Oxenfree 2 lets you escape its own cycle, if you let it
I’ve been thinking a lot about cycles and choices while playing Oxenfree 2. The game revolves around time-looping and solving puzzles to escape the cycle. It reminded me of my experiences with substance abuse and how I broke the pattern to avoid repeating the loop.
The story of Oxenfree 2 follows a group of teenagers stuck in a cycle of repeating the past and making the same mistakes over and over again. The protagonist, Ren, and her friends must free themselves from this repeated terrible event by making the right choices.
In a therapy session years ago, my therapist told me that addiction was a vicious cycle. She emphasized that breaking the cycle was my responsibility alone. No one could make me do it, and no one could break the cycle for me. I had to take that first step.
Playing Oxenfree 2 brought back the memory of that therapy session. For years, I struggled with binge drinking and alcohol abuse. I had to make a commitment to sobriety for myself to stop. I had a year where I avoided binge drinking, and I committed to using my experiences to help others.
I always thought that if I could go back in time, I would make different choices and have a positive impact on those around me. Playing Oxenfree 2 as Riley, the teenager with drinking problems, reminded me of that thought. I empathized with her struggles to make the right choices, even though she had the ability to see the future.
While I don’t have that ability, I do have the ability to practice empathy and make better choices — and I hope that leads to positive outcomes. I don’t know if it will, but I know it’s the right thing to do.
I know I’ve broken the pattern to avoid repeating the loop, and I hope that others who are struggling with addiction will find the help they need to do the same.
