Netflix’s gaming efforts pay off with Oxenfree II: Lost Signals, an eerie, introspective sequel that’s a must-play for subscribers.
There’s a thin line between dead and dead-end.
That tension is at the heart of Oxenfree II: Lost Signals, Night School Studio’s worthy sequel to its 2016 breakout hit Oxenfree. Set five years after the events of its predecessor, the narrative adventure sequel stars a researcher named Riley who returns to her hometown of Camena to study an unusual series of electromagnetic interferences. Though that sets off a supernatural story that isn’t far off in tone from Stranger Things (fitting considering Netflix owns Night School now), there’s something far more grounded nestled between the static. Over the course of one eerie night, Riley won’t just confront the ghosts of missing sailors but come to terms with the fact that her own life is similarly lost at sea.
Oxenfree II: Lost Signals is another narrative hit for Night School, delivering a slow-burn story that expertly weaves together supernatural horror with an introspective story of self-discovery. The sequel does find itself struggling with its own identity crisis though, as tedious interactivity leaves me wondering if the studio’s heart is more in movies or TV than video games.Growing through static
If the original Oxenfree was a coming-of-age story, Lost Signals is more of a midlife crisis. The four- to five-hour tale centers around Riley, a thirty-something-year-old tasked with placing transmitters around the quaint coastal town of Camena, Oregon in the dead of night. At first, it all seems like a normal research operation. Riley teams up with another researcher, Jacob, to seek out some high ground, plant a few tech doodads, and gather some data. That easy task quickly goes awry when a triangular portal appears in the sky and the duo starts hopping through time.
On a surface level, Lost Signals is a solid campfire ghost story just like its predecessor. Riley learns the weird, engrossing history of Camena which intersects with the series’ first game, while still telling a fairly self-contained tale. Over the course of one night, I was sucked in by the tale of missing sailors and a cult looking to tear reality apart in order to commune with ghosts. That creepy narrative gets a boost from a handful of eerie visual sequences that infuse it with just enough light jump scares to keep me tuned in the whole way through.
