Oxenfree Vs Oxenfree 2: Lost Signals – which is better?
The long-awaited sequel to Oxenfree lives up to the original, continuing to do what all fantastic video game sequels like Jedi: Survivor, God of War Ragnarok, and The Last of Us Part 2 have accomplished, which is creating more expansive environments and improving the overall experience. But does that mean Lost Signals is better than the original?
When Oxenfree launched in 2016
it was a visual and narrative gem from Night School Studio. The choice-driven story and dialogue with a supernatural coming-of-age plot and time-loop element created one of the most unique narrative experiences in gaming, and judging by its reception, many would agree it’s one of the best PC games of the last decade. So does the sequel have what it takes to be worthy of the original?
Oxenfree 2: Lost Signals review
Oxenfree 2 continues to do what all fantastic video game sequels like Jedi: Survivor, God of War Ragnarok, and The Last of Us Part 2 have accomplished, which is creating more expansive environments and improving the overall experience. The first game took place on Edwards Island, a much smaller map with fewer points of interest than the larger coastal town of Camena. And not only is Camena the more detailed map, but its setting is also much more mysterious and foreboding than Edwards Island, with plenty more mystery to discover than just the anomalies.
The first Oxenfree was all about Alex’s struggle with grieving her brother Michael. Oxenfree 2’s story is about a group that studies these frequencies but exhibits more layers, and the atmosphere gets even darker when they uncover the work of a more sinister cult called Parentage tied to Camena’s phenomena. Distorted sound effects, eerie whirring and static, strange and otherwordly chatter, and music creeping through the gameplay became the essential highlights of Oxenfree. Its effective sound design, including the branching dialogue conversations that carried on around areas, made the game as special as it was.
Oxenfree 2’s dialogue system gets more subtle refinements in the sequel, especially noticeable in the tutorial zone. There’s a drastic difference between the puzzles and gameplay with Oxenfree and Oxenfree 2. The radio puzzles in which you create triangular portals by finding the correct frequency remain the same, with a little more polish here. There are, however, interesting new puzzle mechanics, such as time tears and machines that aren’t quite like the ones you’d rewind in the first game.
The traversal sees its fair share of new mechanics, primarily the new rappel feature, where you now have a rope to attach to various anchor points found on cliffs and use it to descend. While this is a bit clunky and lacks the fluidity of similar mechanics such as the grapple in Uncharted, it does still add a level of danger as you can fall from great heights and take damage. As with sound, the art direction, character design, and watercolor environments defined Oxenfree. The supernatural elements had a nice balance between being frightening but not too grotesque, and all the areas were haunting and visually striking, everything working wonderfully in a 2.5D-style design.
The sequel, however, steps up the visual presentation, with the characters being the most striking aspect. The dialogue, while not as masterful as that in Life is Strange 2, is still excellent, with the voice actors delivering such charming performances and bringing to life characters with an array of personality traits. The supporting characters also have more variety, especially over the walkie-talkie channels and your radio.
Ultimately, Lost Signals wins this round as well. The dialogue, branching dialogue system, sound design, and art is unlike any other game, and the story is where the sequel truly shines. While the characters have a slight edge over Alex and her friend group in the first game, the overall experience in the sequel is much more compelling.
In the end, while Oxenfree is the original and a classic experience, Lost Signals is the better game.
