Kinda Funny Gamescast: Video Game Podcast - Oxenfree II: Lost Signals Review - Kinda Funny Gamescast

Episode Date: July 12, 2023

Janet and Greg come together to review Night School Studio's latest radio-tunin' drama! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What's up everybody? Welcome to the Kind of Funny Games cast. I'm one of your host, Greg Miller, alongside the gameplay and roller skating, marathon training. Janet Garcia. Hello. Hello, Janet. How are you? I'm good. Am I training again for marathon?

I don't know. You're always kind of training, right? You're ready to go. You're, you know, you're always ready-ish. I thought it was marathon running. I feel like I got demoted. Well, remember the whole problem is I just don't do that intro. PS I love you anymore.

And so I don't, we don't do intros anymore on that show. So I haven't dusted it off in a long time. So I got there and I just went to, you know, the old fallbacks. If you want, we can restart the show. No, I think that's okay. Bear, go ahead and run the intro. Go ahead and run the intro. What's up, everybody.

Welcome to the Kind of Funny Games cast. I'm one of your host, Greg Miller, alongside. Janet Garcia. Yo, what's good? Not much. How you doing? Good. How are you?

I'm excited to chat. I also didn't realize when I said yes, that it would just be like a 1 v1. Well, originally, Tim was going to host and then let us talk. Because of course, ladies and gentlemen, this is our Oxen Free 2 Lost Signals review. Tim was going to drive since you and I have both played it and have not talked to each other about it,

but he got pulled away on business matters and having to do a couple cool projects. So yeah, I figured once again, you and I love hanging out. We love talking games. This would be pretty easy. We can jump in and get part of it and see what's up. And like, I'm very excited because I have not talked to anyone about this game.

No one else is kind of funny. I think is played through it at all during the review period. You have. I beat it before you. So we were talking literally, I was like, do you know if this happens? And you're like, I don't know. I'm not even there. I'm like, forget it, forget it. So like, we've said nothing.

I'm very interested to get to it. So I might as well run you through the rig, and roll ladies and gentlemen that this is the kind of funny games cast. Each and every week we come together to talk about the things we love and sometimes don't love in the world of video games. Usually it's reviews, often it's previews, but it's always fun. If you like that, of course, you can get the show over on Patreon.com slash kind of funny.

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Kind of funny when you're checking out of the Epic Game Store or Fortnite Rocket League, what have you, on your PS5, Xbox, or Switch. Some housekeeping for you. I put this in here because it just doesn't get talked about enough on this show, the games catcher. We have a show each and every day called Kind of Funny Games Daily. If you like us talking about games, you would love Kind of Funny Games Daily, where, of course, we talk about the nerdy news you need to know about each and every day. then we saved the reviews for over here on Gamescast

it's a good stuff. If you just want PlayStation content, Janet and I host PSI Love UXOXO. We got like Janet's nephew, this kid named Blessing, he's on there too sadly. But it's me and Janet doing professional stuff over there having a great time talking PlayStation. Mike talks about the Xcast. There's always something happening on YouTube.com slash

Kind of Funny Games. Today I want to thank our Patreon producer Delaney Twining and of course our sponsor Bird Dogs, but we'll tell you about that later. For now, let's talk about topic of the show. Tots, top,

your topic of the show today, stealing from PSL of U, XOXO, XO, is, of course, Oxen Free 2. Lost signals, it is upon us. The launch date is July 12th.

If the embargo and scheduled recordings worked out, it is July 12th while you watch this. Of course, this is coming from night school studios. It's coming to PC, Mac, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch,

Android, iOS, via Netflix. And of course, this is the sequel to 2016, January, 2016. XenFree, which sits at an 80 on Metacritic, which I thought was pretty low for how beloved Oxen Free is. Janet, I'm excited to talk to you about what you think of Oxen Free 2. You are going to be the lead reviewer on Oxen Free 2, and it's strictly because of your

history with Oxen Free 1. Can you give everybody the summary of what Oxen Free 1 meant to you? Yeah, Oxen Free 1 was, obviously, both of them are story-driven games, narrative-based games, And it was just a really effective, meaningful story in that it was very much a look at a sibling relationship. And I played that with my brother. So that, like, hit me right in the fields, like, watching sort of the reflection of a relationship that had passed. So, like, what happens early on in Auxbury One is, you know, you realize that Alex's brother had passed away in a tragic accident. But through the supernatural, you're able to almost.

in a sense, relive some of those moments, maybe even have an impact on time itself and how things shake out. So it's a lot of the spooky, the supernatural, but also the drama of the interpersonal relationship between this group of teenagers was really what Oxid Free was. And I just thought it was such a moving emotional story where I was so torn by so many of those decisions. And I think it did that brilliant thing that choice-driven games struggle with, where people get so caught up on the, how does it affect the end and things like that? Or do my choices matter. But beyond that, what's really important is making you care about the choice to begin with.

Feeling like this is something that I actually care about what happens because there's not like a clear answer and I'm torn between the two. I think Oxen Free One did that really beautifully in a lot of highly emotional spots. So that's what Oxen Free One meant to me. And again, to be clear, we won't be spoiling anything for Oxen Free Two. I think for most part of our Oxen Free One conversations we can get around major spoilers. Like you're talking about Alex's brother. That's stuff that's introduced.

That's like core narrative stuff. That's right away. But it is worth pointing out and you did in there Oxen Free 1, a time loop, right? Like there's a whole bunch of stuff going on with time and you have to replay the game because you end the game and it turns out it's looping,

but then you can do the thing to try to get the true ending. You did all that with Oxen Free 1, right? Yeah. Okay, okay. So it's fair to say you loved Oxen Free One. I love Oxen Free. What do you think of Oxen Free 2 lost signals? I think Oxen Free 2 lost signals is great.

I'm jumping right into the score. I'm giving this a 4 out of 5. Great game. I'm not going to lie. I considered the 5 out of 5. I did for a second. I backed away because there are some issues I do have with the overall, I think, how they go about introducing certain elements of the narrative.

But ultimately, this is a fantastic video game. I loved it. I think they jumped into the supernatural a lot quicker, which sort of helped with the pacing a little bit. in a sense because you got into the drama a bit faster. It still has that classic night school dialogue system of allowing you to choose an option or say nothing. There's a lot of freedom in the exploration, both in terms of where you're going within

the island and also in terms of how you're interacting with the gadgets that you have. So the main mechanical schick is that you have a radio and also a walkie-talkie. So you can call different people at different times. You can listen to different stations. There's some wild stuff going on this radio station. and I was just really enthralled by the ability to explore in the area and also the ways that they sort of, this is kind of like a pro and a con to me. I loved how they didn't really come right out and give you much information.

