Oxenfree

[jennegatron]

I've read that it's possible, but I don't know how widely seen that ending is or the in story narrative implications of it.

[Mechanations]

But every single moment that I liked has had the air sucked out of it because every character in this game is so sarcastic all of the time! Even when horrible, otherworldly things are happening people are reacting in such annoying ways that it's ruined every moment of the game that I should have otherwise loved.

 

I'm with you on this. I liked the story quite a bit, but the dialog often detracted from the mood, rather than complimenting it.

 

Similar to other games with branching dialog systems, there was some disconnect between what I felt like I was trying to say and the way the game interpreted it. Y'know those little conversations in Mass Effect(s) that didn't feel important but ended up shaping your relationship with someone? Had a few like that in Oxenfree.

 

It feels silly to play a game like this for achievements/trophies, but there's one for completing the game without saying anything, and I'm really curious what that does to the relationships and fiction of the game.

[ariskany_evan]

It feels silly to play a game like this for achievements/trophies, but there's one for completing the game without saying anything, and I'm really curious what that does to the relationships and fiction of the game.

 

I loved not responding.  50% of the time options popped up that I had no interest in saying, and the conversation continued just as I had hoped.

 

Thematically-speaking it works for me to not have Alex have much to say.  I would be pretty shut down still if it was only a year after I experienced a loved one die like that.

 

And Jonas was kind of a dummy, and I didn't like talking to him.  That time he asked if I thought he was a dummy?  *crickets*  It was perfect.

 

The interruption system worked so well!  Sometimes I had no interest in what someone was saying and an item would show up to "look at/interact with", so I would interrupt.  I found that the script wasn't always set to "keep going" after an interruption.  Ren, for instance, would continue on, but Jonas a few times never went back to what he was saying.  It felt like an extension of their personalities and not just a cool video game trick.

 

It was very linear, but I wasn't looking to play an branching DECISIONS-based game.  The Telltale games I've played felt heavy-handed in this way, so I'm happy they stayed away in Oxenfree.  Loved it.

[Space Anchor]

It felt like an extension of their personalities and not just a cool video game trick

 

Really like this interpretation. Though I've mostly enjoyed what I've played so far, I found myself getting frustrated for the same reasons Vasari described; the niggling feeling that anytime I interjected I was cutting off dialogue. Looking at it your way though, I realise that's a response totally conditioned by video games, in which you generally participate in conversations as a sort of content sponge rather than an agent with a personality. Next time I boot it up I'll try paying more attention to how the dialogue expresses characterisation rather than getting hung up on what I might be missing.

 

Only real problem with the game is performance. Doesn't strike me as something that should be particularly demanding but I'm playing on the second to highest resolution with the effects turned off and it's still chugging away (meanwhile I'm playing The Witness at max with little difficulty). Seems a shame to go any lower given how lovely the style is.