Yeah, Neko Atsume is great but.. doesn't it get boring after a while?
Don't get me wrong, cat collecting is great fun, but there are only so many cats. After you've seen them all and been honored with every Memento, there's not much left to do in Neko Atsume. So why not try something new?
There are a ton of cute animal games on Google Play and iTunes, more than ever now that Neko Atsume's risen to the top of the cat game charts. If you've been at it for a while, there's no reason not to give one of these other adorable games a try. You may just like them, especially if you have a weakness for collecting adorable animals.
Boku to Wanko
What if you took Neko Atsume, but instead of cats you collected dogs?
That's pretty much the premise of Boku to Wanko: It's Neko Atsume with dogs. Lots and lots of absolutely adorable dogs, and they don't take all that much time to befriend.
In some ways Boku to Wanko can be considered a bit of a knock-off -- after all, it's not all that unique -- but it's really the only animal collecting game for dog lovers. It's not perfect, but it gets the job done.
Things work a little differently in this game. The dogs don't have names --instead they are breeds. Sometimes cats come by and steal their food, and each breed has a set timer for how long they have to stay at your house before they give you a gift.
It's too cute to ignore, and if you like dogs this game is probably your best bet.
Boku to Wanko is currently available in English on Google Play but its Japanese-only on iTunes. Check out my easy guide for signing up for a Japanese iTunes account if you're interested.
Nekonoke
I tried to promote this game in my cute Japanese Android game roundup last year, and I'm at it again: You should probably play Nekonoke if you like cute cats in your video games.
Unlike the other games on this list, Nekonoke is more a tapper game than an idle game, asking you to keep tabs on it often to rake in money. And how do you make money, you ask? By tapping hairballs off your cats, of course!
Nekonoke's charm lies not only in the adorable kitties, but also in the too-cute music and slow but real sense of progression. It takes a while to really progress because cats and furniture, not to mention their upgrades, get expensive fast. But that's part of the fun that keeps you coming back.
Nekonoke is available on both Google Play and iTunes in English.
Hamster Collection
Japanese kids really like hamsters, so you see a ton of cute Japanese games about hamsters, but not all that many in English. Well, except Hamster Collection.
Whether you like hamsters or not, it's hard to deny the cuteness overload this game throws in your face.
Hamster Collection is pretty close to Neko Atsume in terms of gameplay, but requires a bit more effort on your part. Not enough to be an inconvenience, but enough to keep you engaged.
This is a definite contender for anyone who wants a game similar to Neko Atsume, but with a bit more to it. And who doesn't like to pick up virtual hamsters and pet them? Monsters, that's who.
Hamster Collection is available in English on both Google Play and iTunes.
Boku to Nyanko
Does the name sound similar? The image above eerily similar to a slide just a few clicks behind this one? I would think so, considering Boku to Nyanko is basically Boku to Wanko but with cats -- which is pretty much just a Neko Atsume clone. But there's no denying any of these games are cute.
Boku to Nyanko works almost identically to Boku to Wanko, in that more than one of a breed can be at your home at a time and the game requires a little more time than Neko Atsume to keep track of.
This one's perfect if you love Neko Atsume but are just done with it and want more to do. If you've gotten all your Mementos and are itching for a new cat collecting game, this is your best English bet.
Boku to Nyanko is only available on Google Play.
Kleptocats
Now, I never wanted my virtual cats to turn to a life of crime and I certainly never wanted to run a cat crime ring, but that's where I am.
Kleptocats has you send out your horde of cats to steal and bring back the riches they've stolen. A few days in and you start to feel like a hoarder, a few months and you may be a hardened criminal.
Kleptocats is cuter than cute and has a ton of items for you to send your cats out to bring home. Sometimes you play minigames, sometimes you pet them...it's all in good fun, right?
This game doesn't take a ton of time each day to play and I can't deny that dressing my cats up is pretty fun. It definitely needs more minigames to pass the time while you wait for your kitties to bring home the bacon, but as it stands there's plenty to gawk at if you want a different type of cat collector game.
Kleptocats is available on both Google Play and iTunes.
Published: Mar 23, 2016 06:28 pm