Platform(s): PC (version reviewed)
Genre: Action, FPS, Bullet-Hell FPS

This year really is the year of AAA games. It’s only March and we’ve seen huge releases. This brings us to this odd first-person shooter with bullet hell elements: Bears in Space may not be AAA, but I’ll tell you why you should spend your time and money on it.

If you are a fan of games that are wacky and don’t make sense, this one’s for you. Developed by Broadside Games, an Indie group based in Queensland, Australia, Bears in Space is exactly what it says it is.

Bears in Space is an extremely, and when I mean extremely, I mean extreeeemely fast-paced first-person shooter. If you want a more specific way to describe it, it’s a very retro-futuristic bullet-hell FPS in which certainly makes you feel like you are on some kind of high. The game brings you on a big adventure through multiple levels and locations. Depending on the difficulty you choose, the campaign can be a bit long. It took me roughly 10 hours to finish it all. It honestly depends on individual skill and if you care about finding out all the teensy secrets around + the many many side objectives! When I first hopped in a game, the art style kind of reminded me of old Nickelodeon days, which was nice. Already a plus for me! I grew up with Nickelodeon so the nostalgic feel was pretty nice.

DIPPING INTO THE HONEY POT

Let’s talk about the narrative. Your name is Maxwell Adams and you’re finally one mission away from retirement. While serving aboard a prison transport ship, and transporting a prisoner called Beartana (which happens to be a Bear, what a surprise!), the Bearmada Alliance intercepts and leaves you no choice but to jump into hyperspace. During the jump, you somehow merge with Beartana, making you some kind of humanoid bear. This is where your journey really starts. There isn’t really all that much of a narrative, but it definitely is an… interesting adventure. You now find yourself in a whole new universe full of killer robots, and yes they all want you dead. It’s a whole new robot empire you’ll have to fight through to get back home to Earth, which sounds simple enough, except of course you love taking the scenic route. You’ll meet some very colourful characters who will help you along your way.

When you first start, it’s funny how the game pits bears and humans against each other, but later in the game, the bears honestly become the least of your worries as you come up against different kinds of robots. What I love about the game is how you get to watch the friendship between Max and Beartana grow. Beartana has this “I don’t give a f” attitude which I swear makes you make the WORST decisions possible. Now if it isn’t obvious, Bears in Space is a spoofy comedic game. I’ll admit the humour might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I certainly giggled and chuckled my way through the game. I’d definitely suggest playing it in small bites, as the game practically vomits out jokes at you, and honestly, as funny as it is, it can get very tiring really quick.

ELEVATING GAMEPLAY

Each level throughout the game is very different and unique in its own way, which keeps the game fresh and honestly, kind of guessing wtf is happening next. I’ve never been great at platformers so I definitely struggled through the 3D platform parts. But it’s not just all that, don’t worry. The level designs are truly unique bringing new biomes each time and honestly what makes the game so darn good. You can tell the levels were definitely well thought of, and just how much effort was. For example, I had one level where I was somehow accidentally recruited into a basketcube (a cube shaped basketball) team. Have you ever shot a cube shaped basketball into a hoop? That requires some serious skill. You even get to put your skills to the test in a tournament. Which is wicked! At some point, you’ll even get to be in a carnival. I won’t spoil much, and I’ll leave it to your imagination as to what other interesting things you will encounter on different levels.

Other than the campaign, you’ll find a bunch of secret missions, and stumble across different story arcs. If you are inexperienced, fear not. A Handy Platform Helper mode will guide you though. Once you complete a level, you’re allowed to jump into a checkpoint on that level and search for the little tidbits you missed on your first playthrough. The controls are honestly simple enough, but there is a pretty thorough tutorial that will guide you through everything at the start. Both keyboard and mouse and controller is supported (Yay!). 

BEARING ARMS

Let’s talk combat! Throughout your journey, you’ll have options of multiple guns that you can pick up or purchase. The more you use the weapon, the more experience the gun gains, levelling it up and also making it more powerful. Spend your hard-earned monies right at the Spend-O Vender where you can also upgrade your weapons. All of the guns are unique, having alternate firing modes, some of them are blasters, well, think Borderlands! My personal favourite is a basketball you can throw at enemies! You don’t just have guns to use, Beartania comes to the rescue! You’ll get to fight bots with her big paws. Feed her honey and watch her go on a rampage! However, you can’t just access her bear mode whenever you want, which make sense, since you could use her to cheese your way through. 

It isn’t just the weapons that are unique, the enemy bots itself are pretty darn special. There are different types of robots, some of them melee, some of them got crazy machine guns, but none of them are the same. They’ve all got different emotions, and you can certainly see that in the game. They’ve all got their own war cries when they come running at you, and it’s adorable and frightening at the same time.

Visually, the game is cartoon-y, and like I mentioned before, super “Nickelodeon”-y; full of bright pastels and saturation on the high with weird shapes for everyday items and beings. It’s a lot to gather and process on your screen since it is a bullet-hell FPS. My only gripe about the gameplay is that I happened to get motion sickness with just how fast it all goes. This can be solved easily with just mini bites of playtime. The designs of the robots are not your standard robot but again, are all uniquely made, differing in the way they look when entering a whole new biome. It isn’t demanding graphics-wise, which is surprising considering the amount of stuff that covers your screen. The game performance really runs well. Boss fights are filled with a killer soundtrack that pumps you up for them. I have nothing to complain audio-wise, I felt that the game did a splendid job with it.

All in all, Bears in Space is honestly an amazing game just to kick up and shoot the crap out of things, while also being entertained with its brand of humour. Think High On Life but actually solid in the gameplay department and arguably more funny! Frustrated and stressed at something? This is the perfect game for you! If shooting a ton of robots doesn’t give you a kick of serotonin, the comedy will definitely make you feel better. There’s a lot of replayability which is great considering the price tag it’s been set at, though it may be a tad high. Still, it’s a flaw that we can bear.

PROS

• Comedic & funny.
• Tons of replayability.
• Very fast-paced.
• Visually pleasing.

CONS

• Fast & screen-filled enough to give you motion sickness, even for FPS veterans.
• Price is a teensy bit too high for what’s on tap.

FINAL SCORE : 80/100

Review copy provided by publisher.