>>>SPOILER ALERT<<<
Margaret Adler’s story
It all starts with Margaret Adler getting a job of radio operator in fort Milner. She also puts a word for her friend Anna Shea.
One day USS Kanaloa sailed near Edwards Island. It dashed on the rocks and sent out a distress signal. Maggie was operating radio at the moment. She misinterpreted signal for an attempt to jam radar and signalled ships around with “investigate and destroy, if necessary”. Kanaloa was destroyed by friendly fire of USS Walter Roy… Few knew, what it was carrying an experimental nuclear reactor.
After a while, wierd signals started to appear on relays of Edwards island. With the help of Marianne Bozek, Maggie and Anna decoded them. They were transmissions from Kanaloa crew, which everyone considered dead.
Maggie and Anna continued decoding the signals. They made a conclusion, what instead of being dead, Kanaloa’s crew was separated from our dimesional existence by implosion of submarine’s nuclear reactor.
Margaret and Anna found the rift, which you can see in the game. They tuned the it. Then they spoke, albeit briefly, with one of crewmembers – Henry Griffin, an SOC Sergeant. But then something happened(we don’t know, what exactly) and Anna was absorbed into rift, while Margaret ran away in terror. Gate was left partially opened – just like we see it in the game…
For the rest of her life, Margaret regretted, what Anna’s last vision was her running away in terror… She bought most of island and influenced government to declare the rest as protected area, so no one ever will come here. She also left notes buried around the island, so true story of island can be discovered, if someone will try to.
Anna wasn’t actually dead, but lost her corporeal form. She is still tranferring morse signals outside, you can hear them on the radio in the game. One of signals contains “Ask a man about a dog”. We don’t know who drew the graffities, but it is surely related to Anna somehow.
… Three days before the game events Margaret dies of old age …
Alex’s story
Year ago prior to game events, Alex’s brother Michael decides to leave the town. She doesn’t hold him, but asks him to go out together for the last time. He agrees, and they go to Horn lake. Michael, probably, teaches Alex to swim here…
… But everything goes wrong: Michael drowns in front of Alex, while she is unable to help due to poor or complete lack of swimming skills…
… Shortly after Alex’s parents get divorced …
Year after these events, Alex’s mom marries Jonas’s dad, so they become step-siblings. They barely know each over at the begining of game.
Game Story
And now our dear company goes in. Alex opens the tear, gets teleported, or whatever, to Harden tower, tries to contact someone from here, goes either for Ren or Clarissa, bumps into all little time loops on the way. Then they gather at Harden tower and decide to steal a boat from Maggie’s house. So they go into “Parks and Facilities” office to get the key. They meet posessed Clarissa there, then they try to open one of those rifts, but something happens, and the Sunken are now speaking freely through Clarissa. Then posession wears off, they speak briefly to eachover, then something like time loop happens. Everyone, but Alex thinks, what they still play truth-or-slap on the main street. Probably, it’s timelines “bleeding” into eachover. Clarissa blames Alex for everything, what happens, and also for Michael’s death. Others are defending Alex(although it might depend on how you treated others. But i was always nice to others, so i didn’t get a chance to see another variant of this). The person, who you took to Main street from Harden will defend Alex the most. Clarissa says “All the outs in free” (reference to “Oxenfree”. google this phrase, it’s quite interesting. Or simply visit oxenfree wikia.).Then time normalizes, but Clarissa is gone. They break into office, get the advanced radio and find the 13th letter from Margaret, “To whom it should concern”. Then you have the choice to find notes or not. This can impact the ending. Then Alex gets posessed and sees Michael. Those flashbacks with him can actually change the past. Then company opens the door with new radio and gets to Adler estate. They find a boat here, but it needs a key. They search house for it, find it inside the chest, but when trying to go out, time “glitches” again and Sunken “play” with Alex. They reveal, what they just want to take someone’s body. Then timeloop starts and when Alex activates magnetophones and gets out, company decides to try to help Clarissa. Since entrance was caved in, they have to find another way into cave. They watch slides in Maggie’s basement and figure out, what they can get in through bunker. Alex and Jonas are going through forest to the “call” part, and Nona and Ren stay at bunker to do the “response” part. On the way, Alex gets posessed once again, sees Ren drowning. Then, in the forest, a time loop happens. Sunken offered Alex to abandon Clarissa. Regardless of your choice, Alex opens the bunker, goes in, tunes into the rift again, with a new radio, and gets soaked inside. She talks to Sunken there. There are three options. First is to leave Clarissa, thus completely removing her from current timeline. Completely. Like there never was any Clarissa. Second is to convince Sunken to not to hurt Alex and company with a crewmember name from Adler’s notes. And third is to close tear. We don’t know what happens here. Theoretically, Alex should be completely removed from this timeline, just as Clarissa is in first variant. But she ends up on the ferry afterwards. After this choice, you reveal, what reflection, which talked to you was Alex from other players. And you can send your own messages to other players as a reflection.
The another flashback happens, the most important one, because this time game lets you save Michael from death by convincing him not to leave. And then, as i said, Alex ends up on the ferry. Then they live maybe a week or two and then get looped to the very begining. And all of this happens again.
NG+ content
According to most popular theory:
NG+ lets you communicate with alternative reality through statinary radios, which appear inside time loops. You can save alternative Alex, but original is still trapped.
There is not much else to say, actually.
Althrough there is no clear evidence.
Theories
Information here can be non-proved!
Multiverse theory:
I guess the name speaks for itself, isn’t it? Actually, i followed this theory, while telling the story. it quite nicely fits with NG+.
What we see as reflection is actually other reality stuff(other players talking to you). When we contact “past” Alex through radio in NG+ – it’s another reality Alex, not original one.
Magnetophons:
One guy from oxenfree discord server told me about interesting theory on magnetophons. I don’t quite understand it, but it’s about ergoic thermodynamics. The matter is, what magnetophons emit magnetic field, which is isn’t equal at all point of the timeline system. So it kinda reorients current timeline, so it stops to “bleed” into other timelines.
I will add theories from comments, post yours. Also, post facts, which i missed.