![]() But it does enough right that it feels like I’m standing on the very edge of a breakthrough, and I keep hoping the game will take the final steps to greatness every time I return to it. Oxenfree isn’t a fun game, and I don’t even think it’s that good. There’s something I find so endearing about its confidence, even right out of the gate. The platforming and puzzles feel like a punishment, but the game continues to grab me despite those shortcomings. Its length is disappointing, and it seems to favor quantity over quality when it comes to the all-important speech bubbles. I keep coming back to Oxenfree to tinker with the conversations, try out different directions and piece together a new experience. Oxenfree exhibits a lot of potential that it doesn't always live up to. Alex is guarded and defensive in a way that feels honest. Life is Strange, is enjoyable despite its often ridiculed dialogue, but Oxenfree does a better job of exploring how teenagers actually talk, or at least how we expect them to. ![]() It’s a fascinating system improved by the teenage cast’s sincerity. The teen cast, headed up by player character Alex, snarks freely and often the exact tenor of that snark is decided by which word balloon you choose. The game continues to be celebrated for its beautiful art and animation, but most influential of all is Oxenfree’s dialogue system, a sprawling and omnipresent series of choices. Oxenfree is a graphic adventure game released in 2016 by Night School Studio, the companys first outing. I’ve played Oxenfree three times, and I’ll likely keep playing it. Yet it’s one of the only story-based games that I have returned to. I stand by it: Oxenfree is not a game I enjoyed. With a wholly unique take on the dialogue/choice based genre, the title takes players. But it’s one of the lowest review scores the game has received to date. OXENFREE was a whirl of a surprise for me. I scored Oxenfree a seven, which isn’t bad by our scale. It was one of the first reviews I wrote for Polygon I was honored to be the one to write about this pretty teenage sci-fi game. I don’t put much stock in numbers, but I’m often reminded of the one that we gave to Oxenfree, a game that’s become a cult classic since its release in early 2016.
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