A lot of the game was kind of confusing for the first few hours. And then it starts to all click and you kind of, they peel back the curtain a bit. I think aspects of how they go about that maybe could have been done a little bit better. It feels like at one point it's like, and now it all comes together. And I was like, what's going on with this over there? I got a couple issues here and there with that aspect of it. And that's sort of what's holding me back from that higher next level score. But ultimately, like, there were moments in this game where even though it's not really

the Detroit's not really times, but I had to, I had to pause and put the controller down. I had to stop myself from messaging Greg because I didn't want to like talk about it before content. But I was really moved by a lot. And I was out there, like, sitting down being like, I wish they let you save scum this game. Because I would love to make a couple files and then just be like, and then what if I chose this? Just because it's so enticing to see where things would lead. And the last thing I want to say before we dig into, you know, all the details, which we're going to get into today, is I love how night school is so great at creating more nuance between the dialogue options.

I think it is a little bit clear that like, this one's kind of a meaner answer. And this is like kind of nicer. This one is whatever. But they really avoid the more obvious tropes of like, do I want to be like just a jerk or, or nice or neutral. Like, they don't fall into tropes as easily with their writing or the tropes aren't as clear, which helps everything feel a lot more conversational. Like, a lot of times it's like, these are all the same response,

but they just have different flavors. And I think the way that they bring you into the flavor of the world, of the language of the characters, allows for a level of co-authorship that avoids too deep of an obsession over, but did it matter that I said, I wanted to put the tower here for sure or yop but you know like did that really you don't really care about that because you get so enthralled in how do I want to craft the the flavorings of who this character is you're not changing who they are but you're like kind of adding your own little

style on it it's like a higher level art version of if you do a paint and sip you know it's like something is going to come out really good for sure um but yeah I loved it four out of five Greg, where are you at with this game? So this has been one that I've been, I think not interested in too much. Played at SGF was like, okay. And then I was like excited to get the code. For me with Oxen Free 1,

Oxen Free, the original was something everybody was like, this is a Gregass game, this is a Gregass game. I always talk about it. I had the misfortune of a bunch of my video game reviewing peers playing it before I did. And I remember being out at a bar with them and then being, we played it in December 2015, and then being like, if this, if this had come,

if this was this year, if it was 2015, this would be one of my game of the years. I was like, holy shit, oh my God, blah, blah, blah. And I went home and played it, and I had to play it on PC because of the review timing. Greg, character aside, the real Greg, when it comes to PC gaming, of course, it didn't run well for me. There was a bunch of problems.

It got in the way of my experience of it. But I remember rolling credits on it and just didn't work for me. Like, I didn't get grabbed by it. the game, I felt lost on the map a lot of times. I didn't enjoy the speed at which characters moved and things like that. A whole bunch of like nitpicky things that added up to me being like, listen, I just can't get over the hump to enjoy this experience. And so I've been on the outside looking at a Voxin free fandom forever because so many people

who love narrative games like you and I do, Janet, love this game. And it's just been one of those. I'm like, oh man, it sucks and it didn't click for me. It didn't work for me. So again, getting to play at SGF and be like, oh man, it feels like I'm moving quicker. oh man this is still the great writing that you know night school's always had i was like i'm tentatively into this and so to get the game play through it and then immediately start another one to play through it again and roll credits on that me playing games over and over again even choice based games really isn't my jam like i get bored pretty quickly uh i agree with you that this is a

four out of five i think this is a great game um it's crazy that not only did i finish it and started again to go see the differences. I'm then now aching to start it again, but I want it at this point, I'm like, you know what? I can platinum this if I just wait because there's going to there's like, I don't want to wander the mat. There's like a trophy of like explore every inch of Kamina. And I'm like, I don't know what I'm missing. And I don't feel like spending my time going between the screens.

But characters move faster. The dialogue is sharp as ever. I feel the new, you know, basic like climbing, right? you're using like ropes to get around and you're opening up the map. I feel the map's way clearer. I think it's more easy to navigate. I think it's straightforward to navigate. It is those little differences in the conversation or the story or the choices you make that are then adding in the flavor of what's going on.

I think they've done a great job here. This is a game I do fully recommend to people who like stuff like we do. You know, early on, I would say the game got me because it got to the point quicker. Oxifree, the original obviously starts as it's a bunch of teens. on the beach, then this thing happens, and then what is happening, dot, da, da, da, da, da, da, the dot. Like, Oxen Free 2 is very much like, you're in it and this is what's

happening and you're with a guy, Jacob who, you know, Camina Island can see Edwards Island, which is the location of the first game. He's aware of what's been going on over there, the rumors of it and the theories and Maggie Adler and all that stuff. So he's got the exposition down. And so rather than be into a

we have to wade into what I would call a horror movie, you could call it suspense, but rather than wade into it, like, this is the sequel, you are into it. These, you know, the rules of the world, which originally when I was playing it, and I, you know, we won't spoil stuff, but what you said a bit earlier like, well, like, like, when I was playing it, I was like, okay, so I'm doing the same thing again. And then there was a kick. There was a thing I didn't see coming that immediately I was like, oh, that's so much cooler.

And I feel, I'm with you of, hey, all right, cool, you jump into this game and a lot of stuff's thrown at you. and there is a lot of stuff they don't explain right away, so you're doing the thing, blah, blah, I have been fascinated by, you know,

one of the big things for Oxid Free, the original was New Game Plus going through, trying to get the true ending and all that jazz. Oxifree 2 doesn't have that. Like you finish Oxen Free 2 and then if you want to start the game,

you restart the game. So playing a second playthrough of it, I am like, oh my God, like they didn't do the time loop thing in the classic time loop sense of what like, you know,

oh, you restart the game, but restart. like, but restarting the game and now I know these characters because of what I'm about. Like, it's so fascinating and it feels so good because you can clearly see the game was designed around the tenets of the original Oxen Free, but in a new way. And so playing through it again, I'm being, I felt so rewarded with my second play-through, again to the fact that I'm like, I got to go see a third play-through. Yeah, and I think, you know, even though I loved Oxen-Free and like it didn't click with you,

I think we can both agree on like how it is laid out and it just affected us differently. where you're like, ah, it couldn't really get into it because took too long. And I'm like, oh, I didn't mind that, right? Like, just different perceptions of the same thing. I think of Oxenfree 1's lead up is about the what. Oxenfree 2's lead up is about the why. Because you know right away that there's like weird radio frequency, otherworldly stuff going on. Like that's pieced out to you almost immediately, you know, within like 30 minutes.

