Games

Oxenfree

Night School Studio

2016•RPG•PEGI 12•About 5 hours

Taste attributes: adventuredramafantasyscience fictionthrillerhistoricalmonster/alien/supernaturalteenunsavouryheavyimaginarylinearbig & variedall consuming questcoming of agecomplex relationshiprescue/escape/jeopardyunlikely connections

See which match your taste

Boxlist takeExpect an otherworldly, weighty RPG, big and varied rather than confined. Best if you like depth over escapism.

Pace: balanced · Originality: balanced · Tone: dark · Weight: heavy · Realism: imaginary world · Story: balanced · Structure: linear · Look: balanced · Scale: big and varied · Emotional punch: balancedHow we score

IGDB rating

77 / 100

439 ratings

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Based on your film and TV taste: games are matched on the same ten characteristics, with your own match bands.

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.

Summary: IGDB

Story

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...

Characteristics

Where this game sits on each taste spectrum

SlowPACEFast

FamiliarORIGINALITYOriginal

DarkTONEWholesome

LightWEIGHTINESSHeavy

FantasyREALISMRealistic

SimpleINTRICACYIntricate

Non-LinearLINEARITYLinear

UnderstatedSTYLEStylised

IntimateSCALEEpic

RestrainedEMOTIONIntense

Genres and themes

AdventureDramaFantasyScience fictionThrillerHistoricalMonster/alien/supernaturalTeenAll consuming questComing of ageComplex relationshipRescue/escape/jeopardyUnlikely connections

Keywords

GhostsFemale protagonistSupernaturalChoice and consequenceEa appGames with goldNetflix games

Where to play

Details

Developer: Night School Studio
Publisher: Night School Studio
Released: 14 January 2016
Series: Oxenfree
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Linux, Android, PC (Microsoft Windows), iOS, Mac, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Modes: Single player
Perspective: Side view
Time to beat: 4h rushed, 5h normally, 10h complete
Age rating: PEGI 12
Taste scores: How we score
Source: IGDB

How game matches work

Games are scored on the same ten characteristics as films and matched with the same formula and your own match bands, from your film and TV taste. Game scores are estimates, made by fixed rules from IGDB genres, themes, keywords and descriptions.