Bear's Restaurant
- October 6, 2021
- Odencat
- 2h median play time
Get on Steam
Get on Apple Store"Bear's Restaurant" is a narrative-driven indie game where players help a bear run his restaurant. Interact with a variety of animal customers, take their orders, and serve them dishes to build relationships and uncover the story. The game features a unique art style, atmospheric music, and multiple endings based on player choices.
iPad
iPhone
Mac OS
Nintendo Switch
PC
Phone
Steam Deck
Windows
Android
Linux
Mobile Platform
Tablet
Reviews
- The game features a touching and heartfelt story that explores themes of life, death, and emotional connections, often leaving players in tears.
- The pixel art and music create a charming atmosphere that enhances the overall experience, making it visually and audibly appealing.
- Despite its short length, the game offers a rich narrative experience that resonates deeply with players, making it a memorable journey.
- The game is quite short, which some players feel does not justify its price, leading to mixed feelings about its value.
- Character development is often shallow, with many characters relying on stereotypes, which can detract from the emotional impact of their stories.
- The gameplay is minimal, primarily consisting of walking and interacting with objects, which may not appeal to those looking for more engaging mechanics.
- story105 mentions
- 45 % positive mentions
- 52 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The story of "Bear's Restaurant" is a deeply emotional narrative that explores themes of life, death, loss, and acceptance through the lens of serving souls their last meals in the afterlife. While the gameplay is minimal and primarily revolves around interactive storytelling, the game is praised for its touching and heartfelt writing, with many players finding it both uplifting and gut-wrenching. Despite its short length, the story is rich and impactful, making it a must-play for fans of narrative-driven games.
“While Bear's Restaurant does have a whole lot of gameplay, it brilliantly tells a story about life and death, loss and acceptance, and even touches on moral dilemmas; these concepts are explored from several different angles.”
“Bear's Restaurant is a touching story about life, death, friends, and family.”
“It's an outstanding achievement to have this much emotion packed into a story that lasts less than 5 hours.”
“This game started out really interesting, but the writing and execution quickly devolved into surface-level emotion tugging, rushed, nonsensical plot developments with a lack of character/relationship building, and, for want of a better description, felt like grief porn.”
“While I understand the game didn't have much time to let its characters make an impact through deep storytelling, the characterization was so shallow that it really dragged my opinion of the game down.”
“The person who made this watches too much anime and they didn't even do anything with the tropes aside from make some gory three-second clips and a predictable overarching story.”
- emotional62 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is overwhelmingly positive, with players describing it as a touching and heartfelt experience that often brings them to tears. The rich storytelling, combined with a beautiful soundtrack, creates a powerful narrative about love, loss, and life choices that resonates deeply with players. Many recommend it for those seeking a short yet impactful emotional journey, highlighting its ability to evoke strong feelings and connections to personal experiences.
“The story told is very touching, happy and sad at the same time.”
“Bear's Restaurant is a touching story about life, death, friends, and family.”
“It's just such a beautifully written story; it doesn't hold its emotional punches, but it still lets you breathe and smile.”
- music19 mentions
- 68 % positive mentions
- 32 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its ability to enhance the atmosphere, with many reviewers noting its emotional depth and fitting melodies that complement the storytelling. The soundtrack, described as both heartbreaking and nostalgic, effectively captures the game's themes and adds to the overall experience, making it memorable and impactful. While some players preferred their own music, the original score is recognized as a significant element that enriches the gameplay.
“Aside from the writing, the music and pixel art are quite professional and really bring out the atmosphere of the game!”
“The soundtrack is both heartbreaking and comfy.”
“I personally like the soundtrack a lot as it captures a lot of the themes of nostalgia/memories via a music box and a lullaby-like melody throughout its tracks.”
- gameplay13 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 54 % neutral mentions
- 23 % negative mentions
The gameplay in "Bear's Restaurant" is minimal and primarily involves walking and interacting with objects, serving as a vehicle for its rich narrative about life, death, and moral dilemmas. While some players appreciate the calming experience and emotional depth of the story, many note that the gameplay mechanics are simplistic and not the main focus of the game. Overall, it is a story-driven experience rather than a gameplay-centric one.
“While Bear's Restaurant does have a whole lot of gameplay, it brilliantly tells a story about life and death, loss and acceptance, and even touches on moral dilemmas; and these concepts are explored from several different angles.”
“Calming experience with a lovely story, around 2 hours of gameplay with all achievements.”
“The gameplay is click here to continue; the plot is... well, it's being piecemeal fed to me, so I expect it should serve to eventually justify itself, but I really just am not the target audience.”
“It does dive a bit deeper than I thought story-wise, but there's not much gameplay besides walking from one point to the other.”
“This is one of those story-driven indie games where the gameplay consists mostly of moving around and finding objects to interact with to continue the plot.”
- graphics11 mentions
- 36 % positive mentions
- 36 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
The game's graphics are characterized by a charming and cute retro pixel art style that enhances the cozy atmosphere, drawing comparisons to titles like "A Space for the Unbound" and "To the Moon." While the visuals are appealing, the game addresses heavy themes that may be distressing to some players, contrasting the lighthearted art with a deeply emotional narrative. Overall, the graphics contribute significantly to the game's engaging storytelling experience.
“The pixel graphics are gorgeous and I enjoyed the story.”
“Great graphics and music with a wonderful story that will stay in my heart for a long time.”
“I had to put the game down at one point; I was so grossed out, despite the art style in use here.”
“Come for the cute art style; stay for the soul-crushingly heartfelt story.”
“The pixel art style is very charming.”
- atmosphere4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its professional music and charming pixel-art, which together create a cozy and engaging environment. While some users note occasional clunkiness, the overall ambiance is considered strong and effective in enhancing the gaming experience.
“Aside from the writing, the music and pixel art are also quite professional and really bring out the atmosphere of the game!”
“There are a lot of good ideas here and an overall great atmosphere, even if it feels clunky from time to time.”
“The music is good and really fits with the atmosphere the game is trying to convey, and the pixel art is charming as well.”
- character development1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Reviewers praise the character development for its outstanding design, particularly highlighting the beauty of the pixel art, which effectively enhances the overall aesthetic despite its limited format.
“The pixel art is beautiful, and the character design is outstanding in its limited form.”
- humor1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is described as a mix of dark and light elements, with some moments, particularly related to character fates, being shockingly sad while others, like Dave's animated demise, veer into the realm of the absurdly funny.
“While most of the fates and deaths are sad and shocking, Dave's is animated in a way that's borderline funny.”
“The humor in this game is cleverly woven into the storyline, making even the darkest moments feel lighthearted.”
“I found myself laughing out loud at the witty dialogue and absurd situations the characters found themselves in.”
