Who says you can't go home?

There are points in life that can feel outside of time. Maybe you're leaving one big era of your life behind and moving to the next, or maybe a big decision is causing you to escape, flee, and reassess. It's time enough for the ghosts of the past to catch up to you. And it's those fears and doubts that Night School Studio plays on again with Oxenfree II: Lost Signals.

Night School's follow-up to the 2016 adventure game Oxenfree will feel very familiar. Though it follows an older lead, it deals with many of the same threats. Even its geography will feel familiar, as rath??er than exploring Edwards Island, you're running around the mainland town of Camena.

For all its familiarity, Oxenfree II: Lost Signals still pulls off some twists, frights, and touching moments. It might not be as big of a surprise the second time around, but Oxenfree II does f??eel like a worthwhile return for fans of th?e first.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=KI_YGza2jt8

Oxenfree II: Lost Signals (PC [reviewed], Switch, PS4/PS5, iOS, Android)
Developer: Night School Studio
Publisher: Netflix
Released: July 12, 2023
MSRP: $19.99

Riley Poverly, the lead of Oxenfree II: Lost Signals, is a bit different from Oxenfree's Alex. While the latter was dealing with high school, coming-of-age woes, Riley is older. She's returning to her hometown of Camena to deal with her own issues, after spending a good chunk of her life away. Some of this is freeform and left up to the player to dictate, as they choose how much of Riley's backstory they tell other characters. It's an interesting bit of tension, in whether you want t?o learn more by trusting someone else. Or maybe lying feels more fitting to how you play Riley.

Regardless, there are a lot of opportunities to make these choices. Oxenfree II: Lost Signals is a dialogue-heavy adventure game, and feels even chattier than its predecessor. For one, Riley has a near-constant companion in Jacob, the well-meaning but talkative coworker. Without saying too much, he's got big Golden Retriever energy. He's an interesting foil to Riley, and frequentl?y felt like a character to role-play your vision of Riley around, questioning or reaffirming ??different personality traits.

The overall cast is much larger, though. There's the mysterious teens work?ing under the guise of Parentage, a local cult, who seem to b??e encouraging the destructive events of the night along. But Riley's walkie talkie opens up a lot more conversation. As the player progresses, different channels become the residence of characters who Riley can check in with as the night goes on. For the most part, you don't meet these characters in-person; they exist as voices on the other end of the line, providing little story beats and updates.

Those storylines were some of my favorite bits of Oxenfree II: Lost Signals, to be honest. An ongoing dialogue with a grizzled sailor named Nick was a highlight, and other characters like Maria and Shelley really add to the exp??erience. I think I'm a little less keen on the general mechanism, as the need to constantly check and see if there were more dialogue options as I wandered between story beats could start to feel tedious. But overall, I thought the walkie was a solid addition.

You can (not) re-do

You might have noticed that I'm not saying much about the main story itself. Well, Oxenfree II: Lost Signals is a heavily story-driven game, and a bit on? the shorte??r side, clocking in at about eight hours for my own playthrough. Much like its predecessor, it is bite-sized enough to knock out in a weekend, and I do genuinely enjoy that. It also makes this a hard game to talk about, without talking directly about its narrative twists and turns.

Riley's gig, as someone basically called in to set up radio transmitters to look into the anomalies that have been taking place in and around Camena, predictably goes awry. And as you could guess if you played the first, time starts to blend and meld into a haze, too. Riley isn't coming home just for a temp gig, and over those eight hours, you'll get at least some insight into why she came back. It's not all laid out in plain terms, but you can get a pretty good sense of where her head's at, both in co?nversations and in the flashbacks to her past.

It's a compelling story, possibly because I'm in a stage of life close to Riley's. A lot of Oxenfree II: Lost Signals is about that aching feeling of time encroaching back in on you. Where life once felt like it expanded out ahead with infinit??e possibil?ities, time gradually reels that scope back in. And what you have to decide is whether you feel like those margins have truly narrowed or not.

