By Brenna Renfroe
Oxenfree is a point-and-click adventure game that has a clear tone and imparts a certain ambiance for the player as they make their way through the game and interact with the dialogue and story. The game has many elements of supernatural horror. Once the player is caught up in the game’s magic circle, they often feel on edge. The suspense and mystery compel them to play on and uncover the ghost story’s mystery.
Source: Nintendo Store
In this analysis, I focus on dramatic elements in the game such as the walking speed and game feel. I argue that the slow walking speed of Oxenfree makes the gameplay feel grounded, but also contributes to the player’s fear and anxiety. The player feels just as unnerved, terrified, and confused, yet intrigued as Alex does. Unlike many games where the player moves unnaturally fast or utilizes other modes of transportation to traverse the game world, Oxenfree centers around a player character that walks slowly, even when the player has a lot of ground to cover. Unlike point-and-click adventure games where the player moves in small, enclosed spaces, Oxenfree situates the player mostly in outdoor spaces. This reversal of the typical environment of a point-and-click game creates a disconnect and subverts expectations about the speed and feel of a point-and-click adventure game. By putting the player in a unique point-and-click walking situation, the game creates an uneasy, anxious experience that haunts and plagues the player’s interactions.
The slow, casual pace at which Alex walks might be frustrating to many players. They would likely rather have the option to run, ride a mode of transportation, or open the map and click on which location to travel to. Oxenfree allows the player none of those options. The player has no choice but to walk from location to location, even if it means walking from one side of the map to the other. While at times frustrating, the effect contributes to the game’s sensation and seems heavily influenced by walking simulators. A lot of gameplay is spent walking from place to place, where all the player can do is enjoy the visuals, dialogue, and audio of the game. Just like Alex, the player character, as well as the NPCs that accompany her, the player moves at a slow, realistic pace throughout the game. Amidst all the supernatural ghost encounters and possessions, this movement feels surprisingly grounded. It enforces the feel of the game and its story as something uncanny, something that feels real and unreal at the same time.
Source: Nintendo Store
Alex is human, and thus she moves at a human pace, especially when walking through the woods, scaling rock walls, and moving about in the game’s environment. The player moves slowly down winding cliffside paths, which feels quite realistic given the layout of the terrain. Furthermore, while the game time is not equivalent to real-world time, the slowness of Alex’s moves helps to simulate the passage of time, allowing the player to readily believe that an hour or more has passed. For example, at one point, we are told it is one o’clock in the morning, and the pace of the game makes the passage of time believable to players. It takes time to go from the town to the watchtower, for example, or from the cliffs to the campgrounds, and these movements enhance the game’s spooky atmosphere and its realistic ambiance, complementing the game’s narrative about ghosts, possessions, and talking reflections.
Finally, Alex’s slow walking speed adds to the game’s feeling of unease and urgency. By forcing you to walk at a slow pace and prohibiting any form of fast movement, the game makes the player feel a pressing sense of unease. At one point in the story, Clarissa jumps out of a window and is presumed dead. Alex and Jonas do not find her body, however, which makes the player feel immediately off-kilter, yet intrigued. There is a dark mystery at play here, and the player wants to figure out what is going on. To get answers, however, the player must walk halfway across the map, and as the player walks this distance, the sense of mystery and urgency continues to build. The speed allows the player to process what happened and gives them time to theorize and further immerse themselves in the world.
Source: Nintendo Store
Through moments like these, Oxenfree inspires a unique sensation in players and builds on the formal strengths of point-and-click adventure games and walking simulators. The slow-paced walking speed, while unconventional and innovative, contributes to the game’s distinct feel and sensation. While the game risks alienating some players, especially those who play quickly or like to control the speed of gameplay, this sense of frustration contributes to the game’s atmosphere, design, and narrative. By alienating the player’s relationship to time and movement, the game creates a unique, uncanny, unsettling, and engaging experience.