Wide Ocean Big Jacket review - a brief but moving game about getting away from it all Eurogamer.net If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. Wide Ocean Big Jacket review - a brief but moving game about getting away from it all In tents. Review by Robert Purchese Senior Staff Writer Updated on 7 Feb 2020 8 comments A gently interactive experience that will put a smile on your face. It's a bit strange playing a game about the charms of going camping. On the one hand you're being shown how lovely it is out in nature, and how, without all those distractions, you can have better chats with people. On the other hand, Wide Ocean Big Jacket is a distraction, a video game, and they're normally played on your own inside. Wide Ocean Big Jacket review Developer: Turnfollow Publisher: Tender Claw Platform: Played on PC Availability: Out now on Switch (£6.29), Itch ($8) and Steam (£5.79) Then again, Wide Ocean Big Jacket is a strange game. It's a gentle game, and a gently lovely one too. You don't do much besides take control of a small handful of characters and talk, and it doesn't last very long, but even in the brisk 80 minutes it takes to complete it moved me. It took me a while to relax into it, but maybe that's a bit like going on a camping trip anyway. To begin with, I wanted to get it all over and done with. I didn't want to talk to Mord or Ben, the tween couple, or Brad and Cloanne, the adult couple - Mord's aunt and uncle. But by the end I did. Nothing's forced. Wide Ocean Big Jacket sinks in. Yes, it's a game about talking, but the kind of interactions you have are delivered one short - often amusing - sentence at a time. It's got an off-kilter sense of humour. Mord seems to be the catalyst for most of it, a weird kid who doesn't shut up, but she's brilliant because of it, and soon establishes herself as the star of the show. It's nice, it makes me smile. That's Mord sat on the car. She's great. Then, later, out of nowhere: It's that kind of thing. That Sex conversation goes on for a while, by the way, with Cloanne tying herself in knots. It's funny and relatable, particularly if you're a parental figure who's been questioned in the same way. But it's not just funny. There's an honesty to it. These are the questions of a 13-year-old girl and Cloanne, as much as she falters, ends up handing out some profound advice. And they both end up leaving the campfire to go to bed having learnt a bit more. And that's what I think Wide Ocean Big Jacket is about: people getting to know a bit more. It might be about themselves or their relationships, or about another person, but they all leave knowing a bit more. And maybe you will too. Become a Eurogamer subscriber and get your first month for £1 Get your first month for £1 (normally £3.99) when you buy a Standard Eurogamer subscription. Enjoy ad-free browsing, merch discounts, our monthly letter from the editor, and show your support with a supporter-exclusive comment flair! Support us View supporter archive More Reviews Digital Foundry Das Keyboard MacTigr review: a brilliant typing experience A lesser spotted mechanical keyboard for Mac. 11 Recommended Prodeus review – a fearsome hybrid of old and new FPS ideas Time to kill. 96 Digital Foundry Intel Arc A770 and A750 review: welcome player three Aggressive price/performance, new features. 54 Review Dome Keeper review - not quite digging it Miner annoyances. 5 Latest Articles Preview Football Manager's new Console edition is the best you'll get without a PC Getting Touch-right. Splatoon 3 Amiibos will be out next month Ink-coming! 3 Fans think Phil Spencer's shelf is teasing the Xbox Game Pass streaming box UPDATE: Xbox confirms old Keystone prototype. 59 Modder dives into Demon's Souls files following PS5 jailbreak, discovers fabled Ring of the Chieftain Who knows what's nexus? 4 Supporters Only Premium only Off Topic: Take a minute to appreciate Cookin' with Coolio's incredible scallops recipe. What a great book. Premium only Off Topic: Reading City of Glass in comic form "Where exactly am I going?" Premium only Off Topic: Il Buco is a transporting film about a really big hole Underlands. Off-Topic Netflix handled Sandman brilliantly It was Dreamy. 9 Buy things with globes on them And other lovely Eurogamer merch in our official store! Explore our store