Indie Game Showcase: Nanomon Virtual Pet
As an idle game, Nanomon Virtual Pet is a worthy companion to whatever work you are doing on your computer.
I don't know if it's just me who's noticed this, or if it's just that Steam's Discovery Queue is kind of just the textbook definition of recency bias, but there is definitely a growing trend among games that try to gameify (gamify?) productivity task for those of us who do a lot of work on their computer. I bought a Lo-Fi little anime dude who sits in the corner of my screen and listens to music as it pumps ambient noises and music into my headphones and, ever since then, I've seen a bunch of these borderline background apps that just help you keep track of what you're doing while collecting experience for doing it. This gameplay loop is not dissimilar from Nanomon Virtual Pet, a new game published by Akupara Games coming later this month.
If you ever played with a Tamagotchi growing up, you basically have a complete understanding of the gameplay loop for Nanomon Virtual Pet. You hatch an egg with a little dude in it, feed it, clean up its poop, pet it, send it out on adventures, and it will grow and evolve. The whole game exists in a tiny box off to the side of your screen (or wherever you want to put it) so it will inherently not take up a ton of processing power.
If there is a problem to be had with this game, it is that the roguelike elements that go into the exploration are a little too active for what this game is. It actually occupies a very strange place where it is just active enough that it is distracting. Other games like this work because they don't require anything near your full attention. It's there, the dude is chilling, and when you look periodically, there may be something for you to interact with. Nanomon Virtual Pet has enough happening while your little guy is adventuring that you need to keep a small amount of your attention on it at all times. Sometimes he'll find something, sometimes you'll have to clear out some trash, sometimes he'll get into a fight, no matter what you need to acknowledge and begin these events to claim the benefit.
As a desktop Tamagotchi game for those who have not already selected an idle game like this as their weapon of choice, Nanomon Virtual Pet is definitely a worthwhile investment. The interactions are cute and the leveling system feels rewarding so this is a game that definitely will definitely engage people enough to make it fun.
A copy of this game was provided by Akupara Games for review purposes at no cost.
Nanomon Virtual Pet will be available for purchase on June 24th, 2025.
★★★★
Nanomon Virtual Pet
Developed by: Oscar Brittain
Release Date: June 24th, 2025
Platform: PC (Steam)
