i just know that it's there.) navigation isn't exactly hard, and a majority of the gameplay is exploring screens with very few branching paths, it's all very railroaded, though that's not to say there isn't stuff to explore. on top of the main teen drama ghost story, there's a few collectibles and whatnot that give a bit of extra understanding to what exactly's going on, i think it's neat, and not really that much effort to get everything. the MAIN main stuff is the dialogue. there's a lot of it, and i really think you grow to like these characters (or hate, i liked them) along the course of the story. there's a few options i wish were maybe available, but i don't think their lack of inclusion necessarily harms the story.

oh and it's got a really good vibe. music's good, zones are neat. ghosts. weird geometry if you're afraid of that. it's nice and goes on sale pretty cheap, and i did two playthroughs in about 11 hours.

I've never been so horrified by trigonometry

I love this game so far. The ambiance is great and all of the background are gorgeous. The only thing I don't love is that sometimes it's hard to guess the tone of what alex will say based on the text box options. There have been times when I picked a dialogue option thinking it was nice but it ended up being a bit mean. Other than that, I love this game

This is one of those games I wish there was a middle ground between whether to recommend or not. It nails the creepy moments when they happen and quite a few of the moments made me go "ooo!" out load, so that's good.

The gameplay though is clunky AF. The dialogue progesses by clicking the choice you want, and there were multiple times the hit box wasn't correct for the choice, and because dialogues are timed, it would fade out and Alex would say nothing. Super frustrating.

Tbh, maybe it's just because I'm 30, but the dialogue just wasn't hitting. I don't know what teens talk like that. It was all very trope-y and by the end, I hated all of the characters. They were all annoying. So yeah, I guess that does kinda push this into the "not recommend" area, as this is a very dialogue heavy game. I guess I'm just disappointed because I see this game recommended constantly. Ah well, can't all be winners.

I didn't find Oxenfree's story interesting at all. In fact, I felt like the important details of the main mystery were clear before I had even reached the midpoint of game, so I was left uninterested in playing knowing there was very little to discover. After the ending, when there is a short breakdown of how your actions affected the outcome of the story, I was confused by the results I got because they felt like the opposite of what I had been fighting for the entire game (i.e. picking the nicest dialogue options with a certain character the game wanted me to dislike and then being told that they hate me). The ending was unsatisfying and didn't tie into any of the choices the game let me make, which is not acceptable for such a linear game with very few options.

In addition to the sound design issues mentioned by many other reviewers, there were multiple times in my short play through where different songs or lines of dialogue overlapped and played at the same time. The walking controls are sort of awkward or clunky which is unfortunate for a game that primarily has you walking from one point to another on a fixed path as gameplay. The few puzzle elements felt like they just existed to punctuate these long, repetitive journeys that served little purpose beyond occupying me with some menial task while I listen to dialogue. The dialogue and voice acting was great, though.

This game does not have a particularly captivating story or fun gameplay, so I'm not sure what the point of it is. It feels as if someone had a bunch of vague ideas they thought in combination could make an interesting experience, and loosely strung together a series of story beats and filled in the details of the game after that. The story seems like it was constructed to accommodate these ideas, like time loops, and some kind of afterlife rift, and whatever, and the gameplay was even further designed to accommodate this awkward and contrived story.

This games takes to long and not fun and the entire story is the same from the beginning

text dont show, i tried getting another version like other said - still no text, im so sad rn

Got about 20 minutes in and quit. This game has major sound/dialogue problems. The voice acting is excellent, but unfortunately you'll never get to hear it; the music drowns out the voices and there is no way to adjust it. Additionally, sometimes you'll get the loud music PLUS character dialogue PLUS radio sounds with no way to focus on any one thing. There's a subtitle option, but they just...don't work?

Furthermore, your character's dialogue responses are timed and missable quick-time events that always come in the middle of other characters' dialogue, cutting them off. So your options are A) miss their dialogue, or B) miss your dialogue. Every time. Bring on the clown award or whatever, but this is all simply unworkable for a story- and character-driven game. You take away the words, and there's not a whole lot left.

My jimmies were rustled.

The minute the game ended, I started again.