What would you like to eat?

Bear's Restaurant

Food for the soul



Bear's restaurant logo on a white background. The B in the word Bear has a chef hat on top. To left is a gray anthropomorphic cat with green eyes, wearing a waiter's vest. On the left is an anthropomorphic brown bear wearing a white chef's hat, a white double-breasted chef's jacket, and a blue neckerchief. He is holding a skillet and flipping an omelette

Developer: Odencat Inc
Publisher: Odencat Inc
Genres: JRPG

White, pixelated text on a black background. It reads: This game uses an auto-save system. Progress will be automatically saved.

I orginally found this during a steam sale. I, as usual, knew nothing about this game going into it, but I was enticed by the artwork. I'm a sucker for nice sprite art!

Bear's Restaurant is a gorgeous little pixel game from Japanese developer Odencat. In this story heavy little adventure, you play as Cat, a little gray cat working as wait staff in the eponymous Bear's quaint little cafe. While there is no written menu, it seems that no matter what it is that his patrons order, he is able to cook it.


A screenshot from the game. Rendered in a pixel art style, it is set inside a small restaurant with a gray stone tile floor, wood panels walls, and a small kitchen area with a gray brick counter and a wooden counter top. Behind the counter stands Bear, dressed in his blue neckerchief, white chef's jacket, and white chef's hat. Along the right wall is a wooden staircase. The front entrance is at the bottom of the screen. Directly above it are two wooden tables. The table on the left has a shadowed figure wearing a black top hat and a monocle. He has no distinct features. The table on the right has a pregnant woman in a light blue dress with white sleeves. Cat, stands beside the woman, taking her order while dressed in a white shirt, black waiters' vest and trousers, and a red necktie. Potted plants and barrels sit to the sides of the tables as decor. Overlaid on the screen is white pixelated text with a black border. It reads: So do you guys have a menu, or...?

This, however, is no ordinary eatery. People from all walks of life stop by here on the way to a more permanent location, having one last meal before they move to the great beyond. However, sometimes you need a little more information from your customers, and need to take a peek into their memories.


A screenshot from the game. There is a wide sidewalk with a wooden oden cart parked beside a street lamp, the light shining down on it. On the left of the cart is a red, Japanese style paper lantern. Sitting below the lantern is an orange tabby cat with a white belly, white on the bottom half of the face, and white legs. Standing in front of the cart with his back to the viewer is a man with in a white shirt that is partially untucked, blue trousers, and brown shoes. He has a red necktie tied around his head, and appears to be partially balding. Behind him and to his left is a slightly transparent Cat.

But who is this Bear, and who are you, for that matter?

We don't get much information about Cat to start with. It seems you've lost your memory!

Now, to be clear, this is not a management or tycoon game. It's really more of interactive fiction, with only slightly more interaction than the standard Visual Novel, presented in the form of a JRPG like sprite game, with some walking around and chatting with people, but for the most part the story is very linear. The narrative is very much the selling point here.

What a story it has, however! It simply oozes adorable charm from every pixel. As Cat you take peoples' orders, helping them figure out what meal they would like the most before their final trip. Its these little stories, these tiny glimpses of the lives of others that make up a lot of the gameplay. Not everything you learn is pleasant, but that's just how life goes.


A screenshot from the game, set again inside of Bear's restaurant. Bear stands behind the counter, while Cat standsin front of the counter facing him. more of the kitchen area can be seen, revealing a stove against the back wall, and a microwave to its right on the counter. A cutting board sits on the left counter. There are no customers, and there is white pixelated text with a black outline. It reads: Good work today.

I found this game to be very relaxing. It's a peaceful game, with no hard puzzles, no battles, and a simple, humble sprite art style. It also has a lovely, calm soundtrack with beautiful music by the game's composer, Xion. There's no such thing as difficulty, it is a very straightforward game that tends to railroad you, and there isn't much exploration, though there are a few optional things you can do to learn more about the faces you meet.


Screenshot of the game. A pixelated plaza just outside of Bear's Restaurant. The ground is a gray cobblestone. To the south is a wall with two pillars beside its entrance. Clouds can be seen at the entrance. to the left is a brown two-story house with a dark blue roof, and two windows on the second floor. To the right is Bear's Restaurant, a tan one story building with two windows for the attic. The restaurant has two large windows on either side of the entrance, with a red mailbox in front. Above the mailbox is a yellow hanging sign with Bear's face on it. In the center is a three tiered water fountain. Behind the fountain is a tan building with two large windows, a glass door in the center, and a teal awning. Bear and Cat stand beside the fountain, Bear facing the viewer, and Cat with her back to the viewer.

While short, clocking in at just under 4 hours for a full playthrough, Bear's restaurant is an amazingly charming and heartfelt game about love, life, and loss, with a deep and genuine story. I dare not say any more than that for fear of ruining the journey, but I promise it's one you won't regret taking.

I do, however, need to add a content warning. For all of its cute, happy demeanor and bright, beautiful colors, the story can get very melancholy, even downright depressing at a few points. It deals with some incredibly heavy topics surrounding death, including murder, suicide, and the guilt of those gone from this world. If these are things you are sensitve to, please take caution when deciding whether or not to play this game.



Official Website

Click here for the more in depth, spoiler filled review!

Review posted 2023/09/11

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