We experience John Hughes’ version of Goosebumps in Oxenfree.

Developer: Night School Studios | Publisher: Night School Studios | Initial Release: January 15, 2016

Jacob, Mike, Moe and special guest Kam Konek from the New Entertainment System Podcast try and remember what it’s like to be a rebellious teen, explore a cool/freaky deserted island and talk a lot about fate.

Technical note: Mike knocked the cable out of his microphone partway through recording, so we are using a back-up for his track. The audio quality is a little bit lower than usual.

Players: Jacob McCourt (@JacobMcCourt), Mike Ruffolo (@ruffolom) & Moe Murtadi (@mmurtadi)

Special Guest: Kam Konek (@TheKamdyman)

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SHOW NOTES:

  • 2:00 Kam tells us about the New Entertainment System Podcast
  • 3:15 Fast Pitch: Oxenfree Edition
  • 4:55 What did you know about Oxenfree before we started recording?
  • 6:55 What platforms did we play Oxenfree on?
  • 7:35 What is the gameplay of Oxenfree?
  • 9:40 Mike compares the game to Night in the Woods, Jacob compares the game to coming-of-age movies like Perks of Being a Wallflower and the Spectacular Now and Moe talks about Unity
  • 11:55 The game’s characters
  • 16:05 An explanation of the game’s multiple endings and “Clarissa [expletive] sucks”
  • 18:10 The start of Oxenfree and Mike explains the dialogue/speech bubble system
  • 22:25 The game’s big spooky twist [major spoilers start here]
  • 25:45 Comparing Oxenfree to a VHS player
  • 28:15 The game’s music and scenery were tranquil, but the lack of fast travel made Moe rage
  • 30:45 The map is frustratingly hard to use
  • 32:05 Bugs
  • 34:45 What the heck is actually going on?
  • 37:30 “What did you all think of the dialogue and writing?”
  • 42:55 The game starts funnelling you towards the end of the game
  • 50:00 We compares Oxenfree to Stranger Things and Interstellar
  • 54:05 The final choice and time loops?
  • 1:04:15 “Is leave possible”, New Game+ and the Oxenfree ARG (the ARG documentary that Jacob mentioned)
  • 1:08:00 Other players entering your experience?
  • 1:10:10 Mike brings up Nietzsche and Amor Fati… Moe brings up Frozen
  • 1:17:00 We cap off the episode with some sound talk and our final thoughts
  • 1:24:30 A solo version of the Left Behind Game Show and a blooper

Thank you to @jacobdekk, @storyeverpod and @LudonarrativeFM for the questions!

NEXT SHOWS:

  • A Short Hike w/ Jacob, Moe, Mike: April 15th
  • The Last of Us w/ Jacob, Moe, Mike and Matt Storm (aka Stormageddon): April 29th

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