Get it? Because actually it should be bed and… oh, you get it. Anyways, this game caught my attention with its catchy name, its beautiful graphics and its very positive reviews on Steam. It could be an awesome building simulation / strategy game. But what do I think after playing it?

One thing I can say right from the start: the game looks really cute. I would describe the graphics as cartoon-like, even if they look different than e.g. Broken Sword 5. It is more detailed and a bit darker in many places, but it still radiates something cute and cozy overall – especially due to the gait of the main character .

The characters can be recognized very well, especially in the dialogue scenes, and the designers have done a great job there as well. You can see immediately what kind of personality you are dealing with – some rather devious, some helpful, and above all the bear: a bit simple-minded, but lovable. However, there is no person (or better: no creature) in this game that you don’t somehow like. They all have their charm.

But now the question arises: how does a goofy bear come to open a bed and breakfast? This is explained a little (and yes, only a little) by the story. We are supposed to go into the dark forest for our mother to find alligator weed. This is to be used for grave maintenance in our garden. Joining us are our two best friends, a fearless cat and a sarcastic bird. When we discover a hole in a fence, we naturally go through it – contrary to the promise we gave to our mother.

Of course, this is where all the problems and the main mechanics of the game begin. We have to build B&Bs of increasing complexity in different regions to be unlocked one after the other. While a room and a bed are enough in the first area, at some point it has to be a bathroom, kitchen, bar and other luxury elements that we unlock over time.

The game always follows the same scheme: clear out the existing buildings, build a reception and rooms with certain facilities and allow guests. Earn money for more upgrades or buildings, and do side missions for more rewards.

All in all, a well-rounded economic simulation – one might think. Unfortunately, certain weaknesses revealed themselves to me while playing.

For example, clearing out and assembling the buildings quickly became quite monotonous – it was just always the same. Due to the excessive amount of loot, which also respawned at an insane speed, it was never a challenge to find the necessary materials for structures and upgrades – in fact, you always picked them up on the way to the destination. As a result, the initial construction of a building was just an eternity of clicking through the same dialogs over and over again.

Setting up the rooms and the additional facilities could probably be fun for many of you, it’s not quite my thing; so I didn’t find that part that exciting. What is remarkable, however, is that this is not important at all. Even if everyone leaves the hotel with absolute dissatisfaction, it didn’t seem to have any effect. I still had enough money and more and more guests came. Since you only had to pass a certain number of guests to progress in the story, but there were no requirements for their satisfaction, it made it quite easy for me.

However, these are discoveries that I was able to make from wanting to play through the game; someone who actually enjoys the economic simulation and wants to achieve the highest possible ratings can still enjoy this game. I just think it’s a shame that there doesn’t seem to be any incentive other than personal pride.

Playing through is a good keyword at this point: do we find the alligator weed that is so urgently needed in the end? The honest answer is: I don’t know. I unlocked all areas and did all main missions, but the issue was never brought up again. I don’t know if this will never be resolved or if I just didn’t find the trigger, but at one point it was just over for me. There were no more dialogue options, you could just keep running and expanding your B&Bs. I found that to be strange.

So, what is my conclusion about this game? Overall it’s a mixed bag for me personally. The game went very well for me, there were no bugs, the community is very active and the developers are very responsive to feedback. I had a lot of fun playing the quests at first; If I were a fan of economic simulations, I probably would have enjoyed them too. There were a few choices here and there that I don’t fully understand, but nothing that would stop me from recommending it. Therefore: try it out if you are into building and economic simulation. If not, then probably not.

How did you like the game? Did you like watching it? Played it yourself? Let me know and discuss it with me on Discord!