I don’t go camping, I should, but I don’t. It is always a very intriguing concept; being outside, cooking food, sleeping in a tent, HIKING. I’m a shitty person and I have too many responsibilities to be able to justify abandoning everything to go sit out in the woods for a weekend. That is why I decided to follow a family do just that. This week I talk about a game that I still cannot figure out the meaning to the title, Wide Ocean Big Jacket.

Wide Ocean Big Jacket is a 2D/3D short story/comedy from Turnfollow and published by Tender Claws. It is available on PC and the Switch and retails for eight WHOLE dollars.

It’s the weekend and Uncle Brad and Aunt Cloanne are taking their 13-year old niece, Mord and her boyfriend Ben out to go camping. I’m sitting here trying to type something that can give the reader a better look into the game but I can’t say much else without spoiling a lot of the game because it is so short. You get to sit on the beach at night, listen to a scary story, piss in the woods, and roast hot dogs in the most ridiculous fashion.

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The narrative is a joy. The underlying stories crop up in a natural fashion. Being bullied by Mean Teens, Cloanne is cornered by Mord to give her “The Talk.” Ben’s anxiety about his home and family is weighted on Brad, and Cloanne and Brad’s marriage issues are amplified when taking care of children for the weekend. It is all intertwined and executed really well.

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Because the nature of the game, there isn’t much to the game. you walk around and interacct with the things that tell you to interact with them. Go to the cooler and GRAB A BEER or ROAST DEM HOTDOGS.

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It’s a leisure game, relax, lean back in that gamer chair and enjoy the show.

The characters are written really well. Brad tries to be the cool uncle while Cloanne is the edgy aunt, Ben is the shy nerd and Mord is the comedic one. It just works. There are a lot of fun, quirky moments that consistently put a smile on my face.

Wide Ocean Big Jacket is a small journey of about an hour and it is, again, expertly crafted. You are supplanted in a world with unknown characters in the beginning and by the time the journey ends they are fully realized.

Wide Ocean Big Jacket is a cozy, gem of a game. Excellent writing and appealing graphics make Wide Ocean Big Jacket one of my favorite games of 2020.