You and I, of course, we know it. And our audience who comes in usually knows everything about the games we're talking about. But let me give you two paragraphs officially from a, this about what Oxenfree 2 is. Oxenfree 2 lost signals is the mind-bending follow-up to the supernatural thriller game Oxen Free, which came out in 2016. The first game focused on a group of friends, led by the main protagonist Alex, who unwittingly opened a ghostly riff during an overnight party on an old military island. As Alex, players determine every aspect of her story while exploring Edward's Island, uncovering the base's dark past, and changing the course of their

friend's lives. In Oxen Free 2 lost signals, we follow the story of Riley Poverley, an environmental researcher who returns to her hometown Camina to investigate unnaturally occurring radio frequency signals causing disturbances in electronic equipment. She soon discovers a long history of ghostly happenings on the nearby Edward's Island and becomes entangled in a frightening supernatural mystery. Following our signature naturalistic dialogue system, Oxen Free 2 lost signals takes players on a new journey where they'll shape the experience in unexpected ways. And again, so much of that comes down to, you know, you're Riley, you're working with Jacob throughout the game. Jacob says something and you have one of three reactions right to go with to pop up

and hit the button and then make that dialogue choice that influences your relationship or unlocks different conversation trees because it's different things. And I feel like when we play these kind of games where it is choose your own adventure, yada, yada, yada, to your point of, well, how much does it really change something? You can do those games. and play through those things and feel like you, even if I did, you get A, B, or C to choose from, but you know that all three of them are going to lead to pretty much the same place.

On the second playthrough, I was not shocked, but delighted of how many things like didn't happen for my Riley in that playthrough. Like I had information from before, but because I didn't go and investigate that thing, I didn't look under that sheet, I didn't investigate the second level of the house. I didn't have that dialogue option, right?

And it wasn't even that I could lie about it and pull from information I knew before, my character only had one option of dialogue because I only investigated one thing. Yeah, and I think they melt together. Also, too, I want to touch on something you brought up, which is it not running well on PC. I've only played it on PS5, so I can't speak to any other versions. I was talking about Oxen Free One, not running well. Yeah, sorry, Oxen Free One.

Yeah, that is good to clarify. Oxen Free One. That's also an issue I had with not Oxen Free One because I played it so late after it came out. But when I played their second game at work, well, maybe not second. After party. Yeah, after party. But I'm like, have they done anything else? And then Oxfrey and After Party?

I'm like, I don't think so, but I didn't want to misspeak. I played After Party, like, right around when it launched and that thing chugged. That thing was chugged. This ran really great. Obviously, you know, we, it's possible we just have the smoothest playthrough we could have had or, you know, you can speak to anything that did come up for you if it did. Other than in having a little bit of a load screen in between, like, general areas, I didn't have any performance issues, which I was really excited about just because

I feel like, no offense to night school, but I think that's something they sort of have struggled with with the past. And I feel like a lot of people I have talked to who didn't get into Oxen Framer, like, it just didn't run well for me, like, or whatever. So I think that's been a hurdle for the studio. And I'm happy to see that, you know, they've now seemingly gotten past that. I don't know how much of that is like Netflix doing good stuff with them now being owned by Netflix or what it is. I don't know what the reason is, but I'm excited that we're here because they've always made fantastic games. and I think performance marring a great experience is like one of the worst things that you can have

because it's like, oh man, it's like not even the game itself. It's just like how it's running. So I happen to hear that it's like going good and that everything was smooth. Yeah, to jump in there for, I'm playing on PS5 just like you did. My, there were times where I was like, it seems like it might be framey right now

as I run across the environment, but it wasn't like it was when I played Oxid Free 1. Pre-release way, you know, I mean like, you know, negative one version. But it was, the fact of where I joked around about the trophy explore all of Camina. Like what I, I, the reason I

won't do that one free is the fact that I do hate those load screens in between the map sections. Like, and I made a reference to this recently on, I think it was last week's games cast, but maybe it was another show where Tim had asked me, we read a question of like, do you feel like next gen is lived up to its promise?

And I was like, not yet. And Tim was not shocked by it, but it was like, oh, I don't, and I'm like, I'm playing a game right now where there's still load screens. I'm like, why is this load screen this long? And I understand multi-platin, a million other things going on. But it is that thing of like, I don't want to waste a night loading between sections of the map to look around for the, I think I'm missing two letters for the collectibles and then figure out what this trophy is like, I don't, no, no. If it was fast and I could warp, if I could use save states, which you can't hear, there'd be a bunch of different ways I would go and do it.

But like, how it is, I'm good. I'll wait until there's a trophy guide from Power Picks or PS5 trophies. I do wish, especially after you rolled credits, which grants, you know, full transparency, I rolled credits and I was like, good night. Because I had been working on this for a bed, you know, I've been doing a whole million things on my personal life, just getting my apartment set up and all that. So, yeah, so I'm like still settling in. I know I've been using that excuse for a while, but I'm going to milk it for like one or two weeks and then after that I'll be done after I put those sound panels up. But so I ended on my, okay, cool, I'm out. I do wish, though, that they let you play with that a little bit more, whether it's after you beat the game or like even during your play through, just

because I was so enticed to see certain things differently. And like, I just wish it was a little easier to explore those aspects. Like, you know, they do give you the classic when you are done. They show you a couple of the so-and-so this many people did this thing. And that's fun and fair. But if I can pop in there too, like, yeah. I really liked how they did that because that. It was so well-respected.

That changes on what you did in the game and the choice you make. So like my end screen for how I got my stats, while very similar, kind of what I used to talk about the Walking Dead coloring book, where it's like you make all these different choices and we're all shading the same picture, but we get the same picture in the end, even if it's your own shades.

It's the same thing here where there's stark differences with the same information that I was like for a second place. They're like, oh, that's cool, which again, I was like, but what if I did the third thing and got the thing there? And it's like, there's part of that that's great and rad. And again, it'll be fun to play all the way through and get there. And again, games quick. You know, I mean, depending on how much you explore on what you do.

What my two playthrus, my overall clock on the front of the PlayStation is something like 11 hours. I would say that second playthrough where I was streamlining it, it was probably four and a half four, like where I wasn't really, I knew what I was doing. And then there was a few new conversations I found, which led to actually new people that I totally missed my first time in the game. That's so cool. Yeah. Yeah, like the official like PR answer is it's an eight to 10 hour game. I think it's more like a six to eight because my my clock was at six. when I was done too, which granted I didn't explore everything, but I did a lot.

And then at a certain point, they kind of started opening more doors of like, there's this whole other thing with this guy. And I'm like, I don't think I'm getting around to that. You know what I mean? Like, I'm going to doing it. It was along my way. And then I'm like, I'm not going out of my way for this random dude. They introduced characters in there, mainly on the radio that you're talking to. And yeah, a couple of them getting introduced super late in the game where I was just like, bro, like I'm on my way to solving what's going on.

