Oxenfree

For the children's catchphrase, see Olly olly oxen free.

Oxenfree
File:Oxenfree logo.png Logo of Oxenfree
Developer(s)	Night School Studio
Publisher(s)	Night School Studio
Director(s)	Adam Hines
Producer(s)	Sean Krankel
Designer(s)	Spencer Stuard Kevin Riach
Programmer(s)	Bryant Cannon
Artist(s)	Heather Gross
Writer(s)	Adam Hines
Composer(s)	Andrew Rohrmann
Engine	Unity
Platforms	Microsoft Windows OS X PlayStation 4 Xbox One
Release date(s)	Microsoft Windows, OS X & Xbox One PlayStation 4
Genre(s)	Adventure
Mode(s)	Single-player

Oxenfree is a 2016 adventure video game developed and published by Night School Studio. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, OS X and Xbox One on January 15, 2016, with a PlayStation 4 version scheduled for May 31, 2016.

Gameplay

File:Oxenfreespeech.png

Dialogue options are chosen by clicking on the speech bubbles that appear around the protagonist's head.

Oxenfree is a graphic adventure played from a 2.5D perspective. Instead of dialogue occurring during cutscenes, speech bubbles appear over Alex's head, allowing the player able to choose what she says next in the conversation while also interacting with the game's world. Puzzles in the game are solved by finding the correct frequency on Alex's handheld radio, which can do everything from unlock doors to communicate with ghosts.

Plot

Oxenfree is set on an abandoned island, which is visited by a group of teenagers for an overnight party. After they accidentally open a supernatural rift, Alex, the protagonist, must find a way to overcome the ominous creatures that have been unleashed, but also choose how to relate to the other teenagers trapped on the island.

Development

The first gameplay footage was released on May 18, 2015. It was announced on October 23, 2015 that the game would be released in January 2016. The game's development team, Night School Studio, consists of former Telltale Games and Disney employees. It is their first game. The original artwork was created by Heather Gross, and the script was written by Adam Hines, lead writer on Tales from the Borderlands. Oxenfree is available in both standard and collector's editions. The cast of the game includes Avital Ash, Britanni Johnson, Gavin Hammon, Erin Yvette, Aaron Kuban, and Joe Zieja.

Alternate Reality Game

Within the game are radio frequencies that hint to a real-world phone number. This phone number led players to the twitter account @xray9169363733. The account posted various cryptic, coded messages, all of which seemed to point to a real world location. On May 7th, 2016, Youtuber Jesse Cox posted a video similar to the PS4 Oxenfree trailer, but with several letters highlighted in red. This led players to www.edwardsisland.com. Several messages were found, but most important was "MILNER IS WARD", confirming players' suspicions that a special object would be hidden at Fort Ward, WA.

Reception

Reception
Review scores Publication Score PC Xbox One Destructoid 9/10 N/A EGM 7.5/10 N/A Game Informer 7.75/10 N/A Game Revolution N/A GameSpot 8/10 N/A IGN 8.2/10 N/A OXM (UK) N/A PC Gamer (US) 83/100 N/A Polygon 7/10 N/A VideoGamer.com N/A 8/10 Aggregate score Metacritic 80/100 78/100

Oxenfree received "generally favorable" reviews, according to video game review aggregator Metacritic.

GameSpot gave the game a score of 8/10, saying "It doesn't ask you any big questions, and certainly isn't easy in relenting its answers; Oxenfree just is what it is, a big little game about the all-too-human inability to let go of what hurts us."

IGN gave the game a score of 8.2/10, saying "Oxenfree is elegantly simple, using branching dialogue and a little something supernatural to develop three-dimensional characters and drive the coming-of-age story."

PC Gamer gave the game a score of 83/100, calling it "A beautiful story-driven adventure with a compelling story and great characters, set on an island filled with intriguing mysteries." However, they also said that it had "lack of challenging puzzles, and . . . the characters often seem a little too relaxed considering the terrifying things happening to them."

Film and Web-series

Writer Robert Kirkman is planning to help adapt Oxenfree into a film and a web-series via his company Skybound Entertainment. On January 11-14, 2016, Skybound released four episodes as part of their Creator Series about the creation of Oxenfree, detailing the story, art, mechanics, and voice acting.

Awards and Nominations

Year	Award	Category	Recipient(s) and Nominee(s)	Result	Ref
2016	Independent Games Festival Awards	Excellence in Visual Art	Oxenfree	Won

External links

• Official website