She soon discovers a long history of ghostly happenings on the nearby Edwards Island and becomes entangled in a frightening, supernatural mystery. OXENFREE II: Lost Signals follows the story of Riley Poverly, an environmental researcher who returns to her hometown Camena to investigate unnaturally occurring radio frequency signals causing disturbances in electronic equipment. “This game has been a labor of love, and we can’t wait for players to embody Riley, shaping her through life altering choices and overcoming supernatural challenges that threaten to destroy her future.” “With OXENFREE II: Lost Signals, we wanted to tap into the essence and world that made the original game so special, while immersing players in a brand new story with even higher stakes,” said Sean Krankel, co-founder and studio director at Night School. View the official release date and pre-order trailer here: Set five years after the events of the first game, which continues to be celebrated for its compelling storytelling, relatable characters and captivating art style, OXENFREE II: Lost Signals will take players on a gripping narrative-driven adventure featuring an all-new cast of characters and original story. ![]() Oxenfree is good fun for a few hours, even though it sometimes dilutes those hours to the point where it deserves the infamous "walking simulator" label.Night School, a Netflix Game Studio, announced OXENFREE II: Lost Signals, the mind-bending follow-up to the critically-acclaimed supernatural thriller OXENFREE, is set to launch on July 12 on the Nintendo Switch™ system, PlayStation®5 & 4, PC and Mac via STEAM®, and on Netflix. ![]() Indeed, once the talking is done, the game feels a tad empty, and your sense of agency fades. But again, this game is ultimately about the relationships between the characters and their conversations, which are your tool to steer the story towards one of its many (and subtly different) endings. The story is also serviceable, the way that the "teens stumbling upon a supernatural mystery" trope tends to be. The graphics in Oxenfree are very nice, following the tiny protagonists across the vast landscape. ![]() Sure, you'll have a heck of a lot of walking around as well–but that feels like an excuse to throw more conversations at you. Sure, you'll have a heck of a lot of walking around as Half teenager movie, half spooky ghost story, Oxenfree is all about the dialogue. Half teenager movie, half spooky ghost story, Oxenfree is all about the dialogue. Unfortunately I found myself being pulled out of the experience too often to really enjoy it. If you can put up with the flawed presentation and long load times, the story is well worth it. In summary, the core part of the game is great. They pulled me out of the experience completely to the point where I would leave, go do something, and come back to avoid staring at a mostly black screen for so long. What the hell is this game loading!? Each area is little more than a static background, dialogue, and a few simple 3D models. They are seriously on the order of 30 seconds or more between areas on switch. I feel the game would have been much better if the perspective had been zoomed in by 2x or even 3x, or even if it had zoomed in and out based on context. Also, I had a very hard time empathizing with a cast of characters that I saw as little more then a bunch of ants throughout the whole game. ![]() There are handy little bubbles that let you know what you can interact with, but they felt like an absolute necessity at times rather than a nicety. 2.) The zoomed out perspective While some of the backdrops are beautiful, I had a very hard time making out what things were a lot of the time. Short games are fine, but drawn out games are not. However, the following things killed the experience for me: 1.) Slow pacing and movement speed The game is 4 - 5 hours long, but feels like it could have easily been 3 or less if the movement speed wasn't an absolute crawl all the time. However, the following things killed The dialog and story are great, and I am completely fine with walking simulators that tell a good story. The dialog and story are great, and I am completely fine with walking simulators that tell a good story.
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