I don't have time for you. I know. I think, you know, and this is such a tough. game to talk about, which I'm also down to do a spoiler cast at any point within, I'm attached to any show if you ever want to, because I think there's a lot there. But one thing I really enjoyed about this, and it's not necessarily completely novel to Oxifree 2 in the sense that, you know, it builds on one, right? But I loved the, again, your two main mechanics, besides the dialogue are you got the Wauki talking to talk to people and the radio to tune in,

which is also kind of like a form of, well, you can get information, right, through the radio. And I liked for the Wauki-Toki, where you have these channels and it has the people's name above it to the first person you meet and then like the second or whatever there's also like question marks above a lot of them and I didn't unlock all of them but what was kind of cool is it almost was like this like a metroidsvania approach to storytelling that like they sort of do with this game that I think is really enticing um I think they do a really good job at like evoking or like drawing out a player's natural curiosity even someone like me where it's like I love video games obviously like I'm fucking here right but like I'm much I'm very much

a main path person. Like I will only deviate. It's got to be shiny enough. I'm not just doing it to do it. I have to kind of genuinely be drawn to it. And even with this, like kind of talk about stuff that's very, very early in the game, I tune in, like I'm tuning through the radio. I'm going through all the stations. I land on this like high schoolers like little news show. And they're like, oh, like, that's the advice line. You can call in, like, you know, listen in and see when we're accepting callers. And I spent the first like hour. to two hours of the game obsessed with like, what is it time to call in? And I was like, I'm in, obviously the game is partially, you know, they think through all this stuff, right?

Obviously, the designers want you to like be drawn to it. And I'm sure they set up things in the back end to make that more doable than it could be. But it felt so like, oh yeah, I got it when she's like, we're taking callers. And I was like, hello, hello, is this like so in time. I was so into it and I loved the ways that you could just kind of gain lore through that or you know ignore it if you don't want to and I think one thing that I

can like compliment of this game or why I think it's so special is the ways that's done so naturally and so like whatever you want to do you know if you want to just walk in silence like Jacob will talk at some point and you know you'll get that but if you're like this game feels dead time

so beautifully because they give you so many options to mess around with, whether it's exploring, whether it's tuning into a different frequency, I would just run it and play like a creepy sounding station. And I'm like, is this the game from the is this the music from the first game? And I was having a time of my life. But what about you? How did you feel about how they utilize those things? And what did you kind of spend your time getting into on the island? Well, it's funny because like, I agree with you. It's so well done. There's so much stuff like that. And what I found in that second play through was having to, not having to since I was playing at a different speed

it was about like I'm engaging with those new conversations these new characters on the walkie talkie and it was like okay like I should stop trying to advance screens or whatever like I'm bumping into Jacob telling me something to cue the next actual story beat or whatever like and the game does that beautifully where if you get interrupted you can call back the person like I'm sorry I get interrupted or whatever and I don't remember this from the first one you'd have to tell me

you can now like be talking to someone get to where you're going to go to the next screen of the map so you go through the loading and then you can go through and when you come back in the new one the conversation will continue naturally. Like I don't remember that from Oxen Free but I don't remember...

I think it did that. It's been a little while since I've played it and I think they do it a little bit smoother even if they did do it in both games just because I love when the dialogue also dips across the loading screen because it gives me something to do while I'm just sitting there waiting for it to load.

I'm like oh I wish, my only wish is that they could extend that the whole way through, but I'm sure there's technological reasons on why they can't do that, but yeah. Yeah, so I thought that was great. And then, yeah, like, for me, that first play through was doing everything I could find. It wasn't wandering off. It wasn't going, you know, super off the beaten path and chasing whatever. It was more about like, okay, cool, I, you know, I get the call from this guy.

Is it a wrong number? Talk to him. What's he need? Okay, start moving on that. And I was always surprised and delighted to find the little things they left around. You know what I mean? both the letters, which are the collectibles, which, again, for somebody who likes collectibles in a game, I think they do such a great job of.

You know, Oxifree is a pretty basic game. If you haven't seen it, right? If you're not watching this and you haven't seen the gameplay of it, right? You're looking at a, I think, beautiful environment with this beautiful art, right? It's all very much like it feels handcrafted, but it's 2D, right? You're moving this character, these characters, yeah, you're moving your character, I guess, you know, Riley, or across the screen, you're climbing up things. Like they're 3D models or whatever, but like it feels like I'm playing in a scrapbook a lot of times. And I think, or even a kid's book, right, the way the lush green, the way they use the forest, the way they do all their stuff with it, it's gorgeous.

And so I was wandering around as them playing them, being lost in that world and enjoying what I would run into and what I would find. And the collectibles to my point, rather than make them really hard to find, which they're not, and rather than make them really obvious to find, which they're not, they just use. use this little like two pixels of light that glows. The uncharted glitter. Yeah, but it does it so much better than chart. Easier to see. But it's that thing where you can miss them. Like you're looking at these like beautiful wide paintings for all intents and purposes

and it will pulse and then it'll go dark. And there are plenty of times I'd be running Riley to whatever. And then I wait. And I stop and I stop and wait for it again and then chase up there and get it. And again like you're just looking at a really beautiful storybook and it's it's there. Like it's not like it's something you have to hide or move or do whatever. It's there. But it was like the way it pulsed was like it was you could miss it.

But it wasn't like blinking you miss it. And it wasn't like I appreciated how they did it because it felt rewarding to go get it while also feeling entertaining to go chase them that way. But otherwise, yeah, it was, you know, wandering around mainly being pushed the next objective. Again, my concern especially at the start of the game was like, shit, this map feels really similar. Is it going to be annoying? I was annoyed with the first game.

And I feel like they got around that really nicely this time around with both the arrow showing you where you can go and what you can do, you know, stuff Jacob would say, the ability to add basically shortcuts when you're done with a section with your climbing rope and things like that. Like, I found it easy to run through. And again, I think there's a lot, it's, you talk about main path. It's a game that starts you off and it's like, here are the three objectives. And you can, you know what they are and they're clear and you go do them. And it's a pretty quick game. And then, you know, there's one thing and you're done. And I was like, oh, okay, like, I like this was straightforward. But it is,

about the adventure you have on the weight of that objective. Yeah, I think, too, one thing I really enjoyed about this, which, again, is kind of what the franchise is known for at this point, or I guess maybe what night school is known for, is the way they also hide and surprise me with fail states. So this game, you know, unsurprisingly, like a narrative games don't really have fail states, but oxen free two lost signals does have a few spots where it's like very, very, very mild puzzle solving.

