System: Change
Launch date: July 12, 2023
Developer: Night time College Studio
Writer: Netflix
When Oxenfree launched in 2016, I used to be enamored with it. I used to be youthful then and located consolation in its highschool drama and socially awkward characters, who have been relatable and felt actual. The supernatural yarn it weaved was surprisingly darkish, but grounded in occasions that felt potential in its unusual world of ghosts and timeloops. However gamers who made it the top have been doubtless left with at the least a couple of unresolved questions, and Oxenfree II: Misplaced Alerts tantalizes with guarantees of solutions, or at the least a deeper glimpse into the unusual phenomena that occurred on Edwards Island all these years in the past. Whereas Oxenfree II delivers in that regard, its narrative and new exploration mechanics felt disappointingly protected for many of its runtime, failing to shock and hook me in the best way its predecessor did (exterior of some key moments); nonetheless, followers of the unique owe it to themselves to see this story via to its conclusion.
Oxenfree II: Misplaced Alerts takes place effectively after the occasions of the unique, and primarily focuses on Riley, a grunt working for a government-contracted environmental analysis group that research unusual phenomena. After dropping out of the navy and failing to search out route in her life, Riley has returned to her hometown of Camena, the place she hyperlinks up with a coworker named Jacob to analyze a mysterious “gate” that has appeared within the sky over Edwards Island. It’s shortly revealed {that a} cult named Parentage is making an attempt to reopen it (for causes I gained’t I spoil), so Riley and Jacob make their method throughout the island to arrange machines that simply may have the ability to stop the state of affairs from getting worse.
Regardless of the sense of urgency that the premise of the story may recommend, Oxenfree II doesn’t really feel as high-stakes as its predecessor. That’s completely cheap, as returning gamers who beat the primary sport will already be effectively conscious of the character of the supernatural menace, realizing greater than the protagonists about what’s happening for a superb chunk of the story. The cult is positioned as the primary antagonist this time round, however they really feel comparatively toothless for a superb chunk of the story, principally current within the backdrop till the participant lastly begins circumstantially encountering a few of their members. Whereas its these interactions that assist drive the story ahead, I want that they had been extra of a driving drive within the narrative. Their chief – Olivia – has a darkish aspect to her persona that gave me the occasional goosebumps, however she has so little screentime in what’s already a brief narrative expertise; fleshing out her character earlier within the sport would have made an enormous distinction.
The truth is, most of your time in Oxenfree II is spent completely with Riley and Jacob as they traverse Camena. It’s a superb factor that they’re such well-written characters, then. Whereas maybe not relatable to me personally, they really feel grounded; Riley’s struggles with burnout, relationships and household really feel notably frequent these days, and her jaded however sincere method to self-reflection feels well-suited to her extra mature persona. She can be fairly snarky at occasions if you choose these dialogue choices, however by no means to the purpose the place she’s unlikeable. Jacob, in the meantime, is earnest and optimistic in all one of the best methods; whereas missing in self-confidence, he’s emotionally clever and susceptible in method that male characters in video games typically aren’t, which I discovered actually refreshing. Identical to within the first sport, dialogue between them feels brisk and pure in a method that – whereas maybe not progressive in of itself – remains to be uncommon in video games of this scope. I didn’t discover them as compelling to take heed to because the solid from the primary sport, however they do at the least develop as people over the course of the story in a method that feels tangible.
Whereas face-to-face interactions with different characters are sparser than within the unique sport, a brand new walkie-talkie system permits Riley to remotely chat with characters on different frequencies. Many of those interactions really feel fully non-obligatory – to work together with Maria, for instance, who hosts a highschool radio present, it’s a must to make some extent to take heed to her present and name in on the proper time. Whereas selecting to assist a few of the characters you work together with has an impression on the sport’s story, it didn’t really feel notably giant to me. That’s presumably as a result of I couldn’t view the end-of-game pie charts that present the outcomes of your choices, which shall be added in at launch; that stated it’s more durable to attach and care about characters who we by no means get to see, and whose plights really feel considerably decrease precedence than the chaos that’s taking place on Camena. Regardless of their simplicity, I felt like my interactions with the members of the Parentage had a far better impression on the story than anything, undoubtedly factoring into how some key scenes play out.
I did run into a couple of situations the place dialogue – and in a single case, an emotional, essential second between Riley and Jacob – was lower off abruptly when switching between totally different areas. For probably the most half, conversations in Oxenfree II will resume after loading screens when strolling to a brand new a part of Camena, however the few occasions they didn’t I actually felt like I missed essential character improvement. The builders are conscious of those types of timing points, so I hope they will get patched out in time for the ultimate launch, nevertheless it’s one thing to be take into account in case you’re planning on enjoying at launch.
