After spending half an hour with Oxenfree II: Lost Signals at Summer Game Fest, there's an immediate sense that the sequel is shaping up to be a much bigger, bolder, and indeed stranger experience than its predecessor.
As it probably should be. In speaking with developer Night School's founder and director, Sean Krankel, he confirmed that while the original Oxenfree was completed in 16 months, the sequel has taken the studio a full three years to craft. You can definitely see the fruits of the studio's labour, too, with this entry so far proving to be a much more accomplished piece of work in every facet: character models are much more detailed with enhanced animation; environments are brought to life with beautiful colour and lighting; the gameplay feels much smoother and more fluid than before.
In terms of narrative, Oxenfree II takes place five years after the first game and stars Riley Poverly, a woman who returns to the coastal town of Camena to investigate strange goings on after unusual electromagnetic waves cause interference with radio signals. It's all very reminiscent of the mysteries raised in the first game, and even in the short session we played, there are multiple narrative seeds planted that we can't wait to dig up when we get our hands on the full game.
We're really quite taken with Riley, too. While the first game's protagonist, Alex, was very much an angsty teen surrounded by mutually angsty teens, Riley is a bit older, a bit wiser, and a lot more straight-talking. The back-and-forth with her partner, Jacob Summers, reminded us a lot of the dialogue between Henry and Delilah in Campo Santo's Firewatch, and definitely in a good way. Honestly, it felt nice to focus on just two core characters, to begin with, rather than the five you had immediately in the first game.
Aside from that, it's clear that Night School has made some great strides with the overall gameplay. It definitely feels similar to the first game in many ways, but Oxenfree II is undoubtedly a more immediately satisfying experience. Character movement is a lot more intuitive, climbing is a lot faster, and it's much easier to gauge where you need to be going.
The biggest improvement, however, comes with the game's new walkie-talkie system. This time, characters you've met are assigned to specific numbers through your walkie-talkie, and you can call them up at any time, even if you're talking with someone else in person. This means that while our time with the demo was mostly linear, there will be sections of the full game that will require independent investigation, needing you to call up multiple characters in order to follow through on certain narrative threads. It's a cool addition and makes the world feel much more alive.
If you're finding yourself intrigued so far, but haven't played the first game, don't worry. As with virtually any sequel nowadays, Krankel confirms that while players will most certainly benefit from having some familiarity with the first game, Oxenfree II has been designed to be a standalone story that newcomers can jump straight into. In fact, he explained that the team initially struggled to decide on where to take Oxenfree after the first game, reluctant to turn protagonist Alex into some sort of "hero". After creating other games, including the excellent adventure title Afterparty, the team realised that Oxenfree was much more than just Alex's story and decided to branch out and tell other tales within the same world.
Needless to say, if you're a fan of the first game, then Oxenfree II seems like a no-brainer. Heck, even if you've not experienced it before, we'd definitely recommend keeping an eye on this as we approach its release date of July 12th, 2023. It's a game that's evidently full of mystery and intrigue, and if you like intricately woven narratives guided by well-realised characters, then you really can't go wrong.
What do you make of Oxenfree II so far? Have you played the first game? Think you might squeeze it in before this one arrives? Let us know your thoughts with a comment down below.
Comments 15
Just waiting for the inevitable physical release. I imagine all the boutique publishers are at Night School's table, fighting over percentages.
I bought the first game mostly on a whim a couple of years ago, but was really surprised how much I got into it. In particular, the stranger elements of what happens in the story and the fantastic audio design made some segments of this incredibly compelling.
It was a bit too repetitive in the first game, but I do hope they expand the clever thing they did with the game with the ending plot twist. It was an awesome idea, there just needed to be...more to justify what it wants from you (intentionally vague).
Glad to hear there’s a Firewatch influence to some extent. Two of my favorite indies of all time and I played them back to back one weekend. Firewatch on Saturday and Oxenfree on Sunday (ah, gaming before kids…). Looking forward to this one. Hope it lives up to the original.
I got the original ages ago and kind of don't even really know what it actually is? I think it was in a Humble Bundle or one of those $1 sales or something. It it something I should try making time for?
I don't know about the artwork, though. It looks very different from the original, and not in a good awy
The first game was unnerving and an absolute blast. I thought it explored its lore very thoroughly, so I’ll be interested to see how this game expands it. Glad to hear it’s promising thus far!
The first game was intriguing enough for me to finish it but I found the characters annoying and the normal ending a bit of a disappointment. I played it a second time to get the 'proper' ending and that felt even more disappointing somehow. Everyone else seemed to really enjoy it though.
First game was great and I really enjoyed. Enough to play it twice, and the second play through was cool
Jeez the ads on this site are so obtrusive now. Without an ad blocker or using Brave it's almost impossible to enjoy an article.
I get a unfairly negative tone around the first game here. It had a great tension and a fun story, even though its obvious it had modest beginnings. It's not like it's the first ghost story with a bunch of kids, right?
That said, more resources and actual adults within 20 miles of the happenings might be a good direction too 😀
This is just a reminder that their other game, Afterparty, exists and is awesome.
The first game may be my favorite game of all time. It came out of nowhere for me and everything about it was so cool. NightSchool then slapped us all in the face with the garbage that is After party, but I'm praying they don't screw this up. Day one purchase for me and I'm hoping I don't regret it.
@ComfyAko It's different but still manages to carry the same feel, to the point I had to pull up the trailer for the first game to check.
I actually liked the first game. So any improvements are great to read about. I have this still on the wishlist, so....
I just discovered that the Android and iOS versions of Oxenfree II will be available at no extra cost to Netflix subscribers on July 12.
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