By Calypso Morgan

Cold seasons are here, and it is time to get cosy under our blankets with a cup of hot chocolate and enjoy a nice game. I would like to present an adventure and management game named Bear and Breakfast (2022), developed by Gummy Cat. The pieces of the story can be considered minor spoilers, but I am not revealing the main and important information about the game.

I was attracted to Bear and Breakfast by watching the trailer: the monotonous voice of the bus driver presenting the place, with the irony of the words contradicting the images we see, finishing with the scary effects and a secret we glimpsed in the last seconds.  

In this 2D world, you play as Hank, a cute young bear who becomes the owner of a small inn. The objective is to bring back human clients. Each time you complete a main quest, you will unlock new regions and obtain more inns. With the money you collect from your clients, you can customise guest rooms, parlours, and entertainment spaces by buying furniture that can be personalised to the player’s liking and other customisation possibilities. You will also be able to dress up Hank to make the humans less afraid of you. At the same time, you will earn money, and your reputation will grow. You will receive new items and bonuses by completing quests and progressing through the main story.

You will quickly understand that humans used to live there but abandoned the places; only trash is left: a home for animals and a few humans. With the help of his friends and many unique characters, Hank attempts to solve the mysteries of his home. The game mixes the classical gameplay of a management game with elements of an enigma. With quirky humour in its narration, you will be confronted as a player with hints of moral dilemmas: is it a good idea to bring back humans? For our little bear, these dilemmas occupy his mind to the point of being seen as simple naivete. The game mechanics are simple: you need humans to progress. However, it raises the question of how often profit takes precedence over preserving the environment.

Bear and Breakfast is not only about becoming a tycoon of management but also about moving on from what could be interpreted as a traumatic event; in the story, it is revealed that fire was why humans left. All the characters you encounter are out of touch with reality or depressed, and only by completing their quests will you uncover more of their stories, always told through funny dialogues. Their character traits might seem purely negative and unlikable; for example, Gus the opossum considers himself a bad guy, but every time Hank compliments him, he vehemently denies it, which makes him more endearing.

Although this game came out in 2022, the developers still provide updates. On 27th June 2024, they released a statement about future updates: there will be new areas, new hotels, new furniture, and new characters. And they’re not stopping there. More story content will be added to what is already there. The developers took note of the criticism that the end of the game felt somewhat flat. Also, I would like to give a special thought to Loara, the art director, who is at this precise moment beating the ass of cancer.

So, give it a try by managing inns as the best kind of character: a cute bear. That is the reason why bears are better than men.

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