What is Oxenfree? Oxenfree is a single player game that’s equal parts coming-of-age tale and supernatural thriller. You play as Alex, a bright, rebellious teenaged girl who brings her new stepbrother Jonas to an overnight party on a decommissioned military island. The festivities are framed by a dangerous sneak to a forbidden beach, celebrating with friends and navigating prickly situations with enemies. But the night takes a horrifying turn when you unwittingly open a ghostly rift spawned from the island’s cryptic past. How you deal with these events, your peers, and the ominous creatures you’ve unleashed is up to you.

The game sounds rad! I can’t wait to play it, but I was actually looking for the definition of “oxen-free.” Oh, right. Depends on who you ask… one version of the story says it started as a German phrase, “alle alle auch sind frei,” which loosely translates to “everyone, everyone is free.” Another side says it was “all ye all ye outs in free,” essentially saying, “it’s safe to come in.” We know it from years of hide ‘n’ seek.

When and where can I get the game? STEAM / XBOX ONE / HUMBLE / PLATSTATION / MICROSOFT / GOG

Who’s making OXENFREE? Night School is a new independent studio founded by cousins Sean Krankel and Adam Hines, former Disney and Telltale developers respectively. Based in Los Angeles, Night School’s focus is on the cross section between story and games.

What in the world is up with that radio? It starts out innocuous enough. Alex brings the radio because there’s an inlet on the beach that emanates weird sounds when frequencies are tuned nearby. But it quickly becomes the catalyst of the rift, and Alex’s only hope for survival. We can’t say much more beyond that.

Is the game set in the 80s? How ’bout the 90s? OXENFREE is set in present day, but we’re glad it’s rekindling fond / mortifying memories.