Bear With Me: The Lost Robots Review: Missed It

Bear With Me: The Lost Robots follows the point and click adventure of Theodore Edward Bear as he navigates his way through the same mysteriously dark noir-aesthetic from the previous Bear With Me titles. This downloadable content is a prequel to the “Bear With Me” series and fleshes out the story of Theodore Edward Bear and his sidekick, Flint.

Still Bearable

Unlike the previous “Bear With Me” titles, The Lost Robots follows Amber’s brother, Flint, instead of her. Theodore Edward Bear, also known as Ted E. Bear for short, is having a rough time recovering from a gunshot wound to the head from a former lover. Unfortunately, Bear With Me: Lost Robots doesn’t feel like it has the same vibe as the other Bear With Me titles. It’s as if the game was stitched together, pun intended, without the surreality or complexity that made the other games feel strangely unique. The game doesn’t start explaining context until later through story elements. That may be too late for some who were expecting to fall in love with the charm of the original titles, as they will only be disappointed by the confusing opening sequence of the game. Fortunately, this mysterious and gritty title retained its “Bear With Me” trademark humor. It’s bearable, after all.

Story Rating: 5/10

Unappealing New Bear-riables

The puzzles in the original “Bear With Me” titles were a bit challenging. Unfortunately, that same challenge didn’t come over to Lost Robots. The gameplay is a little more straightforward and streamlined compared to the other titles which might be upsetting news for those hoping for the same level of challenge as the other games. It’s almost as if the puzzles were merely meant to fill in the game so The Lost Robots wouldn’t just be watching masterfully-written dialogue with less-than-stellar voice acting. The inventory system of using items could use an overhaul if the developers are thinking of creating another “Bear With Me” title, as trying to combine items through different inventories just to interact with the world killed the gameplay a bit.

Gameplay Rating: 4/10

Equally Beautiful

Bear With Me: The Lost Robots retains its hand-drawn aesthetic with gorgeous animations on its black-and-white noir background. The sound also helps bring out the small, but noticeable, animation quirks that the “Bear With Me” series is known for. The music matches the scenery well and really helps immerse players into the game from alluring piano background sounds to charming but groovy jazz music. There isn’t anything radically different graphics-wise from the previous titles but, if anything, the graphics make the game worth picking up.

Graphics Rating: 10/10

Final Thoughts

Besides the minor inconvenience of some gameplay mechanics, Bear With Me: The Lost Robots is worth picking up if you happen to see it on sale during one of Steam’s many sales during the year. The graphics, music, and dialogue-writing are worth exploring the game for regardless of how easy the puzzles are.

Overall Rating: 6/10

Then, what about the other titles in the Bear With Me series? Surely you’d be wondering if it’s worth to get them? Here’s what we have to say in our Bear With Me: The Complete Collection review!