Hi, I’m Bryant Cannon, the game director for Oxenfree II: Lost Signals, and we’re so excited to finally share that the game will launch on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 on July 12, 2023.
If you’re not familiar with Oxenfree II: Lost Signals, then allow me to paint a picture for you. Welcome to Camena: a small coastal town that is currently experiencing unnaturally occurring electromagnetic waves that are interfering with electrical and radio equipment. TVs turn on and off. Planes lose radar. Radio stations can’t broadcast through the static. You know, problems that every quaint town in the Pacific Northwest has to deal with.
Enter Riley Poverly, an environmental researcher who begrudgingly returns to her hometown to investigate these frequency signals and ends up taking on more than she bargained for. You, as Riley, will brave rigorous terrain, encounter mysterious cults, and discover strange supernatural phenomena that threaten to alter the world as we know it. How you confront these challenges is up to you, and your choices will shape Riley’s future – as well as the very fate of Camena.
To take on the tasks at hand, you’ll need the right gear. Riley’s backpack is filled with just that: a radio, which tunes into supernatural frequencies; transmitters, which Riley will need to plant throughout Camena in order to understand more about these radio frequencies; a climbing kit to traverse some of the more treacherous terrain in Camena; and a walkie talkie, which will allow Riley to communicate with a few new characters along the way.
Let’s dive more into the walkie-talkie.
Hello, do you copy?
Those who played Oxenfree are familiar with its dialogue system and the unique radio mechanic that allowed Alex – the main character of the first game – to communicate with mysterious specters and manipulate her world. In Oxenfree II, we wanted to evolve that idea. This new walkie-talkie feature puts the player in charge of when and how Riley will engage in conversations with off-screen characters.
So how does it work? Let’s say you’re trekking back from planting a transmitter up at Tootega Falls, and your old high school acquaintance and work partner, Jacob, isn’t feeling too chatty. You can use the left trigger at just about any time to open your walkie-talkie. Browse through the channels until you find who you want to talk to, and voilà!
To answer or not to answer, that is the question
In Oxenfree II, players will shape the story through Riley’s actions and dialogue choices, similar to how they did with Alex and the characters in the first game. Each decision impacts who Riley becomes, her relationships with other characters, and the story options available at every turn.
Radio and walkie talkie concept art
The walkie talkie expands on this and opens up a layer of player agency;