Oxenfree II: Lost Signals has a release date – it’s out on 12 July, developer Night School Studio has announced.
Paranormal adventure sequel Oxenfree II: Lost Signals is finally due out this summer, having previously been delayed from its original launch window of September 2022.
Announced during yesterday’s Nintendo Indie World Showcase, Oxenfree II is now set for release on 12 July.
The original Oxenfree, released in 2016, was a 2D adventure that followed a group of youngsters as they encounter all kinds of supernatural mysteries on a foggy, picturesque island. But where the first title was a coming-of-age tale, Oxenfree II follows a new protagonist, Riley, and a new location – the small town of Camena.
Back when this website was still a magazine called Wireframe, we chatted to studio director Sean Krankel about the sequel, and he explained why it was important to come up with a new story rather than follow the first game’s plot and characters.
“It was important that we didn’t just do a continuation of the last one,” Krankel said in 2021. “[Doing a sequel with new characters] let us tell a brand new story with a lot of the same rule set from the first game, but without making it feel like we were making a Scooby-Doo adventure with a bunch of characters going and doing the same stuff again.”
Oxenfree II's characters are in their 30s, which will automatically give the tale a different vibe from the original cast of carefree teenagers, but there’s still the same small town setting, the 2D perspective, and the same supernatural energy emanating through old radio sets.
“Riley, not to spoil things, is going through a major life event,” lead writer Adam Hines told us. “She’s really trying to make sense [of things], correcting past mistakes, and setting the groundwork for a more successful future for herself… Having that nostalgic air that Oxenfree had, but having them as adults in their mid-30s [with] some past behind them allows us to touch on way more adult themes and adult topics, and just have them be in a much more mature place than [before], which of course colours every conversation and every interaction that you have.”
Oxenfree II: Lost Signals is out on PC, PS4, PS5 and Switch on 12 July 2023.