Peridot is an AR game from Niantic Labs where you can grow, play and breed tiny dots to your heart’s content.
Pokémon Go’s creator, Niantic Labs, just released their newest excuse to get people outside with their Tamagotchi-esq game Peridot. Peridot launched on May 9 and is an AR (augmented reality) game centred on dots, little dog-like creatures that look straight out of a kid’s drawing. The game is now available worldwide for both Android and iOS devices.
Dots are colourful little creatures, each seemingly unique, with a random combination of seven physical characteristics. They can have different combinations of horns, feathers, strange nubs, and other features. Players are part of the Keeper Society, a secret society created to take care of the dots.
Dots are easy to care for; just make sure you feed them and play with them, or they’ll get sad. In that way, Dots are more like Webkinz; leave them alone for 15 years, and they’ll just get depressed. Unlike the classic Tamagotchi, these things don’t die, so there’s no chance of accidentally introducing your seven-year-old to the concept of death by playing.
Dots also have desires that may lead you to take a walk somewhere in the real world. If you fulfil their desires and needs, they’ll grow. Like Pokémon, they go through three stages but don’t change much.
Once you’ve got a fully grown dot, Peridot becomes a breeding and collection game. The next step for players is to collect and raise a bunch of different, unique dots. The same social app created by Nianatic for Pokémon Go, Campfire, is how you connect with other players to breed your dots.
Outside of caring for and breeding, your dots can interact with the surrounding environment. Dots can forage for different snacks depending on the ground’s surface; sniff flowers and other dots if you come across them.
Like most games, there are in-app purchases, but they aren’t necessary for game progression. Players can purchase extra food and toys; there’s even an in-game store connected to Amazon to purchase Peridot shirts.
Launching perfectly in sync with summer, Peridot has everything needed to sweep the world off its feet, mirroring the sensation Pokémon Go created during its few months of meteoric impact. Are you ready to jump in and play?