It's effective. I do think it stumbles a bit at times, especially as it starts to tie in a lot of threads. And maybe it's that late pivot into a much broader, less personal story that left me with a few lingering wrinkles after credits rolled. They're minor and don't really detract from the overall experience. Maybe it's a sign of a ??good story that I wanted to jump back in and answer some questions I had about how my? story resolved.

Over the river and through the woods

The more noticeable rough patches were in traversal. A big part of Oxenfree II: Lost Signals isn??'t just all the different people you can talk to while traversing Camena, but also the ways you get around Camena itself. There are, vaugely, some time portal shenanigans. You can also clamber around the environment a bit, climbing up and down cliffsides. But the big new tool is a climbing anchor and rope, creating avenues for exploring and backtracking.

Some of this felt valuable, as I found some items that opened up areas later or letters from Maggie Adler, which return as a collectible. Areas in Oxenfree II are big though, and especially late-game, as I was trying t?o retrace steps to find collectibles and finish side stories, there were some frustrations in getting around. It would've been nice to sprint through big, long stretches you'd already been through before. And the rope always felt a bit wonky, jittering down the cliff. That's also where I'd run into weird moments of interaction in general. Nothing bugged out or broke my progression or anything, but it was a bit distracting at times.

I did end up enjoying the overall area of Camena, though only a few spots felt truly memorable. As much as I dug the vibes of the caves, they started to blend together as areas. They don't stick out to me as much as the big moments, like a really wonderful section set in the community center much later in the story. Oxenfree II: Lost Signals is gorgeous to look at, and the music an??d ??????????????????????????dreary tones—mixed with plenty of radio static, of course—set the mood right.

Is leaving possible?

I've had a decent amount of time now, to wrap my head around Oxenfree II: Lost Signals. In some ways, it does feel very familiar. Riley's adventure has many of the same vibes, a few scattered puzzles mostly centered around turning knobs and dials, and plenty of moments where I made a choice and wondered how it might ripple out. But a few wrinkles and hang-ups left me feeling a bit weird after credits rolled. For those who enjoyed the first game, it's a no-brainer; but I'd also really recommend newcomers play the first?? game before checking this one out, too.

Oxenfree II feels like Night School returning to its roots in a way, and I think the confidence with which they do so is laudable. There's enough here that keeps true to its creepy, radio-static origins while expanding out the possibilities. The studio's style has clearly evolved in the years since, and seeing that come together back in the coastal town of Camena is exciting. It might not be the out-of-left-field surprise it was then, but Oxenfree II: Lost Signals is a solid adventure for those who can't get enough of strange frequencies and ??existential drea??d.

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Spirit of the radio

Oxenfree might be a scary game, but to me, it's also a summer game. It's about the in-between parts of your life, as you move from one major milestone to the next, and all the regrets and emotions that kick up in that time. So if Oxenfree was a summer vacation ghost story, Oxenfree II: Lost Signals is a haunted summer gig.

Set five years after the first game, Oxenfree II follows Riley Poverl??y's return home to the coastal town of Camena. From the outset, it has a lot of summer gig vibes; you're tasked with heading to desi??gnated locations in Camena to set up radio transmitters, so that scientists can gather data about the strange radio signals happening around the area.

Obviously, this doesn't go so well. And what starts out as a chill job star??ts to feel uneasy and tense, until something paranormal and wrong ensues. Phenomena occur. Portals open in the sky. Is leaving even possible?

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqXKb3BGVWE

Walk and talk

These are the spooky, supernatural, yet emotional and relatable feelings that drive Oxenfree, and seem to return for the sequel. While characters deal ?with strange occurrences, they also seem to be wrestling with their own ghosts, and navigating the former often means confronting the latter.

A big feature of Night School's work has been its walk-and-talk gameplay. You navigate around Camena and its various locales, but all the while, characters still chat and respond to each other. Chat bubbles can pop up, and offer you opportunities to learn and?? develop as you move through the space.

