Bear With Me (PC) Review

Overview 

“Of all the laptops, in all the world – This game had to wind up on mine.”- Miss Lou-Lou, in her best Humphrey Bogart voice. (Yes, you’ve probably guessed already. I suck at impressions)

Bear With Me is a cute and clever, little episodic animated horror game – brought to us by Exordium Games. It’s story revolves around, a 10 year old girl named Amber and her ‘retired’ stuffed bear, aptly named – Ted E Bear. Retired from what you ask? Why! Private investigating of course! Ted is a world weary bear, who is addicted to carrot juice and ‘definitely’ retired from being a PI – No matter how hard Amber begs him to “come out of retirement for one last case”. Deep down though, he remains Amber’s sweet and loving companion, who would do anything to protect her.

The game is set in the dark (and classically noir) world of ‘Paper City’. With all the intrigue and drama you would expect, from any of the many ‘1940’s PI dramas’ you could think of. Amber’s parent’s and brother (Flint) are missing. While Paper city is placed in lock down. You see, Paper City is being slowly burned to the ground. By a mysterious arsonist, referenced only as ‘The Red Man.’ along with Amber and Ted, we meet some of the other residents of Paper City. Not the least of which, Millie. Amber’s oldest friend.

It’s Amber and Ted’s job to find out what is going on. Where are Amber’s family? Who is The Red Man? Will they make it into (and out of) Paper City safely?

Gameplay

You control both Amber and Ted, here. In classic point and click style, you explore Amber’s home in the dead of night, during a noisy thunderstorm. There is no menu onscreen, it’s just a case of moving the cursor around, until something catches your attention. Click it, and see what Amber or Ted choose to tell you about it. It’s really that simple. There will be surprises, though. So, be on your guard.

You have an inventory and within that, it is possible to combine items in interest ways to complete objectives. You will end up clicking every damn thing, MILLIONS of times. Just in an effort to figure out, what you are meant to be doing. If you ever played Indiana Jones or any of the Monkey Island games, you’ll know the frustration. I spent an hour on one of the ‘puzzles’ in this game, only to discover that the solution was … RIGHT THERE! Ha-ha! A lot of this game is like that, so click EVERYWHERE.

Within the games dialog, there are question and answer choices. Honestly, most of them seem similar or jokey. So, I’m unsure what difference it actually makes. Maybe we will see more importance placed on that, in later episodes. I hope so, developers! Final thoughts on game play? Fun, challenging BUT wildly frustrating. A hint system is definitely needed for future chapters!

Concept and Design

I must confess right here, that I am a huge nerd for the 40’s. In particular the ‘Old Time’ radio serials and dramas of the time. As you can imagine, this game made me grin from ear to ear. I love the nod to said old time elements and ideas. Ted reminded me of both Orson Welles in ‘The Third Man’ and Johnny Dollar’s titular character in ‘Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar.’ if you aren’t aware of these, pop onto tunein radio and check out the ‘Nostalgia’ or ‘Old Time Radio’ genres. Life altering, I promise you people!

Anyway, I love the black and white animation style of the game. It happily plays homage to a time gone by, while indulging in some fun forth wall breaks, using colour perfectly and packing in some modern references, that everyone can chuckle at. It seems to me, the developers knew their target audience probably wouldn’t have seen many 40’s movies really. So, why not have fun with it?

Negatives.

Limited replayability – one or two plays and you are done.

No hint system – Some of the puzzles left me stumped. A little hint goes a LONG way.

Episodic – Nobody likes having to wait to play a darn game!

In Conclusion

Deliciously dark and playful nod, to 40’s detective novels and movies. Challenging enough to keep you busy for a few hours. The darker elements in the game, will keep you on the edge of your seat. Cheap and cheerful plushy themed fun! Recommended.