The brand new island of Camena is superbly crafted, retaining the watercolor-painting aesthetic of the unique however feeling extra natural and lived-in. It’s similar to the primary sport’s Edwards Island in its environment and common geography, however has considerably extra element packed into its world, notably its interiors. The zoomed-out digicam does an incredible job at promoting the size of the surroundings, however the draw back is that it typically makes these particulars more durable to understand, particularly the detailed character animations which have clearly had a number of work poured into them. This sense is amplified when enjoying in handheld mode – whereas the sport seems nice on the Change’s OLED display screen, a number of the feel of the world is misplaced on the smaller show.
Whereas climbing has been touted as an thrilling new solution to get across the island, there’s not a lot to it aside from selecting a route to go in and hitting B to leap between ledges, so it feels extra like a method to an finish than something substantial. After all, there’s extra to the island of Camena than meets the attention, and because the sport progresses, more and more unusual paranormal phenomena will happen that distort the world round Riley. It’s right here that I’d like to supply a light-weight spoiler warning for the following few paragraphs, as a result of discussing how a few of these situations play mechanically will necessitate discussing sure narrative themes, though I’ll avoid discussing particular plot factors.
One recurring factor from the primary Oxenfree is that it in a short time turns into obvious that point itself is unstable round Camena. From a really early level within the sport, Riley will discover herself caught in short time loops, needing to search out these unusual analogue machines and clear up easy puzzles on their display screen to interrupt out of the loop. Moreover, she and Jacob will often encounter Time Tears whereas exploring that, when entered, whisk them away to a time up to now. Generally these moments ship some narrative context; different occasions, they exist as a part of a puzzle within the modern-day, equivalent to needing to get previous a damaged elevator to go away an surroundings.
In idea, that is an extremely cool solution to broaden upon the lore of the world and the themes of the primary sport, however in follow, the Time Tears maintain so little narrative and mechanical weight that they’re a few of the least attention-grabbing elements of the sport. It’s actually a disgrace, as we hear a lot dialogue from different characters about occasions which have occurred up to now, and Time Tears might have been an attention-grabbing solution to discover extra of that. However there are so few of them, and so few significant interactions inside them that they really feel principally extraneous. The handful that require puzzle fixing are virtually ridiculously easy, to the purpose that I started to query what they have been actually including to the expertise.
Riley may even often expertise flashbacks to her childhood, and flash-forwards to her future. These moments are much more frequent, and give attention to offering the participant a possibility to see extra of her character and the kind of particular person she may grow to be if she makes sure selections. On the very least, these occasions have extra narrative weight to them, in order that they really feel extra essential to the general development of the story, however just like the Time Tears, they’re by no means actually defined in a significant method, which I discovered unsatisfying. I can respect that generally a thriller will be extra compelling when a few of its components are left unexplained, however there must at the least be some broad context to assist the occasions really feel grounded. I additionally dislike how shortly Riley and Jacob settle for on a regular basis shifting strangeness with out actually questioning what’s inflicting it or why it issues, or ever actually being afraid of any of it. I do know they’re adults and are extra level-headed than the solid of the primary sport, however their common nonplussed perspective to a lot of the occasions within the sport made it arduous for me to consider within the gravity of all of it.
Regardless of some missed potential, I did in the end discover the conclusion of Oxenfree II: Misplaced Alerts satisfying as a fan of the unique. There are some direct connections to the primary sport that I wasn’t anticipating, and a few gorgeous set items late within the sport convincingly show the facility of the supernatural forces at play behind the scenes. Whereas the ultimate selection within the sport itself lacks the ethical ambiguity and emotional impression that I believe I’ve come to anticipate from the style, it does at the least present some closure to some main free ends.
The Verdict
Oxenfree II: Misplaced Alerts is an efficient sequel with usually robust writing and world-building, nevertheless it will get a bit misplaced in its personal want to craft unusual supernatural situations that it by no means fleshes out to a satisfying diploma. A lot of its new mechanics really feel too easy or sparsely executed to be compelling, and whereas the brand new protagonists are refreshing and attention-grabbing to spend time with, the remainder of the solid is both too distant or too sporadically current to permit for significant relationships. If you happen to loved Oxenfree, I believe Misplaced Alerts is price enjoying, if solely to see the conclusion of the story, however years down the highway, I don’t anticipate my recollections of enjoying to stay with me the best way they did the primary time round.
Oxenfree II: Misplaced Alerts overview copy supplied by the writer for the needs of this overview.