My Talking Tom

A successor to the original digital pocket pets of the ‘90s. It’s good, but is it purrfect?

hose digital pets (Tamagotchis, I believe they were called) were heckin’ nice, though I didn’t have money during those days to buy one. It was a very novel device, and probably the only electronic toy of that era that could fit into an actual pocket (Game Boys were ‘uge!).

Fast-forward to 2013, and a Slovenian studio called Outfit7 would design yet another digital pet game on mobile. Mind you, it was not the first virtual pet game on these platforms (and certainly wouldn’t be the last), but it definitely got some heavy attention from “Pou” fans and fans of the genre in general. 

For those who may not remember, Pou was a critically-acclaimed digital pet game released just a year before on BlackBerry, iOS, and Android, and it was so successful that several Pou clones spawned in its wake (such as “Mou” for Windows). My Talking Pet, however, was kind of its own thing, and while it might’ve undoubtedly borrowed some elements from previous pet games, it did set out its own franchise, with multiple sequels, spin-offs (such as My Talking Angela), and an animated series to boot.

My Talking Tom lets you manage an anthropomorphic furry called Tom (who would’ve guessed?) through a menu with various options to choose from, such as eat, sleep, or go “potty”. 

Yeah, it’s a cat, and you know what that means! Better get that virtual litterbox ready! Luckily, Tom’s “litterbox” (an actual toilet) doesn’t smell, and you won’t even need to cook anything.