When I really care about a character in a game, I stop walking when they spontaneously start a character-building conversation. What if I don't get to hear the end of the story Glass was telling Liara?" unthinkable; in the original 2016 version of Oxenfree, I didn't dislike the chattering teenagers stranded on the creepy island, but I didn't stop to listen to their chatter. I didn't.

One reason for this was that after they were interrupted, they would return to important topics with an "as I said before" aside. Mostly because they talked so much about so little that I never felt in danger of not being able to hear what they cared about. If the train runs every five minutes, I don't care if I miss one.

Oxenfree 2: Lost Signals is for adults, and that changed things. Running around the Pacific Northwest's 2.5D haunted houses in all directions (click where you want to go or hold down the move key to get there. Something strange is going on in the town of Kamena, and you've been hired to investigate anomalous radio signals by placing transmitters at specific locations in the nearby countryside.

Only this time, the characters, who are at the mercy of what might be ghosts, time travelers, or both depending on how the wavelengths collapse, don't care much about whether the girls think they're cool. (Although one of them is equally amused that the communications tower is named after a man named Richard Harden.) One advantage of Oxenfree 2's treatment of adults is that after the film's release, the Internet will not be flooded with middle-aged people wondering whether it accurately represents the "real" way teenagers talk. Another advantage is that the characters are less likely to interrupt each other.

The dialogue system is Oxenfree's most notable feature, simulating the way children scream at each other in movies like "The Goonies." No one knows whether the player character, Alex, will wait until his friends are finished talking, or whether he will cut them off immediately and tell his own story. Coupled with the fact that if you don't pick one in time, your response will quickly disappear, the conversation becomes a minefield of stressful decisions.

That's exactly how I feel when I'm a teenager, and in Oxenfree I became emotionally invested in my clumsy attempts to impress them, even if I didn't care about the individuals as much as the aliens in Mass Effect.

In Oxenfree 2, the protagonist Riley, who is not always mature but is fully grown, has more time to consider his options. He interrupts people less often; in Oxenfree 2, he is given a walkie-talkie, allowing him to walk-and-talk Sorkin-style even when he is alone.

Walkie-talkies are an ingenious way to fill in the quiet gaps. If you're climbing a cliff and want to hear a friendly voice (because you're less likely to reattach it when Riley clicks away from the wall or ladder than you were when Alex was there), take out your walkie-talkie and get in touch with one of the others who are dealing with the latest mysterious anomaly in the area. Contact. I spoke primarily with park rangers, boaters, and environmentalist colleagues, who all had their own stories and a deepening sense that there was a whole paranormal world going on and that we could all help each other deal with a bit of it.

I missed getting to know the radio DJ, probably because I didn't listen to her show at the right time. So there are things you can miss. As in the previous film, I recommend turning on subtitles so that you don't lose track of what people are saying when creepy still images intrude or voices fade out on the loading screen. At one point, not wanting to miss the conversation, I stopped walking at the edge of the screen without entering the cave, and a friendly note appeared that the conversation would continue. Later, I confidently walked across the screen split while the sailor was talking about some inexplicable maritime monstrosity, only to be interrupted by the ringing of a pay phone and not knowing what he was going to say. This system isn't perfect yet, but it sure is getting better.

"Oxenfree" and its sequel are important because they are the kind of horror game that fills a serious gap in being a horror game. There's creepy stuff, but it's in a "may contain traces of nuts" kind of way, so I feel comfortable recommending it to people who don't like horror games, but actually just don't like the gory stuff and find it scary to be alive.

I love horror and replay "Silent Hill 2" for shits and giggles, but I appreciate this middle zone. It's where it's easy for a game to surprise you, and when "Oxenfree 2" comes into its own and begins to defy expectations, it gets creepy as hell. It is strangely unsettling to watch as characters are tossed about like broken dolls. There is something wrong with a tall, thin figure with outstretched limbs. Every time I adjust the dial and tune into 93FM's "All Ghosts Predicting Your Future All the Time," I get a real chill.