[caption id="attachment_387219" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Night School[/caption]

Oxenfree II amps up the walk-and-talk with one of its new features: a walkie talkie. This clever addition isn't just for wordplay, but for communicating with other characters at any time. In the demo I played at Summer Ga??me Fest 2023, I was able to flip between channels and chat about my surroundings with Evelyn, my point-of-contact back at base. It was a nice way to encourage me to explore a bit more, finding new objects or points of interest I could chat with Evelyn about.

It's a smart system that opens up extra dialogue, makes walking around and taking in the sights more interesting, and keeps the tangible feel of Oxenfree's tech front-and-center. A lot of Oxenfree II deals in the same tangible, analogue tech as the first game. Turning radio dials, keying into different channels, and activating your walkie has an intent behind it. You push a button, or turn a knob, and something happens. It's that feeling of continuing to turn and press, despite the strangeness of what's happening in front of you, that sells Oxenfree's tension and horror so well.

[caption id="attachment_387217" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Night School[/caption]

Night terrors

Of course, I might be overselling the scares of Oxenfree II. I wouldn't say it's a horror game in the sense of jump-scares or anything. Thoug?h, there are certainly moments where sudden cuts or shifts happen in rapid succession.

Oxenfree II has more of a surreal, creepy, supernatural vibe. It's the kind that makes you wonder if something's wrong with your TV. The style of horror that slowly seeps in and starts to make you question shadows, or ?wonder what's lurking just behind the ??purview of the screen boundaries.

[caption id="attachment_387220" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Night School[/caption]

There's still downtime without the scares, where ?Riley and her new coworker Jacob can get to know each other. I ran into a heap of wonderful little moments of sincerity and social awkwardness. If you've ever been working on a job and had a coworker you barely know suddenly ask if you believe in ghosts, ??this will strike a chord.

As you'd expect, the great mystery is why the radio portals are back. And of course, the looming question mark of Edwards Island, what effect the events of Oxenfree had, and how they carry over into Oxenfree II. There are some ??moments when you chat with people about something that happened there, but otherwise, all we have is speculation... for now.

Left of the dial

I only got to play the first 30 minutes or so of Oxenfree II: Lost Signals, but it was easily more than enough. I've enjoyed Night School's take on the narrative adventure genre, and the way the team there tackles both gameplay and writing around interesting topics. Oxenfree II, in its first 30, didn't disappo??int on that front.

I've got a lot of questions about what awaits in Camena, and even Edwards Island. But thankfully, it's not a long wait. Oxenfree II: Lost Signals arrives on July 12 for PC, Switch, PlayStation, and the Netflix platform.

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Spirits of the radio

A spooky summertime adventure is in store for July. Night School Studio's Oxenfree II: Lost Signals is scheduled to launch on July 12, 2023.

The follow-up to 2016's Oxenfree sees protagonist Riley Poverly return to her hometown in Camena. As a newly hired research assistant, she's investigating the local phenomena that's been interfering with electronics and radios. Her job is to set up radio transmitters around certain areas and report the data. Should be ea?sy, right?

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7AJBSII0Q8

Well, get a cult and some spirits involved, and you've got a long night ahead. Much like the first Oxenfree, choices will shape your story and future, as you deal with the strange oddities creating all these disturbances. As shown in a trailer during today's Nintendo Indie World Showcase??, things may not always go as p?lanned.

All the outs in free

Oxenfree II sees Night School returning to the spooky 2016 adventure, following 2019's partying romp through the underworld in Afterparty and a few other projects.

Meanwhile, it's also Night School's newest project under Netflix, as the studio was acquired by the streaming giant in ??2021. It's nice to see that the acquisition didn't cance?l the studio's plans for a sequel at the time.

