Play it on: Mobile
Current objective: Stop these damn children
Without oxen is one of my favorite games. Its compelling combination of naturalistic, jokey dialogue and a creepy podcast-style storyline clicked strongly for me, drawing me entirely into its mysterious narrative. Peculiar radio signals, ghostly apparitions, and time and space misbehaving, all experienced through the perspective of street smart teens making one last getaway before starting college. I couldn’t recommend it to enough people.
Then in 2023, a sequel came out, and I haven’t played it. I didn’t want to play it. I think it was because I was just afraid he wouldn’t be able to capture that moment, and that moment had been perfect. Additionally, because developer Night School’s middle game, 2019 After the partyit didn’t work for me at all. But I stopped being so stupid, and driven by the desire to play something narratively strong during my short vacation this vacation, but equipped only with my Android tablet, I remembered Without beef II is part of an active Netflix subscription. And it’s great! It is Really great! It makes more mistakes than the original, elements of the story don’t add up correctly (maybe because of the choices I made, it doesn’t really explain why the two main characters are so antagonized by teenage Olivia), but it’s once again a triumph of stunning vocal performances and an intriguing (if frustratingly unbelievable – radios don’t work like that!) storyline. I’m very close to the end and I can’t wait to finally find out how it all ends. —John Walker
