Brave Bear is a
parser-based adventure by John Evans
that was entered into IFcomp 2021.
Brave Bear is a child’s toy with a solemn duty to keep its
owner safe. I liked the concept, I enjoyed playing with toys, and I liked the
goal of bringing friends together to protect someone that they cared about. I
just wish that some of the clues were easier to understand.
As a toy, the bear has a simple view of the world. As people
who quote Steve Jobs will tell you, “simple” is difficult to implement. Brave Bear’s narrative voice describes an
ordinary family home from a new perspective that felt unnecessarily limiting
and confusing in a few places.
Some of this entry’s other design choices were unexpected —
two toys have abilities that are hinted at but never used in the game, and a
few of the locations have exhaustive lists of exits that are never used. They
might have been red herrings, but that seems out of place in a story where the
puzzles are so simple.
The experience reminded me of Samurai Lapin, which was an
animated flash movie on the internet from (checks
notes) more than 20 years ago.
…now I just feel old.
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