Fatty Bear’s Birthday Surprise

A really retro oldscool game from 1993. The old music tunes and Point-to-Click way of gaming before. So nostalgic <3

It wasn't too hard, it took me about 15 hours for both my runs. The secret ending was pretty insane but I won't get into any spoilers. I def recommend, you did it again Scott!

I never grew up with this one, so I don't have any sugar coating nostalgia bias to give it. I think it is a bit clunky and slow but overall it still has that Humongous Entertainment charm to it, not a bad game by any stretch of the word. For other HE fans, I think they at least have to try it

While not Humongous Entertainment's first foray into the world of kid-friendly point and clicks (that honor instead goes to our favorite car Putt-Putt), 'Fatty Bear' is a unique entry in their library even if largely due to it being a one-off franchise outside of the title character's appearances in a few arcade/party game spin-offs. Perhaps indicative of this scenario, some have criticized it for being a lot more simplistic in design than subsequent HE games, and to be fair, it admittedly is in some ways. It doesn't have as much of a replay factor as other HE games, with a straight-forward objective and only about one or two major instances of HE's trademark alternate pathway style of gameplay where some items are ultimately found in different locations in subsequent playthroughs.

Still, for what its worth, there's something infectiously soothing about this game. It doesn't go to some of the entertainingly wacky lengths that other HE games have gone since then but it's still a charming little entry in the HE library with its relaxing night-time aesthetic and charming pixel art animations back before the studio fully transitioned into hand-drawn animation. Thus, as short as it may be, it's still worth checking out for those who either, like me, grew up with the HE library or those eager to experience the history of an indisputable childhood staple of the world of PC gaming up there with the likes of JumpStart and Reader Rabbit.

This is the second stop on my Nostalgia Tour...
This is the only proper Fatty Bear game in the Humongous Entertainment catalog, and I ended up missing it in my youth. Still, there was a nostalgia trip since it shares a lot of the same sounds and features that you can find in a number of their other titles. This game I'm sure would still be a big hit with kids to this day, and it is something that adults can still enjoy. It's got its own charm and silliness along with a few mini-games. There's even a functional piano. It is actually genuinely a cool little feature since you can essentially write some music with it, which is something really great to introduce to the target audience of this game. It's very creative and fun.
As much as this is a good little game, I can see why Fatty Bear didn't take off as much as the other mascots. Fatty Bear is a perfectly fine protagonist, but he's just not as iconic as the others. Still, I remember many easter eggs of him throughout the rest of H.E.'s games and now look forward to seeing how many I can spot on this return journey. Speaking of easter eggs, there is actually actually one in this game that directly teases the next main game, which Fatty Bear comments. That's neat!
...but also, his comments did make some interesting implications. Also, what is going on in this game, really? Ok, these are spoilers now, but...do the family know that Fatty Bear and company come to life at night? If not, how do they think all of these things are put together by the next morning? The dad didn't set up all of that stuff. How did he think it got there? Also, did he really put a dog in a wrapped box and just leave it in the kitchen? That doesn't seem right...Also, is that supposed to be the old school, original Pep? Is that why Fatty Bear says he's friends with Putt-Putt? Also, why is he named "Fatty Bear" anyways?...You know, these and other sorts of questions coupled with everything happening at night when everyone is asleep does leave a little bit of a curious, weird energy about the game. It's very quirky, and I found it all kind of funny probably not in the intended ways.
Ok, final thoughts...I think you should definitely buy the Humongous Entertainment Complete Pack, which this game is included in. I don't know that I would go out of my way to buy this game on its own, which is probably part of the reason I never had it as a kid. Still, it is a worthwhile little adventure that gave me a few laughs even if some of it was just at the absurdity of it all.
So, yes, I recommend picking this in the Humongous Entertainment Complete Pack and ideally on sale.

Although I think it is way too overpriced, it is still a charming little kids game.

This is a weird one.
Putt-Putt is a car in a world of cars. Freddi Fish is a talking fish beneath the sea, in a world also inhabited by Humans. However, Fatty Bear's Birthday Surprise contains children's toys coming to life, in what can only be described as an ordinary, modern setting. It directly shows Humans, which is unusual for Humongous games.
This is a surprisingly rude game too, compared to the then contemporary Putt-Putt games 'Putt-Putt Joins the Parade' and 'Putt-Putt Goes to the Moon'. I mean this in terms of the puzzles. For instance, to get to the basement you have to interact not once but twice with a chute in the bathroom. There are letters you need to collect, but they can be scattered in some pretty ridiculous spots, AND they can be located in places you've already looked, which I think is probably a no-no, since it makes it more confusing, especially considering the logic of their placement is just non-existent (they can be found inside a fish tank, or inside the fridge for example.)
The piano minigame stands out as a kind of surprisingly advanced thing, it's sort of like a very primitive Mario Paint where you can basically compose music for the game to play back to you. I think it would have been nice too if you could also maybe even learn to play piano, by it showing you what the notes for the keys are and such, but that might have been too much. It's cute enough that you can make the game play various little tunes and compose your own for it to play for you - though I pity any adult forced to endure some of the awful sounds this game can make, since you can set the piano to playback in a variety of very annoying sounds including a 'hammer drop' sound effect.
Also, Putt-Putt's dog Pep is inexplicably in this game? I mean, this dog also has a big spot on his back, so maybe that's meant to be the decisive difference between them, but I think if you're a child or just anyone sensible, you'll look at both of these pixelated brown dogs and say, hey, that's the same one. Maybe they had trouble coming up with a different design that looked friendly and cute, and just decided to reuse this one.
There's WAY more objectives than in any of the other games that I've played, but most of the things you need to look for in this game, you just find in the kitchen, you just open the cupboards and the fridge and you click on things. The location of the sugar seems like the one concession to making this a normal 90s point and click adventure game, because it's in a weird place unlike everything else which is kind of just right there where you need it. There's the letters too, in the sense that they really have no reason to be found where you find them.
I think this game is surprisingly ugly too? Both of the first Putt-Putt games look much nicer than this one. I think it might be because of the weird decor of the house, and the lack of variety there is sort of disappointing, and unpleasant.
This is not a terrible game, but it's on the lower end of things, so maybe go check out some of the Putt-Putt games or the Freddi Fish games instead. I still would recommend it, but only barely.