Perfect for lazy afternoons when you are feeling down. It goes straight for your heart and shouts the words love and family in a very subtle, indirect way. Beautiful! Whenever I remember this game I want to go to the beach.
Great pacing, great writing, great length. The big names popping up every time you can talk to someone is quietly hilarious. A lot of things about this are quietly hilarious, actually.
charming art-house style without pretention, gorgeous lo-fi visuals, short and simple to play
subtly hilarious and believable writing
perfect afternoon into evening game
make sure you go check all the art in chapter select after finishing the game
subtly hilarious and believable writing
perfect afternoon into evening game
make sure you go check all the art in chapter select after finishing the game
Wide Ocean Big Jacket really hit me on so many different levels, reminding me of beach trips and conversations about relationships and sex, and it was so refreshing in contrast to the melodrama of TLOU2, which I had just finished at the time.
It also helps that my non-existent love life has had me in a vulnerable emotional state for a while now, which living alone during this pandemic has exacerbated! The wanting comes in waves, and it is crashing on me and pulling me under right now.
It also helps that my non-existent love life has had me in a vulnerable emotional state for a while now, which living alone during this pandemic has exacerbated! The wanting comes in waves, and it is crashing on me and pulling me under right now.
An hour (and a bit) of endearing vignettes reminiscent of mumblecore and the slice-of-life dramedies I love so much. Gorgeous art and sound design enhance the charming dialogue, packed with wisdom yet lacks any aura of pretension or superiority. Moments in time, minor or abstract but the kind that shape our identities forever.
I had no idea I cared for any of the characters until I lost it during the final scene.
This review contains spoilers
Taps into such a personally significant childhood camping nostalgia that it's hard for me to shake. The game adeptly recognizes the camping experience as one whose absence of activities allows you to focus harder on the relationships around you; it crystallizes pre-existing bonds and allows you to form new ones. The quartet of characters are so well-realized with so many small parts that relate to me - Ben's reluctant emergence to a brand new hobby, Mord's hyperactive imagination, Cloanne's need for social isolation, Brad's desire to be the Cool Uncle. Every character is likeable and generous in their own way, and the slice-of-life aspect of it means we can recognize this as just one moment - a significant one, perhaps, but not the significant moment of any of their lives. In that way it's free to just be chill and funny and show a bunch of nice intimate conversations. Never played a game with more grins-per-capita.
excellent 2-hour vignette of a game, fantastic writing and characterization. the presentation is very cool, alternating between these fixed-point rotating camera angles and over-the-shoulder tank controls. it has a consistent tone, but hits a variety of emotional beats very adeptly. i highly, highly recommend this title
Um paralelo de dois relacionamentos em uma noite de acampamento. A descoberta do amor e a busca do crescimento em meio a inocência da infância, e o momento de descanso da vida adulta ao viver de um relacionamento.
Possibly my favorite dialogue I’ve seen in a game. To draw characters so richly with such a short runtime is inspiring. And the use of Big Text made me so happy. Why does Big Text make me so happy?
"I Am Maybe Freaking Out A Little Bit" - a delightful slice of life camping trip
the best kind of game. genuinely funny and heartfelt dialogue, never tiring or trite, also zero “wholesome” pandering which is rare but welcomed. so much goes unsaid but always understood, like film it builds upon its characters even when the camera isn’t rolling. whenever someone asks me for a short game rec i always point to WOBJ. easily an all-timer, we deserve more experiences like this.
Simples e quentinho, às vezes é tudo que você precisa.
This game was a really nice experience, like playing through a short film or something. Music and art was really nice, characters felt genuine and realistic, which is rare, especially with the child characters. Always a fan of the weird little girls trope.
Three complaints:
- The cut to black for all dialogue doesn't feel like anything except an excuse to not animate cutscenes. And the sad thing is, even poorly animated cutscenes would've been better than black screens. The dialogue here never gets so extraordinary that super intense animation would've been needed. Maybe arm gestures or head turns and stuff. But because most of the game is dialogue, it really limits how much you're able to look at the environments, which is really sad.
- Not sure why you can't control the camera with the mouse in the free movement segments. The mouse isn't used for anything else and I kept wanting to look around with it.
- You talk to characters by going up to them and hitting space. Despite this, and despite the fact that the screen cuts to black for all dialogue anyway, you still have to be both standing and looking in an extremely specific direction to trigger the 'begin dialogue' prompt to appear.
Three complaints:
- The cut to black for all dialogue doesn't feel like anything except an excuse to not animate cutscenes. And the sad thing is, even poorly animated cutscenes would've been better than black screens. The dialogue here never gets so extraordinary that super intense animation would've been needed. Maybe arm gestures or head turns and stuff. But because most of the game is dialogue, it really limits how much you're able to look at the environments, which is really sad.
- Not sure why you can't control the camera with the mouse in the free movement segments. The mouse isn't used for anything else and I kept wanting to look around with it.
- You talk to characters by going up to them and hitting space. Despite this, and despite the fact that the screen cuts to black for all dialogue anyway, you still have to be both standing and looking in an extremely specific direction to trigger the 'begin dialogue' prompt to appear.
Very sweet. I didn't love the text box screen design, but i fuck with the vision. There's something that lets me imagine a more dynamic line read if I can see more of the character on screen. like even if they had those profile pics pop up on screen super imposed on the game, i think I would've been more into it than cutting away to a black screen like that. But it wouldve been less impactful upon returning to the 3d space, and seeing all the characters in their new positions.