it'll be just like, oh, tuning, you know, using the radio in the right way to interact with, like, the paranormal or like, that's basically it. You know, that's what all the puzzles kind of come down to. But because they also have sort of that a similar supernatural, like weird stuff going on and time loops and weird visions and things, it's really cool because I never knew, like, what was coming up next. It's like, do they need me to do something specific or is this just going to be how it is? Like, are they making it so that I can't fail at this? or is it not? And that kind of kind of constantly kept me on my toes a little bit when it came down to certain objectives that I had to do where it's like, oh, take this item from somebody. And I'm thinking, is that automatic? Do I have to? Like, can I mess it up? And then I felt the tension of, well, I do want to like do this well because I'm invested in the story. And I think the way they go about fail states and flexibility and flavoring really helps create an additional level of immersion that I don't always feel in a video.

game. You know, there's always that moment where you're playing a game and you're kind of like, especially when you've game as much as we have, where you like sort of see the, the people, the arms of the puppeteer in the back. And you're like, yeah, I know what's going to happen here. And I think Oxen Free, despite all my years of gaming, which is like, geez, I have 25 years or something at this point. Like, it still manages to surprise me.

And I think that's very cool. Yeah. Again, I think that's, again, we don't want to get into spoilers, something the game does well. Like, I think that turning point for me where I thought I knew what I was, the story was and it wasn't. I was like, oh, that's dope. And even like, again, as they deal with time and relationships and yada, yada, yada families, like, I feel like they take the challenge of how do you follow up a game that has such a beloved story about a, you know, a sister grieving

or brother to drop you into this family dynamic, right, of being Riley, right? You're coming back to your hometown. What was your relationship with your mom and dad? You know, what is your future look like, what do you want, like they do so much. And then to have it offset with the other characters there who are also dealing with their own shit, like it feels fresh. And I was thought, you know, you look at the game and even playing the opening of it at the preview event, it was like, okay, cool, but is it just oxenfree again? Is it just, I'm turning the radio and I'm doing the thing and I'm, you know, I'm opening up triangles in the sky. Like, that's fine, but what am I doing that's different than what Alex did? And so I think it's really

fascinating that they did do something that was interesting. And, and, you know, It is about choice and it is about family and it is about all these things that I was like, damn, they nailed this where I feel like this is a different thing. It's clearly capitalizing on what worked for Oxenfree, but it's delivering something that is fresh and is unique. Yeah, I think what they do so well, and this is kind of a weird combo point, counterpoint for me. Because one thing that I liked less about this game than Oxen Free One is I felt like

the interpersonal drama was not as juicy. Sure. Like in the first game, it's like you're this cast, well, you're one character, Alex, but you're in this cast of friends in high school and like friend enemies. It's more than it's a friend group. And like a lot of friend groups, especially when you're younger, it's like, oh, well, I'm friends with this person, but like this person, I kind of knows it's another person.

There's like all this kind of petty drama. One thing I missed from this game was a little bit more interpersonal drama, you know? And I'm sure you can play it a little differently where maybe Riley and Jacob have like, I don't know, more bickering or something. But like they're adults. Like, and it's written as if. they are adults. Now, the cool thing about that is they think they do that really well. Like, instead of relying on, like, Oxen Free 1 was so clearly like a story about kids with like kid

problems. And I'll say their problems weren't serious, but they just approached them like, it felt so authentically teenage. And this feels authentically adult, even when it's like in how it approaches trauma. Like there's, um, a flashback that again, I'm not going to actually spoiling specifics, but like, you know, if we do spoiler, I'll talk about all this stuff. I have all these notes of where they, It's like Riley talking to somebody and they're kind of like you as the player, you get exposed to like this family dynamic that she has. And it's said so casually. And as someone that like, I feel like Oxenfree has looked at my life. And they're like, what if we like add, take the same trauma and throw lime into it?

And so it's a little different than your life, but like not that different. And I'm like, oh my God. Like, are they reading my diary? Like what's going on? Like I find it's so affecting and so real the way they talk about certain. issues that you might have with yourself or with family members. But it's also done in a way that does feel so adult where, like, as someone that's now, you know, an adult myself, it's like, yeah, my feelings towards a lot of the same things

are so different and, like, kind of have that layer of cold removal because you've kind of just grown to accept like, hey, this is how it is. And like, maybe my relationship with this person is just kind of shitty. And like, maybe I'm just kind of shitty and like, I don't know, man. I'm trying. And it's like, that's so real. But that's a little bit less entertaining than some of the drive. that we had in the first game. So that's kind of my push and pull with that.

I understand and I agree with you that I think the drama was juicier in oxen free originally because of their high schoolers. They've gone through this traumatic event. Who do you blame? What do you do? Dada. But I appreciate the drama more here. And I think, you know, on reflection, I wonder if that is why oxen free the first time around didn't hit so hard for me is that it felt not in a negative way, but more young adult, right? It was a teen movie. Whereas this is the, hey, coming back to my hometown. I'm kind of, you know, starting over and like, I don't know what I want to do exactly with my life. I'm not in the best place. Why are you like that? What do you build from? Where do you go from with that? And again, back to the two playthroughs, like,

I appreciated playing them remarkably different in like dealing with things and lying about things and not offering as much information the second time around that I did the first time. The first time was the very much Greg Miller play through, heart on my sleeve, here's what I'm thinking, here's what I'm feeling. And Jacob. talking with you about that and then other characters being pulled into that about it whereas the second one I was like

you know what I'm gonna play this like an asshole Riley's mean here you know what I'm being mean to Jacob not offering on the frame it broke my heart it broke my heart being mean to the other characters you run into and do all these different things like that for me is the nuance of it but even then right like the first play through

you pop up and there's the mean responses that are there like you're saying and again you know it's a few words that you understand what the implication will be or where it'll go but there's a performance behind it. I picked them, and I was like wincing when I picked them expecting them to be really like, fuck off, da-da-da, and they weren't. They were, they were cold and they weren't the welcoming, let's start a friendship, hey, let's, you know, we're in this thing together. But they weren't like, burn the bridge. Honestly, one of the problems I have all the time with Mass Effect

when it was like, are you to do the Paragon or the renegade, a renegade choice? And the renegade choice was always so outlandish. I was like, who would ever pick this? Unless you were like, I'm doing it for the trophies. I'm doing it to be a jerk. Like, these are. are any more metered. Yo, I'm just closed off and I don't want this. Yeah, it's like how people are actually jerks and how people are actually nice. Because like, you know, and that's what I think feels, has always felt so authentic about night school's writing.

Like it was, it's like, this is like, and this is real. You know, and that's like, obviously not fiction, right? But it's like, oh, it's real to me because of how they like write it. Sort of shifting gears, I, I'm just kind of looking at my notes here and what stuff isn't a spoiler, which a lot of, a lot of things are spoilers. But I, you know, this is like, I feel like we say this all the time. You know, on Pisa, I love you, talking about the hardware. Playing on PS5, like, there was some nice dual sense integration.

