The right to arm bears.

Bears, a recent TikTok video suggested to me, are friend-coded.

Honestly, they look so cuddly.

A close-up image of a bear - or a person in a bear suit - descending on the camera, the viewer. It’s a luridly coloured image - toxic green frames the bear, which itself is a kind of pinky purple. It’s also somewhat pixelated. Dagger-sharp teeth are the focal point, as is a cross-shaped plaster stuck over the eye.

There’s guilt there, and tenderness.

Grizzly Man review

And when you meet them, what are you meant to do?

All questions to ponder while you work your way through Grizzly Man.

Cover image for YouTube video

This is not the documentary about the guy who went to live with bears.

It’s an interactive pulp fiction about a group of hikers who are menaced by a bear.

Not just any bear, the Grizzly Man - half bear, half…something else.

A woman in a bright outdoor coat with a backpack stands in front of the wilderness in Grizzly Man. Text reads: Abigail: A documentary filmmaker for TV.

For the last few years this tiny team has been turning out pulp interactive fictions at an astonishing pace.

But it’s never an empty tale of spooks and false shocks.

This latest game is a case in point.

Two students in camping gear smile in Grizzly Man. Text reads: Two students from BAU.

It’s an astonishingly beautiful piece of craft.

Ruppel’s art has so much range.

A cast who you’re fascinated by just as they start to individually run into trouble.

A shot of the wilderness with a threatening sky in Grizzly Man

A lead who is… well, best leave that for you.

Early threads that are left dangling and which tie up at the perfect moment.

Grizzly Man accessibility options

Players can change message speed and auto delay.

A woman’s staring eyes in close-up in Grizzly Man. Text reads: Is she feeling threatened?

Grizzly Man is a treat, anyway.

I can’t wait to see what comes next.

A copy of Grizzly Man was independently bought by the author.