Little Friends: Dogs & Cats Spoiled My Desire For A Virtual Pet

2023 Author: Sheila Hailey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-08-25 04:29

I would describe Little Friends: Dogs & Cats as a slimmed down version of Nintendogs. Because instead of taking over and expanding the things of the original, the developers did the opposite: Take things over from Nintendogs and cut their content. It starts with the graphics, which appear as if they had the status of the old DS games. Reminder: The first Nintendogs came out in 2005. There is also a lack of basic activities, such as washing your animals or collecting piles while going for a walk.

At least it should be said that the use of the Joy-Cons switch is a wonderful alternative to the stylus of the Nintendo DS, because it comes much closer to real caressing and you even get feedback in the form of vibrations when you are in a place, that your animal particularly likes.

Senseless robots with fur

However, you shouldn't expect your four-legged friends to have specific emotions during the stroking sessions. Rather, you can prepare yourself for the same empty look. Almost as if they were senseless robots with fur. Neither dogs nor cats react to each other at all - not to mention playing together. Surprising behavior is also non-existent here, because the four-legged friends just seem to move according to predefined patterns.

The game doesn't even give you a chance to blame your pet. This does not mean that I like to punish my animals, it rather shows that the animals in the game have no personality - keyword robot. I have never seen a situation in which my dog behaved differently than it should. Only when going for a walk will you be informed of the misconduct of your four-legged friend by an info box, which you simply nod at the push of a button. Where's the claim here? Where are you the increase?

Speaking of claim: The animals seem to have been well trained right from the start. When you throw the ball, your puppy will bring the ball back to you as if it had been programmed to do so. In principle, the game does all the work for you.

A lot of achievement, too little pet

Incidentally, you cannot actively teach tricks, but they are unlocked with increasing friendship levels. A kind of update on the robot software.

The whole game is basically based on the goal of working through a list of repetitive tasks such as "feed your pet 50 times" or "have 100 toys". In my opinion, this has nothing to do with a pet simulation anymore, but is more reminiscent of monotonous achievement unlocking.

More annoying achievements can be found here:

Start photo gallery (10 photos)

No heart - especially for cats

A big lie of Little Friends: Dogs & Cats is already hidden in the title itself, which suggests that dogs and cats are represented equally. Are you kidding me? Are you serious when you say that! Because house tigers are clearly underrepresented in the game. Starting with the smaller selection of breeds to missing activities and competitions. In addition, you only have dogs to choose from at the start of the game and you only unlock cats as the game progresses. And I have the general impression that the developers put a lot less work into the design of the cats. The three breeds to choose from look optically almost the same.

Last but not least, the fact that the game lacks heart is reflected in the fact that you are constantly doing the same and nothing unexpected happens. But it is precisely this unexpected that makes simulation so attractive - and how you ultimately react to it. Hard to believe that I would say that, but: I would be really happy if my virtual puppy pisses into the living room - then at least I would finally have something to do.