Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing have been the source of inspiration for many video games, especially for indie developers. Though Stardew Valley started as a copycat of the old Harvest Moon games, now rebranded as Story of Seasons, titles that were birthed from the same idea exist all over, such as the upcoming Coral Island and Ova Magica, two adorable farming sims. But simply the idea of relaxing gameplay with minimal combat and stress has spawned a number of creations too, such as Amber Isle, or an MMORPG coming from former Blizzard and Riot devs titled Palia.
Another game that fans of relaxing simulators should have on their radars is Bear and Breakfast, a play on bed and breakfast inns, which is basically all players need to know to get started, but there's a lot more to it. It's been promoted by the indie community Wholesome Games, and it isn't one that fans of those kinds of games will want to sleep on.
What Is Bear and Breakfast?
As the name might suggest, Bear and Breakfast is a simulator about a bear running a bed and breakfast inn. It's a relaxing simulator that, unlike Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing: New Horizons, is actually a shop management game, but it also has building and customization elements as well. The story-rich game will be part social simulation, part management, and part sandbox, meaning it'll likely be perfect for fans of Stardew and Animal Crossing.
Like Stardew Valley's monsters, Bear and Breakfast actually does include some foes, according to the game's Steam description. Its trailer suggests that some less-friendly animals are hiding deep in the woods as well as some mysteries that will blossom as the bear's business and inn expand. However, other animals are just looking for a friend, guidance, or perhaps even have some advice to offer that can help the bear run its B&B, which is probably good considering the bear is just a teenager. Others can sell things like furnishings and clothing items to the bear.
The inn in Bear and Breakfast starts out as just a shack in the woods, but can later expand to include "dozens of guest rooms, bathrooms, parlors, and entertainment." Furnishings include beds, rugs, shelves, fridges, stoves, tables, outhouses, and cozy tabletop items like coffee, vases, and books, though players will start off by looting junk and food from the surrounding forest. Afterward, players will be able to build items and furniture with crafting recipes, while blueprints will let players section off rooms to the shapes and sizes they desire, allowing full creative freedom to design and manage the bed and breakfast.
Judging by the demo, its lighthearted and humorous dialogue has brought players a lot of joy and interest to the game. Bear and Breakfast was previously delayed, which is quite common for indie games. However, it will release in the first half of 2022, according to the development team on Twitter. Unfortunately, the demo was only briefly available during a couple of events, but hopefully, it won't be too long before gamers can check out the full version of Bear and Breakfast.
Bear and Breakfast releases on PC in the first half of 2022.