Wide Ocean, Big Jacket: Review

It is so rare these days that we find a game that is so shockingly different from everything else we have ever played. Wide Ocean, Big Jacket excels at that front with a one-and-a-half hour long narrative about a camping trip. Evil Monsters? No. Haunted Cabin? No, they aren't even in a cabin. This is one of those games that wrapped me in its story the whole time without even having a single enemy, and I loved it.

Gameplay
Wide Ocean Big Jacket is not heavy on the gameplay, but still remains to be entertaining for its short length. It is very much a walking simulator, as you will be walking and talking for the majority of the game, although there is a fun birdwatching section. Even the dialogue isn't much of a mechanic as basically the only thing you can actually do with it is choose what person to hear from or continue sentences(there isn't multiple choices). Even though there is a lot of simplicity to this, I still enjoyed hiking on trails, watching birds, and talking with people as the 20 chapters quickly went by.

Narrative
Wide Ocean Big Jacket follows two 13-year-olds, Mord and her boyfriend Ben as they go on a camping trip with Mord's Uncle Brad and Aunt Cloanne. It is a romance in a sense, and nothing drastically goes wrong throughout the whole story, but all the characters general happiness immersed me in this feel-good camping trip that made me want to go camping right after playing the game. The thing that I loved about this game's narrative is not so much the story itself but how human the dialogue feels, which is why it makes sense to me now how this game got an IGF nomination for narrative. The other 4 games nominated for narrative were great, but all had this sort of metallic dryness to their writing that I just could not find in Wide Ocean Big Jacket. Overall, this has some of the best writing I have ever seen in a game.

Graphics & Audio
This game has very similar graphics to the good gardener(it was made by the same person), but improves with its 3d models. Even though the graphics were very low-poly, they always had this certain look to them that perfectly vibed with the rest of the game's elements. They are simple, but they work very well with the game, and made me feel part of the world the game presents you with. The audio is also very nice, with a few chill tunes that perfectly matched and built on the game's already perfect atmosphere. Overall, both the game's graphics & audio matched the game's mechanics very well.

For Fans Of:
Wide Ocean, Big Jacket is a game I could basically share to anyone but I felt like this game would be enjoyable most to people who liked games like:
#1. Firewatch. If your interested in a walking sim with a linear narrative that grips you(although WOBJ does in a different way), Wide Ocean Big Jacket might be for you.
#2. Thirty Flights of Loving. If you are interested in a sort of split-up narrative like thirty flights of loving is, Wide Ocean Big Jacket should definitely be up your alley with 20 interesting chapters across a multitude of locations.
#3. A short hike. Sure, WOBJ doesn't have as many mechanics as a short hike does, but if your in for a heartwarming narrative with fun characters and nice hikes, WOBJ is right up your alley.

Verdict
"Wide Ocean, Big Jacket" is a delightful walking sim that I will definitely return to in the future to take in all of its chill vibes and wonderful hikes. Pare that with excellent dialogue, and you have a wonderful experience that almost anyone can enjoy over an afternoon. I give it a 9.5/10 as the game had almost no flaws and was an experience that had me grinning the whole time I played through it.