Like, I'm not going to lie. Like, I think they, like, did a good job with how they, like, kind of brought it in. So I just, I just kind of enjoyed that aspect of it. Can you talk about what it was that didn't, without a spoiler? Because, like, for me, the only thing I was, like, you know, honing in on what radio signal you need for certain things. It'll vibrate. I like, I liked that aspect of it. Sure.

Or I like that cheesy. Yeah, yeah. Like, you know, the classic, like, oh, I forgot what they call it. You know, there's like Nintendo's an H-Rumble. and we have like, what is it? It's called... The dual sense, haptic feedback and the trigger resistances. Yeah, the adaptive trigger.

You know, it's like, it's small, but like I did really enjoy that. And it felt like... I think a lot of aspects of, you know, things like the dual sense integration, things like the general sound design of this game are so wonderful. I mean, when I like... You know, I have... The way I do my notes, like, this kind of peek behind the curtain, when I'm playing a game for, like, review or for, like, you know, content or, like,

questions or whatever. I just start writing out like shit that I think about like just like random shit and then I'll just like throw some quotes in there and then I'm done and I make into review if I have to for written or whatever. But the first thing I wrote was like scary as fuck opening just because it has like that boom, you know like wild radio sounds, booms and literally I turn the game on this is not a joke. I turned the game on. I was in my living room. My cat was on the sofa. I turned it on and my cat immediately was not fucking with this game. She got up. She ran away like she was horrified And, you know, it's not a super scary game, but it's eerie. And I think they, like, really do a great job creating a vibe with, like, this sort of, you know,

you talk about the art style being kind of, you know, child book-like, sort of paper dolls is what I think about when I look at it, almost like a, they create, like, the visuals in themselves feel like a paper craft collage. And I think their approach to sound design has, partially because of how they, like, do it do their supernatural. take is so collaged and it really forms like this tapestry of surreal horror that I just think it's just very beautifully done like from mashing together words to create sentences from like the beyond to just the way they create screeches and splashes and like the pull and the push of like the beams and things like I just think they do a great job with that and there's a lot of you know red eyes and shadowy realm and like even there where it's like kind of reliving a moment over and

over again where you're like ah like what's going like yeah they do a great job of making it creepy making it scary on that sense not jump out and scare you necessarily but like more like what is going on this is making me unsettled yeah i think um what i really liked about this game is how like intuitive yet eerie it was and i think you know going back to the which i keep talking about it because it's really just the core of the game outside of like the drama what actually happens Yeah. But just their approach to like the writing and the dialogue system, which again, that's always been a night school thing and it's as good now as it ever has been. But to me, it really is like that improvisational jazz vibe where like in jazz you have like your, you know, core and I'm going to butcher the terminology because I don't remember and my brother knows it and I don't.

But it's like you have the core song and then you can improv within that. And I feel like their dialogue very much is that where like you're making it your own, but it's within this understood and established sound. but they give you the tools to make that so easy. So it's just like, it just comes together so beautifully. Yeah, like I really enjoyed, without spoiling it, the payoff of some of the questions I did have. I didn't really get all my questions answered necessarily, but also I don't think you're supposed to.

It's like, I think they do a good job planting the seed of like, what am I looking at here? Is this even real? Is this, are these people? Is this somebody else from a past life? Here's what I want to do. Here's what I do. Slack me right now, one of the questions you didn't get answered.

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Go to birddogs.com slash kind of funny or enter code. kind of funny for a free yeti style tumbler with your order that's birddogs.com slash kind of funny or use the promo code kind of funny for a free yety style tumbler birddogs.com slash kind of funny promo code kind of funny. All right I'm reading this yeah like just cause like I don't know I feel like you can kind of chalk up a lot of things to just supernatural oddities we don't understand. I think too, like, you know, I'm kind of thinking of what comes to mind, but I, okay, I kind of see that. I don't want to say it to you, listener, because even saying I think that that's my, that was my interpretation is that there can be the one way that we, you, we all

think of one thing, but there could be the other way that it didn't. Oh, um, one thing that did, again, when I say bother, like I love the game. So it's like any criticisms I have are like fairly mild. But I kind of wish there was a little bit more skepticism with what was going on. And obviously, like, when you zoom out of the whole story, you can justify narratively why it was that way. But I kind of, like, everyone just was a little too on board. You know what I mean? It was like, oh, everyone's just kind of like, yeah, man, like crazy shit's happening. And like, obviously, you get initial skepticism.

Some people being like, oh, what is this like squirrels out there? And it's like, oh, no, it's like crazy shit's happening. And they're like, oh, okay. Yeah, sure. Like, everyone was a little too agreeable. And I kind of wish that there was a little bit more, I think, nuance and how the wider cast sort of reacted to everything happening. I hear you. I don't have that for the wider cast, right?

Because I feel like you're saying, like, you know, you're there for a research thing. So when other people who have instruments or eyeballs to look outside and see that something's going, there's a fucking goddamn triangle in the sky. Like, you know what I mean? Like, I feel like I appreciate that there wasn't like, you crazy. Get out of it. It was more. I didn't, if I was a betting man, I think other reviews and other gamers

will have a problem with Jacob being Mr. Exposition where it literally is like, he basically played oxen free one. And so he's just there with answers for anything. Like what? Did you hear about Edwards Island? This is like, oh, and it's like, again, I'm like, I like this because it's,

I think if you come into this expecting oxen free again and like that level of mystery building up to whatever, you'd be disappointed. So coming in and having it be like, yo, we're not doing that again. Here's what it is. This guy's going to explain it to you. And even if you as Riley want to be like,

nah, that sounds crazy. Like you're going to believe it pretty quick and then you're off to the races. And again, my second time around, you can cut him off and you can choose not to engage with the conversations he's having and you don't get the whole, well, here's what I heard happened. I know where it's island.

Have you heard about the USS Caneloa? He won't go into that level of detail. So I did as a Knoxin Free fan, but also wanted to see needed a refresher and then also wanted to see how much he knew. Like, I made my own bet on the choices I made and how I said it. So if you want to play it more realistic of like that can't,

what are you talking about? What do you mean radio waves are doing this and open in portals? Yeah, I liked his exposition. I mean that it was just a little bit of a cheesy part of games, but it's like needed, right? It's like, you know, they're like, we want to make it so that anyone can play it.

I do, and I wish one of, I almost wish one of us didn't play accent free one because I am curious, like, How do you think this could hit different for people that didn't play the first one? Like, do you think, I feel like the first one isn't required reading because, like, you can totally play it without playing the first one. But at the same time, like, I really enjoyed my knowledge of the first one coming in for like so many things down to like the mechanics, which again, pretty simple. It's a radio. But it's like, I'm like, oh yeah, I know everything.

