most of the time i'm a really strong proponent of "it doesn't matter if what you make is good or not, your art is important and who you are fills in the blanks"
the ASTONISHING brilliance of this game gives me pause and makes me believe that there is a whole 'nother level of the idea of art that echoes forwards and backwards in time with its profundity and accessibility. it's cool on your first playthrough but it's world changing after that; every single detail is meticulously crafted and carrying meaning about our world, the game world, the game as a medium, being alive, existing iN a SoCiEtY or just as a person - except for how the robots are hot, that is just because yoko taro likes to design and look at hot lady in a short skirt and tall boots. he has said so on record, which is extremely funny bc whenever gamers(tm) are complain about "forcing diversity" (women or non straight or non white characters) they always bring this game up as an affirmative example of how it's okay if it adds to or makes sense within the story. ig that's sort of meta in its way bc of course roboticists would want their androids/the hope of humanity to be hot if they hadda choice
anyway it is very fun
please enjoy hot robots and the immeasurable weight of being, equal parts magic and futile, existential but not nihilistic

i loved and still love the first oxenfree; i think it's a perfect game that everyone should play. this one is ... cool, and it's fun, but imo it undermines a lot of the more interesting concepts and themes of the first one while stumbling into some pretty batshit-at-best cultural commentary i think without noticing, very much showcasing some weird stuff in the devs' worldview in a way that undermines the potential of a lot of the game's coolest concepts. the denouement wants to give peace to a lot of tension that didn't need peace at the expense of basically everything else it has some really, really cool features that weave narrative with mechanics + the characters are still compelling and loveable + the gameplay is still engaging and cool + the world still uniquely atmospheric and full of ideas that are fascinating 'n you haven't seen before but in this case the parts are greater than the sum. it didn't ruin oxenfree 1 for me because i can compartmentalize it, but the mind boggles with "why" and if you're a returning fan, you prolly ought to also. it's worth playing, but Fine. the original oxenfree was like always on sale which was wild bc it is SO cool and special and groundbreaking and magical + more than worth its original $20, but this one...you should maybe wait for the sale on

fallout new vegas spiritual sequel in spaaaaaaaace. the characters are compelling, and while the world building can often be divided into "dark joke" and "cool as hell extrapolation," the dark jokes are getting less cartoony and therefore funnier day-by-day while still being silly enough to add to instead of shred my will to live

i'm playing on switch so sometimes stuff that's still loading at a distance is ugly as fuck in an aliasing sort of way, but mostly it plays real well and looks great anyway if anyone's concerned