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NAUGHTY BEAR
review | PLAYSTATION 3
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Publisher: 505 Games.
Developer: Artificial Mind & Movement. Released: June 2010. Genre: Action/Adventure. Other versions: X360; PC. Posted 22nd September 2026. By Shane Battams © 2026 |
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If nothing else, Naughty Bear can at least hold the honour of proving distinctive during its seventh-gen release compared to the market at the time. The chance to play as a demented teddy who tortures his fellow stuffed bears certainly doesn’t come around often, and indeed Artificial Mind & Movement sought to create something inspired by Saturday morning cartoons, only with a dark twist. After you peer beneath the surface, and the crazy premise becomes familiar to you, it’s the game underneath that must win you over. Unfortunately, Naughty’s adventure suffers from a large number of issues that see a novel concept descending into something of a nightmare.
Naughty Bear follows the titular stuffed animal as he lives on Perfection Island. While the other bears are readying for a birthday party, Naughty tries to make an effort, despite not receiving an invite due to his pariah status. When rejected and mocked further, this causes him to snap, and begin terrorising the other bears with psychological torture and brutal violence. Even when the stakes begin to rise and others come to the island to help, it’s not enough to stave off his desire for revenge. It’s a satirical take on those children’s shows you remember from the 80s, replete with a British narrator who sets up each scenario with appropriate gusto. However, though the stakes rise with each episode, it’s not quite deep enough to sustain interest throughout.
Naughty Bear mixes combat and stealth as well as a range of cultural inspirations, including the undead
Thus follows a semi-open experience with a mix of stealth mechanics and plentiful violence. Each episode sees you moving between areas, with the next locked behind score requirements. Points can be earned through a myriad of actions: arming traps, destroying objects, or scaring other bears. A main target is introduced before each and their death is a requirement to exit the level in the final zone. How you reach that point is open, as you can opt to approach areas in a number of ways. Sabotaging equipment gives you an opportunity to stealthily take out bears, scare tactics can drive rivals insane, and a final scare can cause them to take their own life. Actions completed in quick succession builds a combo, and thus, you earn more points for your actions – you can even freeze the meter by picking up ice balls. It’s an interesting setup, indeed.
Unfortunately, Naughty Bear is an awkward and janky game to play, often making simple actions tough to pull off. The camera can become stuck behind objects, and follows Naughty too closely to be of much use with so many moving parts. AI proves inconsistent, sometimes detecting you out of nowhere, or failing to notice you stealthily kill a bear nearby. Sneaking is cumbersome as you’re forced to lightly push the movement stick forward, meaning it’s easier to just abandon sneaking altogether. Combat is clunky and suffers from awkward collision detection, which can see swipes rush right past your target, an issue that’s magnified during crowded encounters. There are some unfortunate bugs, as interacting with objects in a certain position causes you to become frozen to the spot, killing a good run dead in its tracks. Playing Naughty Bear just isn’t much fun.
Unfortunately, Naughty Bear is an awkward and janky game to play, often making simple actions tough to pull off. The camera can become stuck behind objects, and follows Naughty too closely to be of much use with so many moving parts. AI proves inconsistent, sometimes detecting you out of nowhere, or failing to notice you stealthily kill a bear nearby. Sneaking is cumbersome as you’re forced to lightly push the movement stick forward, meaning it’s easier to just abandon sneaking altogether. Combat is clunky and suffers from awkward collision detection, which can see swipes rush right past your target, an issue that’s magnified during crowded encounters. There are some unfortunate bugs, as interacting with objects in a certain position causes you to become frozen to the spot, killing a good run dead in its tracks. Playing Naughty Bear just isn’t much fun.
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There’s also a strong sense of déjà vu to the exploration, due to a limited number of areas. There are three main settings, plus Naughty’s hut, which typically serves as your starting point. The disco zone, Cake Factory and woods area each have some distinctive features such as sabotageable turntable, but when they’re spread across seven scenarios, repetition creeps in. The objectives also fail to add much spice to proceedings. Outside of missions, each area features four extra challenges that utilise the same level space. Insanity challenges force you to drive each bear crazy, Speed tasks you to progress under a timer and Top Hat sees bears armed with better gear and tougher score barriers. Much like the main missions, these grow stale quickly, and are rather old hat.
Naughty Bear’s presentation is also rather underwhelming. The cutesy, cartoon-inspired style certainly fits and makes for a shocking juxtaposition with all the violent kills, such as ramming a bear into a turned-on barbecue grill. But a generally plain colour palette, lack of diverse environments that feel quite sparse and basic animations hurt the look. It’s also quite technically uneven, with frame rate drops which range from minor to severe depending on how crowded the stages are or during frequent split-screens. Later levels can get very choppy in particular. The audio side doesn’t fare much better, with rote, lacklustre music, weak sound effects that make bat strikes sound like a whoopee cushion, and mostly uneventful voicework outside of the narrator.
Naughty Bear’s presentation is also rather underwhelming. The cutesy, cartoon-inspired style certainly fits and makes for a shocking juxtaposition with all the violent kills, such as ramming a bear into a turned-on barbecue grill. But a generally plain colour palette, lack of diverse environments that feel quite sparse and basic animations hurt the look. It’s also quite technically uneven, with frame rate drops which range from minor to severe depending on how crowded the stages are or during frequent split-screens. Later levels can get very choppy in particular. The audio side doesn’t fare much better, with rote, lacklustre music, weak sound effects that make bat strikes sound like a whoopee cushion, and mostly uneventful voicework outside of the narrator.
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Sometimes, Naughty Bear realises its potential and comes together. There’s satisfaction to chaining a set of kills through clever trap placement, chaotic assaults, or making use of environmental sabotage to lure unsuspecting bears. Earning medals unlocks a slew of costumes and starting weapons for Naughty to use, some of which allow him to blend in without arousing suspicion, allowing you to plan your method further. Attaining the coveted Gold and Platinum medals is challenging, but a lengthy effort for those inclined. There’s also multiplayer, allowing you to use costumes and badges unlocked during the solo campaign for perks. There’s defence with Assault mode, Cake Walk and Golden Oozy see you vying for these special objects and Jelly Wars sees three players defend against one Naughty bear. They’re serviceable, for the most part.
Ultimately, Naughty Bear proves a poor time due to a number of flaws. Though its concept is novel and the gameplay could’ve made for some quirky sandbox fun, its promise is buried beneath a range of technical woes, clunky gameplay, and a ton of repetition. While there is some anarchic fun to glean from the game, especially using costumes unlocked throughout, the journey there will likely tire most players. Unless you’re an aficionado for murdering stuffed teddy bears, you can pass on this.
Ultimately, Naughty Bear proves a poor time due to a number of flaws. Though its concept is novel and the gameplay could’ve made for some quirky sandbox fun, its promise is buried beneath a range of technical woes, clunky gameplay, and a ton of repetition. While there is some anarchic fun to glean from the game, especially using costumes unlocked throughout, the journey there will likely tire most players. Unless you’re an aficionado for murdering stuffed teddy bears, you can pass on this.
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VERDICT
"While the concept is novel and the gameplay could’ve made for some quirky sandbox fun, Naughty Bear’s promise is buried beneath a range of technical woes, clunky gameplay, and a ton of repetition." OVERALL: 4/10 |
OTHER GAMES THAT FEATURE A TEDDY BEAR REVIEWED
Shadow Man (2000, Dreamcast)
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Muppet RaceMania (2000, PlayStation)
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