I bear in mind taking part in the primary Oxenfree so clearly. The nervousness of not really understating the supernatural forces its solid of troubled teenagers was up towards, the heightened stress of uncovering the buried secrets and techniques of Edwards Island, and – what I cherished probably the most – the finely tuned undercurrent of dread that quietly crept by way of the sport. It conjured a way of unease in me that I could not shake free, and it was a sense that clung to me all through my total playthrough.
So I used to be fairly stoked when Night time College Studio introduced Oxenfree 2: Misplaced Alerts, a direct follow-up set 5 years after the unique sport. Misplaced Alerts might happen in a brand new location with a brand new solid of characters, however there’s nonetheless quite a lot of overlap. There are supernatural spooks, private character drama, creepy radio gear, and people good ol’ display screen glitches that I’ve missed a lot. However with all these tethers to the primary sport, Misplaced Alerts looks like a re-tread of the identical floor. It is nonetheless a great sequel, I ought to add, however it’s not a very satisfying one.
In Misplaced Alerts, we observe Riley, an environmental researcher who’s returned to her coastal hometown of Camena to research why a few of the island’s digital gear goes haywire. Enlisting the assistance of Camena resident and loveable dork Jacob, the 2 set off throughout the island and get caught up in a string of supernatural occasions. Seems Camena is neighbours with Edwards Island, so cue the creepy cults, interdimensional tears in actuality, and supernatural beings that may journey by way of area and time utilizing radio static.
Night time College’s speech bubble talk-and-walk system is again in full drive, and I discovered myself rapidly warming to this new duo. Awkward handyman Jacob is simple to love right away. He is the form of man who makes junk artwork and complains about late library e-book charges. Riley takes extra time. She’s snarky, sarcastic and blunt in a means that originally comes throughout as abrasive, however finally turns into refreshing. When the ghostly shenanigans of the island begin to kick off, she’s additionally tremendous pragmatic – undoubtedly the form of individual I might wish to be caught on a haunted island with.
Night time College have at all times excelled at real looking conversations (seen in each the primary Oxenfree and what they made subsequent in Afterparty), and listening to those two opposing personalities shoot the shit was at all times humorous and endearing. When issues obtained extremely spooky, their well-seeded backstories and motivations additionally helped its punches pack the correct quantity of emotional weight. The pair have an identical character arc in that they each really feel like they’re drifting by way of life, not in a position to actually discover a function due to their respective pasts, however occasions within the sport drive them to mirror on their lives, and so they every undergo a transition that’s nearly like a coming-of-age story for adults. I really feel like we do not usually get to see these sorts of age-bracket epiphanies in video games very a lot – they’re often geared towards teenagers, as they’re in different types of media – so it was nice to see it explored from the angle of two precise adults right here. Like, us adults have life shit that wants checking out too, you understand?
Conversations hold the tempo up as you stroll from A to B, however Misplaced Alerts struggles to string the identical needle as the primary Oxenfree relating to its wider story ambitions. For instance, at first, I believed Misplaced Alerts was inviting me to make extra lively character choices, relatively than simply talky choices, however this by no means fairly materialised in the remainder of the sport. There is a level the place Riley royally fucks up a soar between two cliffs and falls 30 toes, for instance – a danger I made a decision to take considering it might be enjoyable as a result of, you understand, video video games – however she dusted herself off with no hurt accomplished. Certain, she obtained an intensive telling off from Jacob that felt like an implicit warning alongside the strains of “This might have been tremendous dangerous so be careful for these sorts of choices sooner or later!” however I by no means got here throughout another factors like this throughout my playthrough. The identical goes for the totally different routes you’ll be able to take by way of every space. Selecting between them did not maintain any main penalties story-wise, which felt like a missed alternative.
Equally, there are a number of endings and outcomes right here that have an effect on the characters in several methods, however in contrast to the primary Oxenfree, these choices did not actually affect the core of the sequel’s story. They ended up not mattering a lot in the long run, which was a little bit of a bummer. As talked about above, the person character beats pack simply the correct quantity of punch, however Misplaced Singal’s broader story of vengeful spirits and interdimensional portals falls flat. Riley and Jacob’s private drama isn’t intertwined with the story like the teenagers within the first sport, so it finally ends up feeling like they had been merely two unfortunate individuals caught up in one thing that does not have something to do with them. For a sport that offers with wibbly wobbly timey wimey antics, I used to be anticipating much more time meddling, exploring the character’s private histories and the way it all ties to the current, however was finally left upset.
That doesn’t imply there aren’t some nice thrills, although. As within the first sport, using analogue tech for giant spooks was enjoyable, and messing with the walkie-talkies, broadcast transmitters, and radio indicators was at all times suitably creepy. Tuning the radio to open a portal continues to make for some stand-out moments, and thoroughly utilizing the mouse wheel to vary the frequencies because the display screen glitched and warped was cool. Listening to the static on the radio’s airwaves, I swear I might hear whispers. It was in all probability nothing, simply my thoughts taking part in tips on me, however it’s one thing that the ambiance evokes, and it’s chilling.
It’s one thing I want Misplaced Alerts sunk into extra. Oxenfree’s ambiance slowly crept up on you, however in Misplaced Alerts the scares are rather more specific. It nearly performs its playing cards too quickly, because the spooky ghost antics revealed within the first hour are the identical as these within the sport’s dramatic closing act, which means there’s no actual escalation of stress and horror. The primary time I noticed these horrible radio beings materialize from my radio frequency (I’ve chucked a screenshot above) was nice! Nevertheless it occurred means too early within the sport. The spook dial leapt from 0 to 100 with out that all-important built-up.
Simply as Edwards Island looms within the distance behind Camena, the unique sport looms over its successor. Misplaced Alerts shares quite a lot of components with what got here earlier than it, and it does these issues nicely (good for a sequel) however it additionally feels prefer it doesn’t actually increase on these concepts both (not so good for a sequel). In case you like taking part in video games for his or her ambiance, then Oxenfree 2 will definitely tick quite a lot of containers for you, however for followers of the primary one in search of extra, it is best to maintain expectations in examine.
This assessment is predicated on a assessment construct of the sport offered by the writer Netflix.