Bear and Breakfast Reviews
Bear and Breakfast is an in-depth management sim that is all too easy to enjoy for hours on end. There’s plenty of quirky humour alongside an unfolding story filled with mysterious undertones, gorgeous 2D graphics, and classic genre goodness.
There’s a lot to do in Bear and Breakfast, a lot of story to unspool, and a lot of different characters to meet. You’ll pick up tons of trash and serve food to the humans that threw that trash on the ground. You’ll put down carpets and hang photos on walls, install plumbing and hire someone to fuel your fires.
Bear and Breakfast's darker narrative themes don't complement its management sim elements but it still delivers a compellingly rhythmic gameplay loop.
A charming little management game with a lot of potential, but one that stifles the player's creativity and enthusiasm at nearly every turn.
Bear and Breakfast is a sweet and straightforward management sim that opts for a laidback approach rather than an intense experience.
Barring these minor user interface issues, Bear and Breakfast was a joy to play. It doesn’t do anything revolutionary for the genre, but it successfully carves out a niche by perfectly matching its tone, gameplay and narrative. Bear and Breakfast accomplishes exactly what it set out to do, it’s a charming little management sim that doesn’t take itself seriously. It might not be for everyone, but I think a lot of people will find joy in this wholesome project.
I really wanted to like Bear and Breakfast more than I did. It isn't a bad game, it's just lacking the polish that could make it exemplary. With some simple quality of life improvements like faster movement, and cooking and crafting from the box, we could have a much smoother game on our hands. As it stands, it's a little too jarring - much like waking up at one of the rooms I built for my visitors...
There is delightful presentation as you set up a dysfunctional B&B – but in a genre that usually keeps players busy, this requires real patience.
Besides, I have to figure you didn’t pick up something called Bear & Breakfast because you wanted it to bend your mind. This shouldn’t be as hard as running a galactic empire. You’re just a dumb, kindhearted bear. Prospective players probably want to know things like if the bear walks real cute. And he does! He really has a cute little walk. If you’re looking for a cozy little game to take you away from harsh reality, you could do worse than spending your time in these woods.
Despite this handful of shortcomings, Bear & Breakfast offers exactly the experience most players will be looking for with the title: the ability to play as a cute bear managing quaint bed and breakfast establishments in the woods. Players can continue to complete challenges for their resorts outside of direct story progression to earn rewards like clothes for Hank that add hours of additional gameplay to the title, and can spend as much time as they like making their resorts the perfect experience for guests. Bear & Breakfast is an incredibly cozy game that manages to capture the best strategic elements from the management simulation game genre while still staying true to its intended tone.
Bear and Breakfast stands out as one of my favorite games of the year. Its visual style is instantly appealing and its gameplay feels nearly flawless. It's a chill game that wants you to feel relaxed while micromanaging your own bed and breakfast locations. The game has a wonderful reward system and there's a ton of things to unlock to keep you playing for hours on end. The game on Nintendo Switch is extremely well done, despite a control scheme that requires a bit of practice to get used to. Bear and Breakfast feels right at home on the platform sitting next to the likes of Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley. Bear and Breakfast managed to be so wonderful that it jumped to the top of my game-of-the-year contender list. Do yourself a favor, go and buy this game. It's an absolutely wonderful title that must be played for a bear-y good time (I'm sorry, I couldn't resist).
While a cozy management game, Bear and Breakfast still needs to polish some of its "bare" necessities.
Bear and Breakfast offers up a delightful world, engaging strategy mechanics, and a heart-warming story. While it may not be an overly complex game compared to classic strategy titles in the genre, it's an incredibly relaxing and wholesome gameplay experience. If that's your jam, Bear and Breakfast shouldn't be missed.
Bear and Breakfast is the most fun I've had with a management sim in a long time. As I write this, I can't wait to finish up the checklist of tasks on my last hotel and round out my recipe list. It's a crafting experience with a lot of depth that never becomes too repetitive, and even when it gives you too much to do, it also encourages you to step back and take a breath.
The most glaring problem for Bear and Breakfast is that controlling the game is an immense chore on Switch, which means it ends up being a chore to help a bear complete his own chores. Opening up new areas and completing specific goals to move forward in the game is rewarding, but trying to navigate menus with the clumsy control scheme isn't worth getting out of bed for. Despite its flaws, Bear and Breakfast is no doubt a better game on PC, so play it there if you're smarter than the average bear.
In many ways, Bear and Breakfast reminded me that taking it slow in a game is absolutely fine and even encouraged for exploration and world building. Nonetheless, it has some limitations, including the lack of quality-of-life features, the absence of an item sale system, curtailed player choices, and the lack of DualSense features.
Bear and Breakfast is a cozy management simulator that has you playing as a cute bear running a B&B, but that’s about it. It seems almost like the developers learned nothing from the reception of the PC and Switch port of the game a year ago, which suffered from the same issues. I really wanted to like this game, given the delightful visuals and charming characters, but the lack of polish and unintuitive controls on the PlayStation 5 make it a hard game to recommend.
There's a massive gulf between finding a game's concept charming and actually wanted to play that game, and Bear and Breakfast never comes anywhere close to crossing that gaping chasm.
Bear and Breakfast is a fun and friendly management adventure where an affable bear becomes the leader of a tourist hostel franchise.
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