It seems as if many locks on the island can be triggered by simply turning to the correct frequency. The radio also picks up all sorts of random chatter, distant waves from the mainland, and snippets of conversation that don’t mean much.Īround halfway through the game you discover a very unique use of your handheld radio – opening doors. Pretty handy, given there are information boards around the island that can be listened to if only you tune into the right frequency. As such, you’re given a handheld radio that can receive information. That is, by radio.Īt the start of the game you’re told by one of the other characters that mobile phones don’t work so everything runs off the radio. The first thing of note was the method of unlocking the numerous locked doors across Edward Island.
One of the cool things about playing Oxenfree from an escape room enthusiast point of view, is how we approach the puzzles. It’s not your classic ‘jump in your seat’ horror game, but the kind of slow paced but horrific ghost story of Victorian parlour novels. What I wasn’t expecting was just how scary Oxenfree actually is. The five friends must work together, solve puzzles, and escape the island before dawn, but nobody will return quite the same person they left. The main character Alex quickly uncovers a sift in the space time continuum and lets through malevolent voices of the dead (or undead) leak into the radio waves. With phrases like “supernatural thriller”, “terrifying turn” and “ghostly rift” packed into the game’s description, it’s fair to guess that the evening goes horribly, horribly wrong. You play a group of late-teen high schoolers sneaking off to the abandoned Edwards Island, an old military outpost with no phone signal for an annual party. This sets the scene for the game which is mixed up in supernatural horror of submarine vessels, abandoned military outposts and lots and lots of lost radio wave signals. The phrase actually comes from a German nursery rhyme, “ alle alle auch sind frei” or “ olly olly oxen free” here in the UK which loosely means “all are free” in both translations.
You’ll free exactly zero Ox in this short, supernatural thriller.
If you’ve ever wanted to play Oxenfree but needed a sign, this is your sign.Ĭontrary to popular belief, Oxenfree is not about Oxen. With the Christmas break comes more time off to finally work through my ‘to-play’ pile, and all I can do now is regret that it took me 5 whole years to pick it up!īut, it seems like I’ve played it just in the nick of time – for Oxenfree II – Lost Signals is due to release some time in 2022. No joke! After originally launching in 2016, it’s one of those games that has been on my wishlist for years. Because Oxenfree has swooped in at the very last minute and takes the title of being my favourite game played in this entire year. I’m so glad I managed to squeeze in one last video game in 2021, and I’m especially glad it was this one. YOU determine every aspect of Alex’s story while exploring Edwards Island, uncovering the base’s dark past, and changing the course of your friends’ lives.
How you deal with these events, your peers, and the ominous creatures you’ve unleashed is up to you. The night takes a terrifying turn when you unwittingly open a ghostly gate spawned from the island’s cryptic past. Play as Alex, a bright, rebellious teenager who brings her new stepbrother Jonas to an overnight party on an old military island. Oxenfree Review | Oxenfree is a supernatural thriller about a group of friends who unwittingly open a ghostly rift.