Oxenfree II: Lost Signals (Multi)
By: Netflix Games
HEY you guuuuys! You can stuff your bloated superhero universes – the golden age of kids' movies was the 1980s, when big-hearted fantasies like E.T., Poltergeist and Indiana Jones ruled local paramilitary-run video shops.
And, with its mix of BMX bikes, pirate ships, Cyndi Lauper and, erm, One-Eyed Willies, there's none-more-80s than The Goonies. Sure, its Asian stereotypes and fat-shaming haven't aged well (indeed, Sean Aston could do a serviceable truffle shuffle himself these days) but Goonies DNA lives on in the likes of Stranger Things and one of 2016's best games.
Despite sounding like a cattle worming treatment, Oxenfree was like The Goonies re-imagined by David Lynch – a retro sci-fi hug that channelled Netflix binge-fodder so much the streaming giant snapped up the studio, turning publisher for its sequel. In fact, if you have a Netflix account, you can play this for free on your phone.
Once again mixing coming-of-age drama and paranormal horror in a love letter to 80s cinema, Oxenfree II picks up five years after the original for more teen angst and dimensional rift shenanigans in the Pacific North West (yes, Goonies territory).
With supernatural anomalies spilling out from the first game's Edwards Island, the action shifts to the nearby coastal burg of Camena, where Riley Poverly returns home for a low-level research job planting beacons across the town.
Having left the army, Riley joins anxiety-riddled townie Jacob as they set up transmitters for an environmental project. Things quickly head south, though, when strange signals start radiating from Edwards Island.
As listeners of Nolan know, radio has the power to be truly horrific, and Oxenfree II is all analogue wireless tech as Riley chats with townsfolk on her CB and tears holes in space and time by noodling on her FM radio.
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In fact, the gameplay is pretty much walkie-talkie, as Riley wanders from point to point with Jacob, chewing the fat and solving simple puzzles in a beautifully realised town. There are caves to navigate and rocks to climb, all rendered in powdery watercolours and scored to smooth synth waves.
With the writers' strikes ensuring the next Stranger Things binge is some way off, Oxenfree II will help stave off the shakes. A lo-fi sci-fi perfect for Gen X-ers nostalgic for their 80s childhood – or, in the case of us in Northern Ireland, the 80s we escaped to on film.
