Wide Ocean Big Jacket

Wide Ocean Big Jacket feels like being invited into a small fragment of someone’s life. Just like Ben says, it feels like “a tiny little life.” It made me laugh, it made me feel tender, and it made me care about its characters in such a short time. Turnfollow always finds something special in moments like this, and this game left me with a really warm feeling. Very Wes Anderson in the best way. Wide Ocean Big Jacket se siente como ser invitado a un pequeño fragmento de la vida de alguien. Como dice Ben, se siente como “una pequeña vida”. Me hizo reír, me dio ternura y me hizo conectar con sus personajes en muy poco tiempo. Turnfollow siempre encuentra algo especial en momentos así, y este juego me dejó una sensación muy linda. Muy Wes Anderson, en el mejor sentido.

I mean it is not an essential to put it mildly; beats 'cozy' games

That was a great stick.

Wide Ocean Big Jacket is a ~1 hour low-poly narrative walking sim by Turnfollow, following two adults and two preteens on a camping trip that's equal parts cozy while tugging heartstrings. It nails the mild awkwardness of a family vacation while telling two parallel stories: Ben and Mord on the cusp of adolescence, asking big questions about the adult world they're just beginning to glimpse; and Brad and Cloanne, two adults quietly reckoning with certain questions that have started to emerge. The writing is charming and funny on the surface, but touching. The visuals do an incredible amount with the low poly look a single and subtle shared glance between two characters during certain scene had me laughing more than some jokes with more tools at their disposal. The best thing I can say about the game is that I cared about all four of these characters in under an hour. That's no easy feat.

A short narrative experience. You control the camera and move between scenes as a group of four (two kids and two adults) goes on a camping trip together, and has genuine conversations with each other about the future, blooming love, rocky conflicts, and the best way to make hot dogs. It's a very simple game and experience, there isn't a ton of choices to be made, so it's a bit like watching a movie in miniature, but for what it was I enjoyed it, and I thought the characters were interesting. If you're interested in a short and sweet, but genuine, game, it might be worth checking out.

Loved it!