I just absolutely love the dialogue system for this game and how it often mimics real speech with people cutting each other off or just rambling in search of an answer. A lot of these you have to be quick about, or else Alex won’t answer and that can also bring on another response to the other characters. The camera is also scaled back so the player can select 1-3 speech bubbles for Alex to question or answer other characters. Plus, leaving the faces slightly blurred allows the player to interact further by imagining a much clearer face.

I admire this artistic choice, because you can tell how the characters are feeling through their dialogue and body language.

The camera is pulled back so you can see the characters scrambling around, except for their blurred faces. What initially attracted me to this game was the gorgeous artwork that portrayed both the haunting natural beauty of the island and the oppressing sense of imprisonment of the military base built upon it. The only weapons in your arsenal are your communication skills and a radio that can unlock radio locks and “tune” into the ghosts of the islands. The teens are now trapped on an island with the vengeful “ghosts” on their tail, and they have until dawn to escape the island. Right after the party starts, Alex and Jonas go spelunking in the nearby weirdo caves and the shit hits the fan. Unfortunately, the bash is more of a poke since the only other people who came are Clarissa, a girl who used to date Alex’s dead brother Michael, and Nona, a girl who Ren has a crush on.

You play as Alex, a girl who is accompanying her super chatty best-friend Ren and brand new step-brother Jonas to the yearly beach bash on Edward’s Island. Today we are going to review Oxenfree by Night School Studio. I recap free online video games as well as gush over Warcraft in non-video game recaps, but I’ve never really done an actual video game review…UNTIL TODAY.

Oxenfree game scavenger hunt