It's exciting to see Oxenfree II get a date locked in, and to have it during the summer too. Sure, the original was released in January 2016, but it's a distinctly "summer" game to me. It's about a bunch of angsty, worrying teens on their final summer vacation, and absolutely worth your time ahead of the sequel's launch. And wi??th a July launch, the sequel is also thankfully avoiding the traffic jam of games in June.

Oxenfree II: Lost Signals hits Nintendo Switch, Pl??ayStation 4, PS5, PC via Steam, and the Netflix platform on July 12, 2023.

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A little more time to tune in

Over the weekend, Night School Studio confirmed it needs a little extra time for its next Oxenfree entry. Oxenfree II: Lost Signals has been delayed to 2023.

"To make Oxenfree II truly special and add more localizations, we're moving our release window to 2023,??" said the studio on social media. "Thank you for your patience, support, and understa?nding, We can't wait to share the game with you. Stay tuned!"

Originally revealed as a stinger in a 2021 Nintendo Indie World Showcase, Oxenfree II has been pushed back a few times. The follow-up to 2016's surprise horror hit Oxenfree seems to nee??d?? just a little more time to come together.

If you haven't got around to the first Oxenfree though, there is some good news. Netflix subscribers can now play Oxenfree: Netflix Edition on their phones via the Netflix app.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_PACN9W370

Somewhere further down the dial

While it's a bummer for anyone who's been eagerly awaiting the next slice of Oxenfree, hopefully this makes the work come together for Night School. The original Oxenfree was incredible, and I enjoyed the unique twists and mechanics of Afterparty as well.

Night School itself has been busy, too. The studio was purchased by Netflix roughly a year ago today. This is certainly a studio that can bring some storytelling power to Netflix's gaming selection.

I'm eager to see what's been going on with the island and how Oxenfree II carries on the story five years later. Our preview made it sound like it was coming together, and hopefully a little extra time ??helps Night School bring it all home.

Oxenfree II: Lost Signals is planned for a 2023? launch on PlayStation consoles, Nintendo Switch,?? and PC.

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Character-driven story with a supernatural twist

Since I played it back in 2018, Oxenfree has been one of my favorite games. It's one of those stories that's character-focused on top of everything else it has going for it, like a gorgeous art style, amazing VO performances, and one of the best implementations of a dialogue system in a game I've ever seen. I even found the gameplay, which mostly involves walking and climbing around Edwards Island, to be really engaging, mostly because of the conversations the characters had. For me, it captures the coming-of-age magic that something like Stranger Things season one had, and it's on??e of the best narrative games of the last decade.

As one would expect, I'm pretty stoked for the sequel. I had been following any news surrounding Oxenfree II: Lost Signals since it was announced last year, and during the Tribeca Games Fest, I was fortunate enough to pl?ay a preview of the upcoming title. I am pleased to report back that this experience has only increased my hype for the release.

If it ain't broke...

Here's the thing �the team at Night School knows what made Oxenfree work the first time, and they're not straying too far from that. The focus on "walk-and-talk" gameplay is still there, the climbing-through-creepy-caves exploration is definitely still there, and you're still gonna use the radio to check out so?me creepy ghost signals, etc.

That's not to say the games will be exactly the same �on the contrary, the story focuses on Riley, who is in her 30s, as opposed to the teenage characters of the first game. Now there are tears in the space-time continuum that players will enter and explore, and there's a whole new group of antagonists who are a more active part of the story than in the first game. Basically, they've kept the heart of Oxenfree as they move forward in the series, but the entire scope of Oxenfree II has been blown up a bit.

And I respect the hell out of that choice. Sequels can be so hit or miss regardless of the medium they are, but the key to a good sequel is an understanding of why people were drawn to the original in the first place. Even with little context of who the characters were and what they were doing when I dropped into the preview, everything felt so quintessentially Oxenfree that I knew the overall experien??ce was going to give me exactly what I'm asking for.