I've seen all this before. I know this thing. I know who these other characters are from the before. And like, it felt more fulfilling. having played the first one in a way that I don't necessarily always feel with games. I'm curious what your opinion is on that

like jumping into the second and having the first. What I was telling, Joey was similar to me and had tried to play oxen free and it didn't work for a she bounced but she requested a code for this and so when I was like,

oh yeah, it's great, you should play it or whatever. She's like cool though and I was like I would go read the Wikipedia. Like I think those two paragraphs of text on the Wikipedia, full spoilers set you up that you come in here

and even if you didn't play because I never did. I mean, this is cheating because I never did the true ending of Oxen Free One with the new game plus, but I knew about it from back in the day. But I made sure I went and read about it here. Because obviously it's the sequel. It's in the same world.

I'm like, so how are they doing that? And what is this? Like that was rewarding to me and needed. And I do think that like there's certain references that wouldn't hit as hard if it wasn't like, oh, you know what I mean? Like, okay, I need to know that or I need to blah, blah, blah. But even looking off at Edward's Island in the distance, right?

It's like, that's cool. Like I like I like worlds that are still referencing like this is what it was before, but you're doing your own thing. Yeah, I think just overall, like there's so many wonderful highs of this. Like I was playing moments of this game and was like, this is what Life is Strange one thought it did with some of its like stuff in the later episodes. Which again, it's like a very layered cut where like you got to play all after you each one, then you got to play all this and you'll know exactly what I mean. But you know, those who know now. And I just I think they. I was very, it took a while for me to, I think, have the big, like, emotional payoff moments,

but I found myself very affected by a lot of the reveals that do happen and just kind of sort of sitting in conversations and being like, oh, man, like, this is what this all means. And then for them to also pair that with, I think, a couple of key choices that feel like, this is what it's all culminated to. And now I have this decision to make. And what I love about some of the decisions in this is it's so, so, so very clearly, like, there is, like, there's a decision here where there is no good decision, in my opinion. And I was, like, looking at it. And I was just like, man, like, they really are going to make me do this.

And I'm like, can I walk away? Can I, like, finesse my, you know, can I have a secret super smart gamer solution where, like, we're all good. And, like, everything's great. But there isn't really that. And I think they lean into that really beautifully. and kind of talk about, you know, the ramifications of that and what it means and whether or not there was a right thing to do and the fact that there kind of wasn't, you know? And like, I don't know. I found it very moving when it all came to the end.

Yeah, it's just a really beautiful game. Yeah, I agree with that. And I think, you know, to your point of putting the controller down and thinking about the choice or choices, there's so many. I shouldn't, I don't want to make it seem like there's one giant choice. it was interesting you know what I mean again playing that first full play through and usually when I play a game like this that's my playthrough I've always talked about like walking down and clam or whatever

but even going back then and I'm like well I want to get some extra trophies I want to see what happens if I do X Y and Z going back and having to make those other choices and treat certain characters again not the fuck you it's over blah way but even just being like no no I don't think you should I was like oh man like it sucks that it I hurt there's like one section very specifically that in my first play-through,

not knowing what's going on or anything, the character in the game talked me out of making the choice, which just I don't think happens. Where it is that I was like, no, blah, blah, blah. And they were like, well, what about? And I'm like, no, blah. And they're like, well, what, but I was like, damn, all right, fine, yeah, okay.

You know what I mean? And it was like, that was a real thing of them talking to me through the, you know, character and the story. But like, I then have to go back and do it the other way where I was like, no, I want to see the other way. It sucked turning that person down. telling that person, no, I'm not going to do that. I was like, oh, God.

And then to get to the ending and make the other choices that I needed that you make, for the branching everything, to make the other choices I made that were the opposite of what I made before and the heartbreak in another character. It was like, damn, man, like, fuck. This really worked and hit. And like, again, it's crazy to be here. I'm like, I can't wait to see how another ending, choosing another option is going to go. Yeah, absolutely.

Yeah, it was just, it was a fun time just, I think exploring the world, like checking in all the details, learning about these different characters, establishing the relationships, and like digging into, I think the ways that, again, without spoiling it, how they played with mechanics this time around in terms of the supernatural and how that can impact your play-through, like how you go about navigating the world.

I think it's so cool. It's just a title full of surprises and full of a lot of heart. and here's a question I have for you. Sure. Do you want Oxen Free 3? And then, well, answer that first and then I'll ask you my other question. No. And this is the classic naughty dog last of us conversation where it's like, no, I don't want an Oxen Free 3.

But if they did, I'm sure I'd play it and be excited for it. Like it's that kind of thing where it's like I didn't, I wouldn't, I wouldn't, I went, again, as somebody who didn't even like connect that much with the first one. And it has tried several times to restart it. Even going as far as it beat this game, then restart it with my save. and I'd be like, ah, it ain't clicking,

I ain't doing it. Like, I didn't want Oxifree 2. I'm glad it's here. So I'd be, I'm sure I'd be happy if they made an Oxan 3 3. And then do you think,

what about you? Do you want Oxan 333? I think I'm in the same boat as you, where it's like, I'd rather get something new, but at the same time, like, I was similar to that Nodododon comparisons

the damn PS I love you of it all, right? It's like where it's like, last one is two, like, what else could you do? And then it's like, oh, it's right. And again, I know,

But it kind of has that where it's like you wonder how much is left in the world and then you realize I think what I've learned from playing like Ox and Free, which is now a franchise and and the last of us is when you have an interesting enough world and a talented enough team, there are so many stories that you can tell with the same base idea of if you were in the situation where you're confronted in a weird way, both games are kind of the same thing, right? It's like you're being confronted with humanity, that being yourself and then also being other people. and how do you engage with humanity when you're in a dire life circumstance? And a lot of games fall and media fall into those tropes. But I think they both, you know, kind of do those really beautifully and masterfully in terms of how they, like, craft you into that story. My other question for you is, do you think this is going to make your top 10 list at the end of the year? Wow. It's a packed year.

I hadn't considered it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And that is the fact that it is such a packed year. I mean, my knee jerk would be no, but I don't have, I think it's because I think it's easier for me to say it's not going to be my top five. And because then you get out into the weeds at the top ten and stuff. And like I don't, I don't off the top of my head have the ten games that are going to fill that list. So I currently would be there, but we know how many games and bangers are still coming out there. And it is, I don't know if this is one that I don't feel like it's a game that has resonated with me the way walking.

