Wide Ocean Big Jacket

LQ: 8.45

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Brain grade: 8.1
Fun score: 8.8

Game Type: ESRB Rating: Teen Platform/Console: , LWK Recommended Age: 13+ Thinking Skills Used: , Academic Skills Used:

Nintendo Switch Steam

 

Wide Ocean Big Jacket is a cozy story-based game about a girl and her boyfriend taking a camping trip with her Aunt and Uncle. In the game, the player plays all four characters and moves the plot forward by walking around and interacting with certain objects and other characters. The game unfolds the story of Mord and her boyfriend Ben, two middle schoolers who are just beginning their relationship together as well as the story of Cloanne and Brad, a couple navigating whether or not they will start a family of their own. The game takes place over one weekend and feels more like watching a short film or even hanging out with your own family on a camping trip. 

The player plays as each of the four main characters throughout the game. Walking around and exploring the space moves the game forward. You can talk with the other people at the camp site or interact with objects around you. When this is possible, text appears on the screen prompting you what to do next. The scenes between the characters are all dialogue-based so players will need to have a good grasp of their reading skills in order to successfully navigate this game.

Wide Ocean Big Jacket is rated T for Teen due to some themes of sexuality and alcohol and tobacco use. Learningworks for Kids believes that parents need to be aware of ratings and their meanings in order to make informed decisions for their family. To learn more about ESRB ratings and their meanings, please click here.


Wide Ocean, Big Jacket helps kids practice and improve the following skills:

Focus: Getting started and then maintaining attention and effort to tasks. 

Wide Ocean Big Jacket is not a very long game but most of it requires reading. The player can practice their focusing skills by walking through the game and paying attention to the plot and what is happening with the characters. There are other short instances in the game where focusing can help. For example, one of the characters has a pair of binoculars and uses them to go bird watching. The player can use the binoculars to look for birds and learn a little more about the character as she reacts to them. For players struggling with focusing, this game is perfect for practicing this without being too long. 

Self-Awareness: Understanding our own actions, thoughts and feelings.

The characters in Wide Ocean Big Jacket are just normal people with normal thoughts and feelings. This can help players who struggle with self-awareness because they are put into the place of four different people in the story and have to think about each individual’s feelings in a very small way. Paired with some discussion outside of the game, players can experience the story and think about how they would react in each situation. 

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