For those of you that are fans of Humongous Entertainment’s games, you would know that they have had plenty of different franchises that they had produced over the years that they were a thing. Of course, there is the Putt-Putt series that we have talked about on several occasions at this point, but they would also go on to create several other memorable, successful series, such as Freddi Fish, Pajama Sam, Spy Fox, and a bunch of other ones that nobody cares or remembers about. However, not all of their franchises, or mascots in this case, would go onto become big successes, and would instead be left in the dust while the others would gain time in the spotlight, most likely for the best. The mascot in question that I am referring to would be Fatty Bear, with him only getting one game before he would be forever relegated to obscurity, Fatty Bear’s Birthday Surprise.

Out of all the main point-n-click adventure games that Humongous has made, this is the one that people talk about the least out of all of them, and it is no secret as to why. Most of the other games had an interesting main character and setting to enjoy, but with this one, all we had was this stuffed animal bear, and the wonderful world that we got to explore was… a normal house. Fantastic. But, despite its generic setting and generic main character, I wouldn’t necessarily say that the game is bad. For yet another edutainment game from Humongous, it works well enough as is, and it would probably entertain young players enough when they play it, but compared to all of the other notable titles that the company would go on to make, it really doesn’t compare in terms of likability or originality.

The story is somewhat spelled out in the title, where this random girl named Kayla goes to sleep, looking forward to her birthday tomorrow, and after this, her stuffed animals come to life (no, none of this is explained, why do you ask?), including Fatty Bear, who sets out to make the best birthday that Kayla could ever ask for, which is a sweet enough premise, and is about as simple as Humongous games go. The graphics are about on the same level of quality as previous Humongous games, except this time there is additional nightmare fuel added to the mix, which is always great to see, the music is extremely basic for this kind of game, but for what it is all accompanying, the tracks fit, and they aren’t bad at all, the control is… well, you should already know at this point, and the gameplay is also mainly what you should already know at this point, which could be seen as good or bad depending on who you ask.

The game is a point ‘n click adventure game, where you take control of Fatty Bear, explore through the many different locations in Kayla’s house, click on everything you see to experience some of the WACKIEST things that this game can conjure to entertain you, as well as talking to plenty of colorful, definitely-not-terrifying faces along the way, gather plenty of items to help you complete certain objectives, and play through several minigames that are either essential to completing your goal of making the best birthday ever, or just for fun because why not? It has all the markings of what Humongous were best known for, and for those who are big fans of this style, then you would definitely get a kick out of this, and it is fun enough to where younger players would have a great time with it. However, it doesn’t really have anything that makes it stand out compared to their other titles, and it just comes off as completely generic and forgettable at the end of the day.

In terms of the setting and characters that this game revolves around, the set that we got here are pretty uninteresting compared to many of the others that we have gotten over the years. With the other games we have gotten from the company, we had a society full of sentient cars before Pixar would go and steal that concept, a society full of energetic sea life before Pixar would go and steal that concept, a boy with an extremely active imagination that would take him to plenty of different fantastical environments, and a fox who was a spy! All of these ideas are exciting enough, and they definitely appeal to a younger audience, but with this game, it is just about a bunch of toys and stuffed animals coming to life and trying to do something good for their owner… before Pixar would go and steal that concept (I’m starting to notice a pattern here).

I wouldn’t say it is a bad and boring premise as a whole, but compared to everything else we got, it is all pretty barebones and lacking creativity, especially when it comes to the environment you travel through. Not to mention, I’m not sure if anyone else feels this way, but a lot of what goes on in this game feels… creepy. Just looking at a lot of the ways these characters move around, what they do, and also the way they talk just looks extremely off, and when you have me saying that about this and not about the game featuring living cars, that says a lot. Even Fatty Bear, who by himself doesn’t look that creepy, has a very uncomfortable voice to listen to. Again, not sure if it is just me though, so just give it a listen and then you can tell me how I am wrong.

Overall, despite the boring premise and setting, along with the extra touch of nightmare fuel every now and then, the game is still completely fine on its own, and it does fit the bill for what Humongous Entertainment were known best for at the end of the day, so it works as a whole. I would recommend it for those who were fans of Humongous’s other games that they made, as well as for those who have younger kids, because these are some of the best games you could introduce to them, and Fatty Bear is no different. It’s just too bad that there would never be anymore Fatty Bear games that would ever be made again after this, except for some activity packs or whatever, but really, who cares about that.

Game #471

Pry this game out of my cold dead hands. I still want to eat the cake I made with Fatty. Whenever I need to traverse my home in the middle of the night and get spooked, I still think of Fatty Bear and feel better. This dang bear was the impetus for my desire to ride a laundry chute, a thing I never even knew existed before this game. I dunno dudes, between this and Corduroy, I have an incredibly soft spot for brown bears in overalls with poc families because no kids in media resembled me so I was just drawn to ALL poc characters and I liked to imagine that my bears loved me just as much, yada yada yada, you know the sob story. Game good.

The second Humongous Game. Still kind of barebones. Hate this fucking bear and his friends.

Also coming to a realization that all those clickable wacky stuff is scaring me as an adult, that shit is FUCKED up, none of that shit should be doing that. Look at this fucking cabbage , why are the eye choices so scary.