Honestly, sequels are a nightmare. Most of them just bloat the original until the magic leaks out, or they try so hard to be "grittier" that they lose the heart of what made the first game work. When Night School Studio dropped Oxenfree II Lost Signals, the baggage was heavy. The first Oxenfree was this lightning-in-a-bottle indie darling—a perfect mix of 80s synth-wave vibes, teenage angst, and legitimate cosmic horror.
So, how do you follow up on a time-looping ghost story that basically ended the world (or saved it, depending on your choices)?
You grow up.
That’s the thing about Oxenfree II Lost Signals that caught a lot of people off guard. It isn't just "more of the same." It’s a transition from the frantic "save my friends" energy of adolescence to the quiet, crushing "what am I doing with my life" reality of your thirties.
The Camena Coast vs. Edwards Island
The game trades the isolated, claustrophobic Edward’s Island for the larger, more vertical landscape of Camena. You’re Riley Poverly, an environmental researcher who’s come home to perform a job that sounds incredibly boring: planting radio transmitters to study some weird electromagnetic interference.
You aren't alone, though. You’ve got Jacob.
Jacob is... a lot. He’s a local high school acquaintance who never really left town. He’s a hobbyist carpenter, a chronic overthinker, and frankly, he’s one of the most polarizing parts of the game. Some players find his rambling annoying, but if you’ve ever lived in a small town, you know a Jacob. He’s the guy who has all the talent in the world but no direction, stuck in the amber of his own hometown.
The dynamic between Riley and Jacob is the spine of the game. While the first game had a whole squad of teens bickering, this is a more intimate, two-person character study. It feels slower. It feels heavier.
Why the Walkie-Talkie Changes Everything
In the first game, you had your radio. You tuned it to ghosts. It was cool.
In Oxenfree II Lost Signals, you still have the radio, but now you have a walkie-talkie. This sounds like a minor mechanical tweak, but it completely changes how the narrative breathes. You aren't just talking to the person standing next to you anymore. You can tune into different channels and talk to a variety of weirdos across the coast.
- Maria: A high school radio DJ who’s just trying to survive the night.
- Evelyn: Your boss, who is strictly professional until the world starts melting.
- Hank: A guy obsessed with the paranormal who wants you to take photos of "glitches."
The walkie-talkie makes the world feel inhabited. You can choose to be a hero, a jerk, or just stay silent. And yes, silence is still a valid (and often devastating) choice. If you ignore a call for help from a fisherman on Channel 4, that has consequences. The game doesn't always hit you over the head with a "Choice Matters" notification, but the world shifts around your responsiveness.
The Parentage Cult and the Sunken
We need to talk about the "villains." In the first game, the threat was "The Sunken"—the ghostly, rhythmic remains of a WWII submarine crew. They’re back, but they have help. Enter Parentage, a group of local teenagers who have become a sort of cult.
They’re led by Olivia, a girl who is desperately trying to open a portal because she’s been promised she can see her dead parents again. It’s a tragic setup. It mirrors Alex’s grief from the first game but twists it into something more dangerous.
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The horror here isn't just about jump scares, though there are a few that will genuinely make you jump. It’s about the distortion of reality. There’s a sequence in the Garland Ghost Town involving "time tears" where you have to use your radio to physically peel back the layers of the present to reveal the past. It’s tactile and unsettling.
The "Alex" Factor (Spoilers Ahead)
If you haven't finished the game, skip this bit.
For those who have, the moment Alex appears—the protagonist from the first game—it changes the entire context of the sequel. She isn't just a cameo. She is the bridge between the two games. The way Night School Studio handled the "loop" is brilliant. It acknowledges that for some players, Alex is still trapped.
The ending of Oxenfree II Lost Signals forces a choice that feels much more permanent than the original. You have to decide who stays behind to close the portal from the inside. Is it Riley? Jacob? Or Olivia?
There is no "perfect" ending. If you pick Olivia, you’re basically letting a grieving teenager sacrifice herself because she’s too sad to live. If you pick Riley, you’re sacrificing a woman who finally found a reason to move forward. It’s messy. It’s gray. It’s exactly what a narrative game should be.
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Does it actually rank higher than the original?
Technically, the game is a massive step up. The backgrounds are gorgeous—painterly, moody, and sprawling. The climbing mechanics add a sense of physicality that was missing from the first game’s flat-plane walking.
But is it better?
Reviews were mixed, and I get why. Some people missed the "teen horror movie" vibe. Oxenfree II Lost Signals is a "mid-life crisis horror movie." It’s about regret, pregnancy, aging parents, and the fear that your best years are behind you.
- Longevity: It’s about 6–8 hours long, nearly double the length of the first.
- Performance: It runs like a dream on PC and Switch, but interestingly, it’s also free if you have a Netflix subscription.
- Sound: The soundtrack by scntfc is less melodic and more atmospheric this time. It’s meant to sound like broken machinery and distant memories.
How to Get the Most Out of Your Playthrough
If you’re diving in now, don't rush. This isn't a game about "winning." It’s a game about listening.
- Check your walkie constantly. Don't just wait for it to beep. Scroll through the channels. There are entire subplots hidden in the static.
- Be nice to Jacob (or don't). Your relationship with him determines one of the major endings. If you’re a jerk to him all night, don't expect him to volunteer for the "hero" role at the end.
- Collect the Adler letters. They provide the deep lore on Maggie Adler and the history of the island. They are hidden well, often requiring you to backtrack through areas once you have the climbing gear.
- Use the Map. The map in this game is actually useful. It marks where you’ve placed transmitters and where the "anomalies" are currently active.
Oxenfree II Lost Signals isn't trying to replace the first game. It’s trying to finish the conversation that the first game started. It’s a story about realizing that you can't go back and fix the past, but you can definitely decide what you’re going to do with the future.
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If you’re looking for a game to play on a rainy Tuesday night with the lights off, this is it. Just don't expect to feel "fine" when the credits roll.
Next Steps for Players:
- Check the Radio Frequencies: Specifically, keep an eye on the 90-105 range when you see the screen start to flicker; that's where the most interesting environmental storytelling is hidden.
- Complete the "Adler Letters" Set: Finding all 13 letters unlocks the "One Last Mystery" achievement and provides the only true closure for Maggie Adler’s arc.
- Explore the Ghost Town Thoroughly: The Garland section has the best puzzles in the game, and if you rush through, you’ll miss the EMF mini-games that flesh out the town's history.