I really loved the blocking of these scenes. kinda reminds me just how much a sweet spot between comics and theatre this medium is. It's just that slight bit more agency it gives its audience over pace and perspective. I love it. Very cool stuff.
The script was great. I wish they got INTO it a little more but not every story has to show so much of their characters so obviously. I like how we just got peeks into their lives outside of this camping trip. Maybe I just loved em so much I wanted more. Ah well. I guess I'll just go camping with my own loved ones. hell yeah.
I really loved the blocking of these scenes. kinda reminds me just how much a sweet spot between comics and theatre this medium is. It's just that slight bit more agency it gives its audience over pace and perspective. I love it. Very cool stuff.
The script was great. I wish they got INTO it a little more but not every story has to show so much of their characters so obviously. I like how we just got peeks into their lives outside of this camping trip. Maybe I just loved em so much I wanted more. Ah well. I guess I'll just go camping with my own loved ones. hell yeah.
A fascinating little story about love and spending time with another person. It makes a strong case for video games as the best medium for true storytelling. Wonderful and charming, definitely worth a play.
Reminded me most frequently of Before Midnight - my least favourite of Linklater’s Before movies, but nonetheless an impressive feat for a little text-based walking sim that I played on my telephone. Video games aren’t often able to invoke the feeling of serious/arthousey cinema (despite many of them desperately, desperately trying to), so it’s always nice when a lo-fi lo-budget experience somehow manages to draw that precise curve of style, substance and feeling that good film evokes. Almost singlehandedly redeems the Flat Design, California Camping and Twitter-Speaking game genre/aesthetic movements in a single hour. A truthful triumph of human relationships! Fingers crossed that we get a 7/14/21-year Big Jacket trilogy that tracks this cute little quad’s progress through life’s biggest trek.
very sweet story, charming characters and just the perfect length
short. cute. heartfelt. interesting. sweet. short. good. smart. short. good.
Wide Ocean Big Jacket é uma historinha curta recheada de personagens fascinantes, uma narrativa super agradável, ambientação relaxante, diálogos divertidos e intrigantes e um visual super bonitinho e estiloso.
Imagine que alguns anos atrás você fez uma viagem que durou um final de semana. Foi uma viagem super simples, sem grandes acontecimentos, mas foi super divertida, cheia de conversas e uma sensação de paz e tranquilidade inexplicável. A viagem foi tão curta né? Pois é... E é bem capaz que você nunca mais faça uma viagem como essa, ela vai existir somente como uma memória que aquece seu coração toda vez que você se lembra dela, aquele tipo de memória que você quer morar dentro para sempre. Infelizmente, isso é impossível. Mas tudo bem, outras viagens virão e novas memórias serão criadas. Afinal, é assim que a vida é.
Acho que isso resume bem como eu me sinto em relação a Wide Ocean Big Jacket.
Imagine que alguns anos atrás você fez uma viagem que durou um final de semana. Foi uma viagem super simples, sem grandes acontecimentos, mas foi super divertida, cheia de conversas e uma sensação de paz e tranquilidade inexplicável. A viagem foi tão curta né? Pois é... E é bem capaz que você nunca mais faça uma viagem como essa, ela vai existir somente como uma memória que aquece seu coração toda vez que você se lembra dela, aquele tipo de memória que você quer morar dentro para sempre. Infelizmente, isso é impossível. Mas tudo bem, outras viagens virão e novas memórias serão criadas. Afinal, é assim que a vida é.
Acho que isso resume bem como eu me sinto em relação a Wide Ocean Big Jacket.
aw! ...who did YOU give the stick to? 👀
very sweet. i had never gone camping before i played this! now that i have, i like it even more in retrospect.
A sweet, short game that sticks with you long after you finish. The game feels nostalgic and comforting, even as someone that hated camping as a kid.
Complete playthrough, plus bonus chapters. A short story following a group of two adults and two children on a camping trip, Wide Ocean Big Jacket certainly has a certain charm. Don't expect any big revelations or plot twists here, but for a relaxing experience over the course of an hour or so, there's some enjoyment to be had here. While the game uses a deliberately primitive polygonal graphical style, its strength comes in its writing, with dialog at times amusing and other times poignant. The game didn't hit for me as strongly as it seems to have done for many others, but I can see why it has its fans.
A very cute, very simple, short game about a witty kid who goes camping with her "boyfriend", her uncle and his wife. There are a few events of note and some minor drama but it's just a feel-good, kinda funny little short story type experience. The art is lovely and the music complements the game very well. I've finished the game so it's an hour long. Up to you what that hour is worth I suppose
the dialogue and dynamics between the characters are both witty and heartfelt; it left me with a pleasant and wistful yearning for a simple getaway with loved ones. short and sweet.
I vibed with its simple art design and wacky, laid back characters. Didn’t expect to play as each character, but it was a welcome change and kept things interesting. Never thought a partial walking simulator could be this fun.
nostalgia wrapped up into a low polly package
Wonderfully heartfelt little game about growing up and figuring out who you want to become, but also having grown up and asserting where you are. Sets out to tell a story about a thing, and then does exactly that in a very charming way
I dug this out of that colossal Itch bundle to tell you it's good. The Coming Of Age story is not often told in games. those few times it is, it's short, poignant, and very funny. To lost days and a potential future.