Official new Tamagotchi game brings back 90's nostalgia in AR

Gone are the three-buttoned plastic shells that once housed pixelized critters destined to annoy you and inevitably die. Now the virtual pets live inside your smartphone and are represented by fully fledged 3D models that look like something right out of an Animal Crossing game. The game's charming visual style is sure to appeal to the younger demographic and lends itself well to the premise of the game.

All basic mechanics from the classic Tamagotchi toy make a return – players have keep an eye on their virtual pets' needs and regularly feed, play with, and clean up after the critters. However, there are quite a few new additions as well. For starters, you are not limited to only a handful of screens like before, but instead all of your pets live in a place called "Tamatown", where you can interact with various different Tamagotchi characters and explore areas of the town in AR, Pokemon GO style.

Another key difference between My Tamagotchi Forever and the original is the fact that the mobile game is free to play and features in-app purchases. Not that anyone's surprised by this. You can earn coins and other valuables by paying, but if you don't like waiting for things things like your virtual pet getting some well-deserved shuteye, you can speed up the process (or skip it entirely) with real money.