As anyone who has ever owned a rambunctious puppy or curious kitten may know, taking care of a pet can be a major handful. It takes quite a lot of time and effort to make sure that they're healthy and well attended to.
However, those who don't quite want to commit to such responsibilities may want to simulate pet ownership before giving it a go for real, and, though it's impossible to accurately replicate the accomplishments and consequences of owning a pet, these 10 pet sim video games do a commendable job of emulating the experience.
Little Friends: Dogs & Cats
The Nintendogs franchise may not have been iterated on since the early days of the Nintendo 3DS, but third-party developers like Imagineer have taken it upon themselves to produce an experience that evokes Nintendo's mid-to-late 2000s handheld pet-raising craze, modernizing it for the Nintendo Switch console.
From walking, bathing, and petting your animal friends to training them for competitions, 2019's Little Friends: Dogs & Cats is an awesome on-the-go pet sim for fans of Nintendo's aforementioned DS classic. Though the motion controls are a bit off, there's plenty of fun to be had.
Falcon Age
Though it certainly isn't a conventional pet simulation game, 2019's PSVR title Falcon Age is definitely deserving of a mention. An action/adventure title with an emphasis on combat and sci-fi elements, it's a bit of a hard sell for more casual players, but the dynamics it explores between player and pet make it worthwhile for just about anyone.
Tasked with ridding the land of a colonizing force, the player befriends a pet falcon with which they slowly bond as they make new friends, farm, and face fierce foes in this one-of-a-kind virtual reality title.
Megaquarium
Megaquarium is the perfect game for sealife enthusiasts who don't have enough room in their homes to install a 2000 gallon fish tank. It's a tycoon-style title with a major emphasis on management and upkeep, but there's special attention paid to the aquarium's sea life and the aspects that must be considered to maintain it.
Starting off with a small building and a few tanks and gradually working up to a massive complex teeming with biodiversity, Megaquarium is geared toward fish aficionados who can't get their fix with any other simulation game.
Creatures
Creatures is a weird mid-90s PC title that fit in well with all of the oddball software popular at the time. It's not a pet simulation game, per se, as puzzle-solving and exploration are its main focus, but those goals are accomplished by hatching and raising an alien creature known as a Norn.
Creatures can be frustrating at times, as the Norns won't often obey the commands given to them. However, it's a weirdly accurate representation of how it feels to train a disobedient puppy or deal with a meddlesome parakeet. It may not be a pet simulator in the truest sense, but it'll definitely put players in that same sort of mental space.
Seaman
One of the most notoriously weird simulation video games of all time, Seaman debuted in 1999 as a Dreamcast exclusive title that saw players hatching, raising, and communicating with their own fish/human hybrid creatures.
Though players are technically raising their own fish in Seaman, the experience is more akin to taking care of a picky child. As the creatures grow and mature, they'll actually talk to the player and can be conversed with via a microphone peripheral. They're also voiced by legendary Star Trek actor Leonard Nemoy, making the experience all the more surreal.
Tiny Bird Garden Deluxe
The past few years saw an increase in the popularity of slower-paced casual games aimed at those who aren't necessarily looking to endure a perilous adventure every time they turn on their consoles, and Tiny Bird Garden Deluxe certainly caters to that mindset.
Originally a mobile game, Tiny Bird Garden Deluxe allows players to watch, care for, and raise their very own digital bird pals. Featuring a heart-meltingly-adorable art style, realism may not be one of its main aims, but few games can claim to so accurately emulate the feeling of a relaxing afternoon spent birdwatching.
Zoo Tycoon
There's an almost uncountable number of tycoon games out there, but we've got to pay homage to Blue Fang's seminal 2001 simulation title Zoo Tycoon. Combining the management aspects of a game like RollerCoaster Tycoon and marrying it to the world of zoology, Zoo Tycoon is a must-play for animal lovers.
Much of the game focuses on keeping animals happy and contented, and, while it's not a traditional pet simulation game, balancing the needs and wants of dozens of different animals could certainly put future pet owners through their paces.
Sonic Adventure 2
This may seem like a particularly out-of-left-field entry, but those familiar with the Dreamcast title Sonic Adventure 2 will know that the game featured a surprisingly robust pet sim separate from the platforming action of the main game.
In Sonic Adventure 2, players could hatch and raise special creatures known as Chaos—pronounced as "chow"—which could be given special items found throughout the campaign levels that would increase their stats. Chaos would grow and evolve over time and could develop light and dark characteristics based on the resources given to them. They could also participate in races and fighting tournaments, and even attend a special Chao school.
Nintendogs
One of the most well-regarded Nintendo DS games ever to release and the de-facto pet simulation game for many, Nintendogs was a hallmark title in the dual-screen handhelds lineup that had players checking their systems every few hours to keep up with their virtual pets.
Something of an evolution of the Tamagachi formula, Nintendogs allowed players to adopt their very own furry friends and look after them, play with them, walk them, and train them to compete in specific events. To this day, it remains one of the most realistic pet simulation games out there, and it can easily be recommended to gamers looking to own their own virtual version of man's best friend.
The Sims 4 Cats & Dogs
No game in the The Sims franchise would be complete without an expansion featuring housepets, and Maxis and Electronic Arts delivered in spades with the 2017 add-on Cats & Dogs. Adding a whole host of furry friends to the mix and allowing players to customize them to the nth degree, Cats & Dogs was the ultimate experience in digital pet ownership.
In-game, pets could not be controlled directly, and players not only had to attend to the wants and needs of their own sims, but their pets, as well. It could be quite a handful at times, and it definitely replicated the feeling of maintaining a frantic pet household.