Note: Played four runs of this offline, so time recorded is really about a fifth of what I actually spent on it.

Oxenfree is one of those games that I love so much that I fear recommending it to others because most of my explanations have a habit of devolving into "It's so good just PLAY IT," but I'll try my best.

I'm sure I'm biased because I love these kinds of peculiar supernatural setups, but the story is so engaging. The excellent voice work and soundtrack definitely contribute to that in a big part, but I think the way dialogue is done also helps. I do feel like dialogue options tend to disappear a bit too fast, but once you realize, "Oh ♥♥♥♥, I can't wait for them to finish their thought, I have to chime in now!" it gets a little easier. And those moments felt a lot more natural than when you have a choice to make or an action to do that takes a bit of time, resulting in characters impatiently continuing to talk to fill the silence.
Performance-wise, the game ran more or less fine but for whatever weird reason, the Discovery Cliffs (the bottom half in particular) slows the framerate a ridiculous amount. I have no idea why, but if I had to pick a bone with this game, that would be why. It happens for seemingly no reason (no sfx or anything happening on screen, just traversing down the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ rocks) and it really destroys any sort of immersion that may have built as you were getting into the game and meeting the other two members of the group.
Those things aside though, it's a really fun game with great atmosphere, good characters, and an amazing story. Not to mention the replayability. The game practically compels you to come back and go through it again and again, especially when you realize that things are a bit different during subsequent playthroughs.
An instant favorite. Can't wait to see what Night School Studio does in the future.

Note: Played four runs of this offline, so time recorded is really about a fifth of what I actually spent on it. Oxenfree is one of those games that I love so much that I fear recommending it to others because most of my explanations have a habit of devolving into "It's so good just PLAY IT," but I'll try my best. I'm sure I'm biased because I love these kinds of peculiar supernatural setups, but the story is so engaging. The excellent voice work and soundtrack definitely contribute to that in a big part, but I think the way dialogue is done also helps. I do feel like dialogue options tend to disappear a bit too fast, but once you realize, "Oh shit, I can't wait for them to finish their thought, I have to chime in now!" it gets a little easier. And those moments felt a lot more natural than when you have a choice to make or an action to do that takes a bit of time, resulting in characters impatiently continuing to talk to fill the silence. Performance-wise, the game ran more or less fine but for whatever weird reason, the Discovery Cliffs (the bottom half in particular) slows the framerate a ridiculous amount. I have no idea why, but if I had to pick a bone with this game, that would be why. It happens for seemingly no reason (no sfx or anything happening on screen, just traversing down the goddamn rocks) and it really destroys any sort of immersion that may have built as you were getting into the game and meeting the other two members of the group. Those things aside though, it's a really fun game with great atmosphere, good characters, and an amazing story. Not to mention the replayability. The game practically compels you to come back and go through it again and again, especially when you realize that things are a bit different during subsequent playthroughs. An instant favorite. Can't wait to see what Night School Studio does in the future.