Gameplay
While it is true that narrative adventure games are usually more walking simulators than gameplay masterpieces, it still plays a heavy part in enjoying these types of titles.
The core gameplay of Afterparty generally tends to revolve around the mini-games strewn about different sections of the game.
Only four of these exist in the game: Blood Pong (Beer Pong), Shot Stacking, Dance Offs, and Drink Offs. Each game is pretty straightforward, with varying rule sets that won’t take much of a thought process to figure out.
There is also an element to gameplay where you have the ability to influence dialogue options by picking different drinks but it doesn’t change any of the conversations in any important manner.
On the other hand, Oxenfree has a few really interesting gameplay elements that make it feel a lot less like a point-and-click adventure.
The first worth mentioning is the game’s interrupt dialogue system. Whenever Alex and another NPC are talking, players have the option to wait for other characters to finish, to interrupt, or to remain silent.
While this may seem like a trivial thing, Oxenfree shows the effects of each choice through thought bubbles. These bubbles indicate that whatever option was chosen will have an effect on the characters’ relationship with her from here on out.
Oxenfree also features plenty of puzzles that can be solved with Alex’s radio or by winding up tape recorders at the correct speed.
In all honesty, I really thought Afterparty’s drink system would have rivaled Oxenfree’s dialogue interrupt up its release. In reality, not only did that dialogue system not measure up, but Afterparty also didn’t have anywhere near as many options when it came to puzzles in the game either.
Winner: Oxenfree