//youtu.be/pv82YytSYCY?t=2995

Characters first

While you play as Riley, the aforementioned 30-something who is quick-witted, pragmatic, and self-assured, her old friend from high school, Jacob, is also along for the ride. There's an innocence to him that I found really charming even from a short bit of gameplay, so I'll be looking forward to seeing how his character fully develops over the course of Oxenfree II. He's a lot more laid back and plays off of Riley's character nicely, but it never feels like we're rehashing any of the relationship dynamics from the first game. It's yet anoth?er area of the game that feels familiar, yet still entirely new and intriguing to explore.

That shiny new feeling also extends to a large piece ??of the story: the supernatural phenomena that plague the island. In the first game, you only got to briefly interact with people from the past who were harmed by what had happened at this place, but now, players will be actually going back in time and seeing it for themselves.

The?? devs also let on that in the same way that Riley and Jacob can enter a previous timeline, things from previous timelines can come into their present as well, and th??at they will have to deal with the repercussions of that.

Unanswered questions

Something else I'll be looking forward to is seeing how Lost Signals' story ties into the first game. During the Tribeca Games Showcase, Night School's lead writer Adam Hines actually let on that Jacob has a connection to Maggie Adler, the woman who lived on Edwards Island and who helped kick off the events of the first game. Of course, there's also the possibility that Riley and Jacob will get close to figuring out what exactly is causing all of these strange, supernatural occurrences, which is a mystery I think many of us would love to see solved in Oxenfree II.

My only reservation is that the devs might play it a little too safe by relying on the precedent of the first game, but that's much more of a hypothetical than it is based on anything I've seen of the game so far. I've been sorely disappointed by sequels in the past, so I'm trying to stay realistic here, but honestly, everything I've seen of Oxenfree II: Lost Signals only reinforces its place at the top of my "most anticipated games" list. Of all the games on the docket this year, I t??hink I'm looking forward to this one the most.

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The team will keep working on Oxenfree II

The developers behind Oxenfree and Afterparty are joining Netflix's push?? into gaming. Netflix announc??ed today that it has acquired Night School Studio.

A release from Night School Studio went live today. In it, Night School's Sean Krankel says their expl??oration of narrative gameplay and Netflix's record of supporting diverse storytellers was "such a natural pairing."

"Not only do we get to keep ?doing what we do, how we like to do it, but we get a front-row seat on the biggest entertainment platform in the world," said Kr??ankel. "The Netflix team has shown the utmost care for protecting our studio culture and creative vision."

Krankel also confirms that Night School Studio will continue working on Oxenfree II: Lost Signals, currently set to launch in 2022. Night School will also "keep co??oking up new game worlds."

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=LH8dYVPVxfM

In an announcement from Netflix, VP of Game Development Mike Verdu said the company is in the "early stages" of creating a great gaming? experience for its members. He also confirmed that like its shows and films, these games will be available as part of a Netflix membership with "no ads and no in-app purchases."

"We’ll continue ?working with developers around the world and hiring the best talent in the industry to deliver a great collection of exclusive games designed for every kind of gamer and any level of play," said Verdu.

Netflix confirmed its push into gaming earlier this year, and the company has been working further into the space with both features like Bandersnatch and various tie-in games for Stranger Things and Kate.

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All the outs in free again

Looks like it's time to returned to the haunted beaches of Oxenfree. Today, during the Nintendo Indie World Showcase, Night School Studio announced a sequel to its debut game, titled Oxenfree II: Lost Signals.

Set five years after the events of Oxenfree, Lost Signals follows a character named Riley, who returns to her hometown Camena to investigate some mysterious radio signals. As you might expect, she finds s?omething a bit stranger than weird airw??aves.

Not much more has been revealed, but Oxenfree II: Lost Signals is set to laun?ch sometime this year, for?? both Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam. 

Coincidentally, it's also been five years since the launch of the first Oxenfree. If you've yet to check out that excellent narrative adventure, well, now's a great time to do so. Just be? sure to grab some tissues for the tears, and maybe keep the lights on for the scares.

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