Mystery is a wonderful thing to build a story around. If the events are mysterious and strange, if everything isn’t quite right, and if what’s being presented demands a lot from you as a viewer, you may have the recipe for something really successful. Oxenfree II: Lost Signals certainly has a lot of those ingredients, but before I get into all the wonderful things happening in this game, I want to go back in time to its predecessor. The first Oxenfree was a solid debut for Night School Studio, and over the past seven years I’ve thought about that game from time to time. Without revolutionizing anything directly, I found it fresh and different and inviting and of course mysterious and a little bit spooky.
It’s been seven years and while there’s a lot known about the structure of the game, I think a lot got lost in the game’s script and story flow this time. Everything that was in the predecessor is also here; It’s an adventure that bridges space and time, presenting the same terrifying events as last time, but where the first game still felt like the story was anchored in something more human, more down-to-earth, and something tangible. The same does not apply to the sequel.
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The protagonist Riley returns to her hometown of Camena, where she must set up antennas throughout the city and soon encounters the slightly eccentric but charming character Jacob, who asks her for help. The best of Oxenfree II is found in these encounters. Their well-written dialogues and growing bond are the strengths of the game. As in the first game, three dialogue options appear above Riley’s head during the game’s many conversations, and you can control her responses and reactions to almost anything said.
I really like that aspect, the dialogue itself. I like the characters thinking about what’s going on and what’s being said, and the many back-and-forth stories between Riley and Jacob are compelling in many ways. There are also other impactful aspects such as the welcoming small town and its surroundings and the cartoonish 2.5D graphics that are well suited for this type of adventure game. Though there are some awkward throwbacks, each new part of Camena offers something that’s easy on the eye. I also like how the music, the effective synthesizers, adds a nice, intriguing background noise, and while there are no melodies to remember, it’s very atmospheric. It all looks very retro which suits the adventure perfectly and I really liked the presentation in the first game and I like it here too.
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The game consists almost entirely of movement in the environment, listening and dialogue. Not only is Jacob there to talk, Riley has a walkie-talkie to keep in touch with her boss, and other mysterious people are popping up on the various channels. There are also a few small puzzles, but these consist almost entirely of finding the right frequency on the radio, which Riley was also picking up. It’s a shame there aren’t more puzzles, because they could encourage exploring the area. They only exist to be traversed so that dialogue can take place somewhere. I would have liked the sequel to have some new elements as it seems very empty in terms of actual interactivity. Although the developers want to offer us this kind of adventure, if the place is so cozy and the visual effects are so beautiful, it wouldn’t hurt to have something else to do.
Oxenfree II: Lost Signals attempts to tell multiple stories simultaneously, with the mysterious things that happen when Riley and Jacob deploy their first antenna providing the framework that allows the story to twist in other directions. There’s a lot to say about the main story and the themes surrounding it, but since that’s essentially the whole experience, I won’t say anything about what happens. Instead, I want to analyze it a bit, because while there are certainly unforgettable moments, I don’t think it always ends well or even sometimes works. It doesn’t bother me at all that it contains supernatural elements or that it delves into the portrayal of the characters. On the contrary, space and time don’t work the way they should and all the other crazy things that happen are of course the main linchpin of this game, but it’s quite bouncy and chaotic. When Alex and his friends “managed” to open the rift that caused all the trouble in the first game, the events that followed felt more natural in their crazy context.
When that happens I don’t have the same feeling with Oxenfree II. Of course, this can be explained by the fact that the foundations for the first game have already been laid, and here it is already a peculiarity, since this adventure takes place five years after the first game, and the city is close to where the predecessor took place. But for me there were some elements of the story that I just didn’t like. It’s a bit like trying to create mystery for its own sake and not making it coherent. Also, the spooky elements that I found very impactful in the predecessor aren’t as impactful here. I’ve seen variations of these before, so they don’t hit quite as hard this time.
I also think it’s a little lacking in giving us memorable locations to explore, although the map you move through is extensive, I would have liked to have seen more. There are some interesting locations, but overall I expected more from the content of this sequel. Apart from a new story and some new game mechanics it feels very similar to what we had seven years ago and in the end, unfortunately I have to say, it’s not quite what I was hoping for. What I liked best was the nice, natural and well-written dialogues from Riley and Jacob, and given that this is a relatively short adventure, I think it’s worth playing through again to see if the story and that Mystery please. Someone else likes them better. The game developers have also emphasized that decisions and events in the city can play out in very different ways depending on where you are and what decisions you make, and here I want to be transparent and say that I often don’t have enough time to play had and see how other paths and choices manifested themselves. I’m also not the type of player that does it very often, so the story and events I experienced are just what I take away as experience and use to judge my adventure.
Despite the disappointment of not having reached higher heights, Oxenfree II: Lost Signals is okay but doesn’t get beyond that, save for a few points. It’s mostly my personal experiences with the game’s story and the way it is presented that are the biggest obstacle to getting the same feeling that the adventure I enjoyed seven years ago gives me has. The first Oxenfree just seemed a lot more memorable to me than this one, which can be seen as a minor downside.
