Any sequel to any well-received video game, like Oxenfree 2: Lost Signals, has a very important objective: to build upon and hopefully surpass what its predecessor set in stone. Many fail to live up to the expectations, with some even being completely lackluster copycats of old formulas. Today, however, we may have found a great example of how to do sequels right and make them as memorable as their predecessors. Oxenfree 2 not only lights a beam of hope as to what indie games can do in 2023 but also what Netflix as a game publisher can accomplish as well. Bring your radio and walkie-talkies – this is Oxenfree 2: Lost Signals.
Story – A Trip Back to the Paranormal
Oxenfree 2 features Riley as our protagonist. Estranged by her difficult relationship with her father, she decides to come back to Camena, her old home town for a research job regarding radio signal interferences. With Evelyn monitoring the situation through her radio, we meet up with a childhood friend, Jacob. Riley and Jacob are our main characters during this experience. The story expands through their interactions between one another and their surroundings.
After some conversation and the placing of the first transmitter to monitor the radio signals, it is revealed that Camena is actually a coastal town located just in front of Edwards Island. If you don’t recall or haven’t played the first entry of the franchise, this is where Alex and her friends were trapped in some supernatural time phenomena. This was caused by the sunken crew members of the submarine USS Kanaloa, all trapped in an alternate dimension.
Now, they are attempting to come back by manipulating Olivia, a girl whose parents died after a plane crash. By placing our transmitters, we are, in fact, preventing them from coming back to our dimension. The three of them were part of an organization, sometimes referred to as a cult, named Parentage. With the aid of other kids, Charlie and Violet, Olivia will try to bring back the ghosts of the Sunken under the promise of being with her parents once again. It is Riley and Jacob’s job to prevent this. They will have to face time loops and strange visions, all to prevent irreparable damage and destruction of reality itself.
An Emotional Tailor-Made Story
As you can see, the thematic choices in Oxenfree 2 focus on loss, family ties, and even unfulfilled dreams. While traversing Camena, you will discover the struggle inside both Jacob and Riley. One struggles with frustration over a life filled with regrets and failures, while the other carries a burden caused by a broken relationship with her father. We eventually discover that Riley is pregnant, suffering visions of her grown son. These depict a future of conflict between each other, reflecting Riley’s relationship with her own father.
We have all struggled with family issues from time to time, which is what makes the game so relatable. Olivia’s motivations are fueled by grief, which is certainly a topic that hits very close to home due to the recent events in our history. The themes that the story touches upon allow us to make it our own, and by making choices throughout the game, we will see ourselves reflected in one or more of the characters. This is done masterfully by Night School.
The dialogue choices and a certain amount of freedom to explore new areas and meet new characters in the game make this an adventure that is tailor-made to the player. You can react empathetically or with apathy toward what you experience. Moreover, you can choose to say nothing at all when prompted. You can call certain characters through the use of your walkie-talkie, or you can just ignore them altogether. This will become crucial since your ability to communicate with them will determine their fate. In fact, all of your actions in the game will impact the fate of your friends, if you made any, as well as the ending itself. Ultimately, Oxenfree 2’s story is a masterclass of paranormal events told through the most human emotions.
Gameplay – Forge Your Path by Walking
The way we confront the game is based on dialogue choices, the occasional mini-game, some puzzle solving, and yes, a lot of walking. Thankfully, walking will be the way you get to know Jacob and Riley and the stories you will encounter across the island. Interacting with the environment will give you valuable information. You will uncover hidden locations to explore, access codes, and secrets you may be oblivious to when you first arrive. The game will reward your insatiable thirst for lore and side questing with several encounters and characters that could be completely missed unless you take a good look around.
The use of the radio and the walkie-talkie will make you feel that things happen in the background while you try to unravel the mystery of what is happening at Edwards Island. A shared objective for several characters you find across Camena is to, from time to time, check on them. Just give them a call using your walkie-talkie, and you will even get to save some lives. Refuse to do so, and things will get dramatic and fatal quite easy
In general, the gameplay is pretty solid. One thing that could be improved on is the variety of mini-games. These act as quick-time events that will get you out of trouble. Dialing to a specific radio frequency may offer tension, but using other objects or even dialogue to get out of danger could bring some variety to an already good system.
Graphics and Audio – Distressingly Beautiful
Oxenfree 2 is littered with glitchy, dark, fear-inducing scenes. The world is one consumed by darkness, fog, time fractures, and eternal loops. The screen tears out of control, fades to red to express terror, and gives you decent scares. The latter will happen quite often. The visual experience is impeccable and one of the best this month and even the year so far. However, the music takes a background role during this adventure.
Don’t get us wrong, the music is not bad. It just lacks a bit of uniqueness and personality. How many times can we experience the cliched synth arpeggio that will accompany supernatural events on the screen? Scntfc is a gifted composer, and no, not all OSTs need to use leitmotifs and be catchy like the Super Mario Bros. theme. However, a little more character in the music would have benefitted the game a lot. Sound design, however, is flawless and serves perfectly the nature of what is happening on-screen.
In the end, both the graphics and audio of Oxenfree 2: Lost Signals achieve what the story needed: a setting that brings the paranormal and the mundane, the ghostly and the human, the past and the future.
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Conclusion – A Worthy Sequel to an Indie Classic
To sum things up, Oxenfree 2: Lost Signals is a well-crafted, worthy sequel to the original. It is a unique experience that will have you encounter your own psyche across several characters and situations. All of this is thanks to the character’s all-too-familiar psychological and emotional scars. While the way you interact with the world and get out of trouble may get repetitive, the setting, the views, and the in-game cutscenes make up for it. Should you give Oxenfree 2 a chance? Absolutely, especially if you have a Netflix account. Just be sure to make the choices that come naturally to you. You may just find something out about yourself that you had previously ignored.
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