Dead Season 1 or Life is Trains, True Colors did. Where it was like, I finished those things and I was like, oh my God, like I was that character. I'm so, oh my God, clam, oh, you know, blah, blah. Like, and since it's, so it's a great one and it's one that I truly enjoyed and I want a platinum and I want to do another run through of and yada,

but I don't feel like, I feel like you keep saying it's beautiful. And I think that's a great way. It's a beautiful game. And it's that thing where it's a beautiful game that I didn't, I don't think it's left up an imprint on me in a way. I think it did a great job of taking a lot of, like, to what you're talking about, a lot of my personal feelings, thoughts, experiences, right, of, you know, being someone's child, you know what I mean, being lost at times about what you want to do, worrying about your future and what that

is going to look like and yada, yada, yada. It did a great job of taking those feelings and channeling that into a different experience, but I don't feel like it, it, like, rocked me, if that makes sense. Yeah, no, I get that. I mean, it's hard to, I think, though, to, to the other side of that argument, like, we're talking about, like, the greatest of the grades. Because, like, of course, of course. Which, again, if y'all, I know somebody all listening and haven't played and are into that

genre. You got to, it is so stupid good. It is, like, one of the best, like, narrative games I've ever played. Like, they just snapped on everything. That's, like, a top five game for me of that year. I think it was, like, my third or something or fourth. I could see Oxen Free sneak in its way. to my top 10. I feel like it's it's good enough and it's fresh enough that it's hard to think.

Like I'm trying to think of what narrative experience I even had this year that is on par. And I'm not quite sure. And I'm sure I'm just forgetting something. There's so much stuff came out this year. And granted, like a top 10 is however you want to make it. If you want to make a diverse in genre, you can. If you don't, you can't. Like, just do whatever you want to your top 10, right? But yeah. I could see it being in there. And it's definitely a game that like I unfortunately can see me being like oxen free to. Losson. signals it's really good and everyone being like yeah i'm sure it is and i'm like no no like please please believe me no you got to trust me you got to play i hate that i can feel that ahead of

time but i just do one it's a sequel it's you know whenever smaller games have sequels like the sequel always like not always oftentimes people just don't really care like think of it like axiomverse 2 which i know some people don't like as much as xenverged 1 so it's not the best comparison but it's like oh yeah that's probably pretty good right and they just don't want to give it the time of day but if you're listening to this and you're down for story, even if you're not, I honestly think if you're someone that's just, you find enjoyment and engaging with an intriguing world with mystery, I think you can, unless you like really hate narrative games, I think this is one that

has a little bit broader appeal, honestly. Like, I think of someone like, you know, my boyfriend Isaiah, like, he's not really a big narrative game person, but he's open to it. And I'm like, I think you'd like this game because I think he'd enjoy tinkering with some of the mysteries. You know, and I could be wrong, but like, I do think it has a little bit of more mass appeal. So I hope that I'm wrong. And people in the audience and people, you know, our peers, give this the time because it was really great. One last thing I want to say about it because I feel like we've talked a lot about like, oh, it's cool. It's got like this mystery and it has all these feelings.

I want to also emphasize that this is a game that lets you like enjoy the mundane as well. Like the conversations are not like, what's your childhood trauma? What's your child? You know, it's not like that in your face. So many of the conversations you're just like, oh, yeah, like, hey, did you know so-and-so? Oh, yeah, I remember doing this or like, I remember having this job in high school. And it was, you know, it's so like casual and natural. And it really does feel, you know, this game takes place like in the nighttime and it gets like really late into the night.

So to the point that it's almost like early in the day depending on when you think, right? We're into the 1 a.m. the 2 a.m. and they show like that time on the screen and things. Like it definitely has like that like late night pizza, good conversation. with a friend vibe to it. 100%. You know, they have like this like, oh, in my play through, I had, you know, I don't know how much of this is like,

oh, it's in everyone's and not. But like, we had this fun conversation about like library book deadlines. And, you know, Jacob was like, oh yeah, they don't have the late fees anymore. Like, I didn't have that. But I can, yeah, exactly. He's like, he's talking about the late fees.

He's like, I kind of like the late fees. I feel like it holds you're accountable. And she's like, man, kids, can you imagine how hard, remember how hard was to get money? You don't want lay fees. Like, yeah, but I feel like, and I, And I shit you not. I fucking just barely returned some books because we also got a little rid of late fees.

And I was like holding on to my books for like six extra weeks, not having read them. And then she's like, well, now you got to read it because you have all the guilt. And that's just such a real fucking conversation. Yeah. About nothing that also feels like really wholesome and also allows you to see a window into people in a way that feels so genuine to how real life relationships are. So, yeah, it's just, it's great in that way. But I just wanted to nod to that because I don't want people to think that this is like, oh, this is all ghosts and feelings.

Like, it's also just like nothing in a cool way. Yeah, exactly. It's very much setting off in having that almost not nearly as raunchy, right, but clerk's dialogue of like, you're doing something. These people are real people in quotes, right? And you go through and you do it. And it's like, it's like getting to know a coworker where you are doing a thing and do your point, you know, the later you get in the night and the more shit you

gone through in like the more conversations and like levels you're going to get into so here's my question for you janet you keep talking about a spoiler cast can i get you for another can i can we go to 515 tonight because we could just do one to put up on patreon for tomorrow as a gregg way yeah all right then there you go ladies and gentlemen we think oxen free two lost signals is a great game a four out of five unanimously here on the kind of funny scale um right now we're going to end this games cast Janet and I are going to keep on yakin, though. You can catch that on patreon.com slash Kind of Funny as a Gregway.

Tomorrow's Gregway on Wednesday. The 12th will be a little mini, I mean, 20 minute, 20 minute spoiler cast about what's going on and what we thought of in our top things. Save it from when you get there. Don't we have to rush in there. It doesn't go bad. Nobody's going to take it and shout it out in the comments,

so you're fine. It'll be over there. Come get it when you get it. It's over on Patreon.com slash kind of funny. It doesn't get smelly after a week or anything? No, not. I don't know. It doesn't rot when it's left out in the sun?

Oh. It's almost scary how long it lasts. It's like, should I even be eating this? It's like a McDonald's French fry. It's that kind of thing. Ladies and gentlemen, this has been another episode of the Kind of Funny Games cast. Remember each and every week for sometimes two. Best friends come together to talk about all the things they love and sometimes don't love in video games.

You get the games on YouTube.com slash kind of funny games and of course podcast services around the globe. However, consider going to patreon.com slash Kind of Funny, which keeps the mics and lights on and keeps all 11 of us independent. Of course, over there, you can get all the shows ad-free. You can usually watch this record them live. You can get the daily content that is Gregway and will be a spoiler cast for Oxen Free 2 momentarily. But until next time, no, it's been our pleasure to serve you.