Game Review 013 Oxenfree [January 15 2016]

OXENFREE [2016] 4/5

http://store.steampowered.com/app/388880/ - Overwhelmingly positive, Steam page

http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/oxenfree - 81 / 7.5

http://nightschoolstudio.com/ - Studio's official site

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deadpool_(film) - Wikipedia

 - Synopsis - 

Developed by former Telltale Games' and Disney's employees, Oxenfree is set on an abandoned island, which is visited by some teenagers for a party, until they accidentally open a supernatural rift.

(Developer Night School Studio [debut game], Platform Microsoft Windows, OS X, PS4 & XBOX One, Budget $58 Millions - Box Office $677.8~> Millions, Duration - Main (4hrs) &Extras (+3hrs), Rating T (Teen), Genre - [Choice-based Conversationalist Sidescroller] Adventure, Paranormal, Teenage Drama)

"A fantastic first outing for the studio with its exceptional story telling and characterization around the most believable teenage cast yet, with the help of excellent dialogue and an intriguing mystery to delve into while the gorgeous visual style and eerie sound design only enhance that experience further.
 The truth is usually not as satisfying as the journey itself as the spookiness couldn't last until the last act but it's still a must play for adventure game fans."

+/- The most authentic, organic and flowing conversations in a game yet with realistic speech options and patterns with real to life small talks and intimate personal discussions that is ambiguous in their repercussions but build up to a satisfying finale that could be different in each playthrough , maybe not to the full extent of its mystery potential
+/- Simple yet engaging conversationalist gameplay in this enhanced walking simulator with dialogue choices as the main mechanic, affecting only how the main character's personality is portrayed and coming across to others and how they react to her which in the end influence inconspicuously the ending(s) the story provides although eventual consequences were not as immediate as it's needed since the focus on conversing only could deter the ones who aren't interested
+ The main voice over cast without the aid of intricate CG animations uses the limitations to their advantage by fully utilised their abilities to turn portray the blank slates as realistic and multifaceted characters, manifested through their speech patterns and eventual behaviours
+ Picturesque yet haunting beautiful watercoloured environment that contrasts wonderfully with the character models and the eventual colourful paranormal phenomenons, adding to its conscious zoomed out camera design that subconsciously forced the attention solely on the conversations between the characters 
+ Subtle and contextual sound design that matches the tone wonderfully especially with the throwback element of the game, playing to the concept of transmission to its full effects