A mystery is a wonderful thing to build a story around. When events are mysterious and strange, when nothing is quite right, when what is presented requires something from you as the viewer, you can have the recipe for something truly successful. Oxenfree II: Lost Signals certainly has a lot of that in it, but before we dig into all the awesome stuff that happened in this game, I want to go back to the game’s predecessor. The first Oxenfree was Night School Studio’s debut, a game I’ve thought about from time to time over the past seven years. Without directly revolutionizing anything, I found it fresh, different and comforting, and of course, mysterious and a little creepy.
Seven years on, and despite familiarity with the game’s structure, I think a lot has been lost this time around in the game’s script and story development. Everything about its predecessor is here, too; it’s an adventure that combines space and time and presents the same horrific events as last time, but the first game still feels anchored in a story that’s more human, down-to-earth and you In terms of things that can be mastered, the same cannot be said for sequels.
Protagonist Riley returns to her hometown of Kamena, where she must place antennae around the city, and she soon meets the slightly eccentric but charming character Jacob to help. It’s in these encounters that the best aspects of Oxenfree II are found. Their well-written dialogue and growing bond are the game’s strongest points. As in the first game, during the game’s many dialogues, three dialogue options appear over Riley’s head, and you can control her reactions and reactions to almost everything said.
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I think that aspect, the dialogue itself, is really good. I love how the characters reflect on what’s happening and what’s being said, and Riley and Jacob’s many story exchanges are engaging in so many ways. There are other valid areas, the town and its surroundings are cozy, and the cartoony 2.5D graphics are perfect for this type of adventure game. Despite some awkward backtracking, each new section of Camera offers something to watch. I also love the music, the effective synth pads, how to add nice and interesting background noises, even without a melody to remember, it’s the most atmospheric. Everything feels very retro, which is great for adventure, and the presentation is something I really liked in the first game, and I love it here too.
The game consists almost entirely of moving around the environment, listening and engaging in dialogue. It’s not just Jacob who wants to talk to Jacob, Riley also has a walkie-talkie to keep in touch with their employer, and more mysterious people appear on various channels. There are a few little puzzles, too, but they’re almost entirely about finding the right frequency on the radio that Riley also picked up. It’s a shame they didn’t do more puzzles here, as they could facilitate exploration of the surroundings. They exist pretty much just to run, so the conversation can go somewhere. I wish the sequel had some new elements here, as it feels pretty hollow in terms of actual interactivity. While this is the type of adventure the developers wanted to give us, it doesn’t hurt to have more to do when the locations are this welcoming and the visuals this good.
Oxenfree II: Lost Signals attempts to tell several stories at once, and the mysterious events that occur when Riley and Jacob deploy their first antenna provide the framework that allows the story to go in other directions. There’s a lot to be said about the main story and the topics it covers, but since it’s pretty much the entire experience, I won’t say what happens. Instead, I want to dissect it, because while there are certainly memorable moments, I don’t think it’s always good, or even effective at times. I didn’t mind its supernatural elements at all, or how deep it was in its character portraits. Instead, space and time not working properly and all the other crazy stuff happening is of course the main focus of this game, but it’s very jumpy and chaotic. When Alex and her friends “manage” to open the rift that caused all the trouble in the first game, subsequent events feel more natural against the backdrop of their madness.
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When this happens, I don’t feel the same way in Oxenfree II. This can of course be explained by the fact that the groundwork laid by the first game has already been done and is already a feature here, as this adventure takes place five years after the first game and the town is close to where its predecessor took place. But for me, there were several elements of the story that I didn’t like at all. It’s kind of like trying to create mystery for the sake of it, without really making it feel coherent. Also, the creepy element that I found so effective in its predecessor isn’t quite as shocking here. I’ve gone through their changes so they won’t be as severe this time.
I also think it’s a bit lacking in giving us memorable places to explore, although the map you move around is extensive, I’d like to see more of it. There were a few funny bits, but overall I expected more from what this sequel had to offer. Other than a new story and some new game mechanics, it feels very similar to where we were seven years ago, and in the end, I can’t say it didn’t quite work out as I’d hoped. Riley and Jacob’s wonderful, natural and well-written dialogue is my main takeaway, and since it’s also a relatively short adventure, I also think it’s worth playing to see if the story and mysteries impress better other people. The game devs also emphasize that depending on where you are and the choices you make, choices and events in the city can play out in very different ways, here I want to be transparent and say that I really don’t have enough time multiple times Play the game and see how other paths and choices play out. I’m also not the kind of player who does this very often, so the stories and events I get are just things I take away as my experience and what I judge my adventures on.
While it’s disappointing that this doesn’t reach greater heights, Oxenfree II: Lost Signals is still okay, but, apart from a few points, doesn’t quite reach that height. It’s mostly my personal experience with the game’s story and the way it’s presented, and that’s been the biggest hurdle to getting to the kind of feeling I got from the adventure I was part of seven years ago. The senior just felt that it was much more memorable than this, and it could be regarded as a small failure.
