I determine with Hank, the ursine protagonist of Bear and Breakfast. Not simply because I’m additionally massive, bushy, and keen on lengthy naps, however as a result of my winding journey by life had me renovating and operating a small B&B out within the hinterlands for a couple of years. It is exhausting work, but it surely’s satisfying when a visitor has nothing however reward. I admit although, having Hank’s charming buddies and neighbors would have improved issues enormously.
Bear and Breakfast is the primary sport from Romanian indie outfit Gummy Cat, and a powerful first displaying if my first 10 hours of play are something to go by. Doing what it says on the tin, it is a sport a few cute, vaguely Yogi-esque bear managing a quickly increasing mattress and breakfast enterprise, revitalizing an deserted vacationer city within the course of.
The bear necessities
On a purely mechanical stage, Bear and Breakfast is a comparatively easy development and administration sport. Controlling Hank straight (besides when within the constructing interface), you wander round city, reclaiming a wide range of deserted properties—beginning with a easy visitor shack, escalating to an elaborately heated ski resort in a while. You then clear them up and renovate them. As soon as prepped, the buildings are good to portion into rooms, which you enhance and prepare to rake within the cash out of your hopefully completely happy houseguests.
It isn’t particularly advanced or concerned, with every room having stats for utility and aesthetics that you could enhance by simply including extra stuff to it. Whereas this implies it is fairly straightforward to hit goal numbers to please friends, there’s loads of wiggle-room in the way you prepare and enhance, leaving area for expressive design. Nonetheless, The Sims this ain’t—which is particularly clear within the lack of interplay with friends. You by no means straight have interaction with them, and the one suggestions is little thought bubbles over their heads when one thing is lower than passable.
The underwhelming friends are compensated for considerably by the remainder of the forged. A bizarre and endearing bunch of speaking animals and some native people, most are standoffish and snarky at first, however by the wonders of capitalist success and gift-giving they open up, revealing extra of the sport’s surprisingly convoluted story. Impress them sufficient they usually’ll supply to be just right for you, automating a number of the busywork, for a worth.
A bear of a job
And there shall be busywork. Apart from the primary couple days the place you are left ready on friends to herald cash for necessities, there all the time looks like there’s an excessive amount of to be achieved. Steering Hank round with the keyboard, gathering crafting supplies from piles of rubbish, cooking meals, restocking buffets, fueling the warmers within the colder buildings, and assigning potential friends to rooms—it is lots, and might really feel overwhelming at instances. Hiring further workers is virtually obligatory if you wish to make progress.
Making progress all the time feels worthwhile, although. Bear and Breakfast is a comparatively easy however partaking sport buoyed by huge quantities of attraction. The environments are lush hand-drawn areas, every area of the (surprisingly expansive) map dwarfing the little islands of enterprise area you are managing. It feels such as you’re constructing one thing inside the wilderness, moderately than doing the standard videogame factor of bulldozing nature flat.
Progress can be rewarded by dialogue, and loads of it. Bear and Breakfast opens with Hank hanging out along with his mum and two finest buddies, Anni the bear-dog (opens in new tab) and Will the hen. Earlier than lengthy you may be palling round with a rubbish connoisseur raccoon, an alligator swamp-witch, the native Rat Mafia, and a hell-raising possum who takes compliments like private insults. You may additionally get to talk with people, however most of them solely hear unintelligible bear noises from Hank. Fortunately Sabine, the native park ranger, is aware of find out how to communicate Ursine.
Whereas I want there was extra interplay with Hank’s friends early on, the dialogue virtually all the time hits the mark. Hank’s an excellent kind, well-meaning and gently self-deprecating. Most of the of us you may meet shall be sassy at first earlier than softening and assembly Hank’s tempo, however there’s nonetheless loads of gags and goofs sprinkled in there.
The one character I’ve a problem with is totally meant to be abrasive: Fin, an inflatable shark mascot by which the nefarious Pawn Voyage company (virtually definitely riffing on the more and more infamous Airbnb) assigns you new development missions, in-between which Fin belittles Hank’s lack of capitalist grindset.
I am a bit of over 10 hours into Bear and Breakfast to date, which buddies have instructed me is round a 3rd of the best way into the sport. Most of my time enjoying has concerned gathering, increasing into new properties and constructing rooms, with solely hints at a bigger, extra concerned story being dropped. I am curious to see how dramatic Hank’s journey within the hospitality enterprise turns into, however whether or not I see the tip hinges on simply how way more it will let me automate over the remaining 20 or so hours.