Bear and Breakfast is a management sim video game that follows the story of Hank, a bear who opens a bed and breakfast. The game was developed by the Romanian studio Gummy Cat and published by Armor Games. Bear and Breakfast was released on July 28, 2022, for Microsoft Windows and later on September 15, for the Nintendo Switch. Bear and Breakfast is a unique mix of classic management games with narrative passages and branching dialogues. The game promises an exciting adventure with challenges and opportunities to grow your business.

It Really is a Bear and Breakfast Story

Bear and Breakfast puts you in control of Hank, a bear who lives with his mama beer, and some of his friends in the woods. The surrounding wilderness in Bear and Breakfast seems to have been ravaged by a series of catastrophic events, causing most humans to flee the area, leaving a pile of dirt behind. Funny enough, Took, the trash-loving raccoon, certainly sees the potential in these piles of junk, considering them valuable and ripe for the taking. The abandoned buildings also offer opportunities for Hank to restore and repurpose them for his bed and breakfast business.

He must repair and manage the bed and breakfast to serve his customers. The main objective of the game is to ensure that guests are satisfied by constructing and decorating different rooms and facilities. As you progress through the game, more wealthy and picky customers will demand more substantial and better-designed rooms. 

It’s Very Easy to Fall in Love with the Characters

I love playing games that feature characters I could easily relate to, and Bear and Breakfast are one of those games. Hank, the protagonist in Bear and Breakfast, is a delight to watch and control. His charmingly simple design, combined with his dry sense of humor, makes him an adorable character that anyone will love. To add to Hank’s delightful personality, the game features other lovable characters, including Hank’s companions and the acquaintances he meets along the way. From Took, the trash-loving raccoon, to Ipswitch, the existential turkey, each character has a unique personality and adds to the game’s overall charm. 

The Tasks and Mini Tasks are Fun and Engaging

In Bear and Breakfast, the game’s progression is tied to completing quests and advancing the main story. Accomplishing these tasks will unlock around a dozen areas within the game, each with unique challenges and opportunities. The game’s resource management system allows players to gather, use, and distribute resources like wood, stone, and metal to build and decorate rooms and facilities. Crafting is another critical aspect of the game, allowing players to create items and tools that will aid them in running the bed and breakfast. The card-based cooking minigame is a fun and engaging way to prepare meals for guests and earn additional income. These features add depth and variety to the gameplay, ensuring players are always engaged and challenged.

The Gameplay Digs Deep Into Managerial and Technical Stuff

The gameplay of Bear & Breakfast primarily focuses on accomplishing story quests and missions, gathering materials by foraging, improving infrastructure and facilities to entice new visitors, and embellishing your multiple B&Bs to cater to the demands of your clientele. As you progress through the game, you can recruit personnel and prepare the highly anticipated breakfasts – although, it’s worth noting that this feature becomes available much later in the game, despite the word ‘breakfast’ being prominently displayed in the title. That’s no problem though, as you’ll be too occupied fixing the rooms, you wouldn’t think much about the breakfast aspect.

The Guests will Determine the Room and Furniture Designs

At the beginning of each level, you are presented with a vacant area that can be transformed into various rooms and adorned with furniture using the outdoor workbench. The placement of each element is regulated by a grid system, which adds to the challenge as you progress and endeavors to fit all the necessary rooms into the available space. Assigning guests to specific rooms is done through the reception desk, and each guest has their own set of preferences and needs. As you advance through the levels, guests become increasingly fastidious, and, generally speaking, the more finicky the guest, the higher their willingness to pay for an impeccable room.

Players are Gradually Introduced to the Game’s Complexity

Gummy Cat prioritized creating an easy-going environment for players to enjoy while interacting with Hank. The game has you gradually progressing towards more intricate gameplay mechanics that you will start noticing later in the game. This approach makes Bed and Breakfast different from the typically frantic and high-pressure management simulation games in the genre. Although it occasionally struggles with maintaining a consistent pace, I find its relaxed and laid-back progression quite appealing. However tough the later parts of the game may seem, you won’t have to worry, as the game provides unlimited resources to help you complete each time. Though there is nighttime when Hank is meant to rest, you can simply snooze time and have Hank work overnight.

There’s a Touch of Spooky Hidden in this Otherwise Adorable Game

Despite its straightforward concept and laid-back mechanics, Bear & Breakfast boasts an unexpectedly deep narrative that builds up to some rather dark themes. As your entrepreneurial ventures take you deeper into the woods, you will stumble upon bits of intel that point to a mysterious plot lurking within. This feature highlights the adventurous part of Bread and Breakfast. After all, what’s the woods without some adventure? Too bad, many of these eerie storylines are left unaddressed and unresolved, leaving me eager for further exploration in upcoming developments.

Conclusion

Bread and Breakfast is a welcome relief from the continuous shooter and action-adventure games I’ve been playing recently. The game’s design makes you feel like you’ve been transported into the cartoon network world, with all the adorable characters and their humorous personality. The game’s attention to detail in character design and development ensures that players will be fully immersed in the world of Bear and Breakfast. If you’re looking for an exciting but easygoing management sim game, check out Bread and Breakfast.