The Tamagotchi Paradise is a surprisingly simple virtual pet device, buoyed by novel new ideas and a sense of simplicity that keeps its pet-rearing gameplay streamlined and cosy. While it learns lessons from the Tamagotchi Uni, it strips back the added features, allowing for gameplay that’s more akin to the original generation of Tamagotchis.
For the nostalgic, there will be a welcomeness in this simplicity. Being able to sit idly back and provide care for your Tamagotchi while not worrying about things like online connection, downloads, decorations, or room decor is its own joy.
Here, you’re presented with a stripped back experience that involves feeding, bathing, cleaning, and curing your Tamagotchi only. There are layers over the top of this, but the Tamagotchi Paradise largely focusses on these core elements, introducing a low-maintenance companion to vibe with.
The core twists of the Tamagotchi Paradise arrive as you develop your pet-rearing skills, over a longer period of time. In this particular setup, you’re actually the ruler of a Tamagotchi planet, watching your virtual pets benevolently.
You raise each pet to the adult stage, and then you may pair it off to create a new egg (if you have a second Paradise to connect with) or wait until it lives out its lifespan, so you can make a new egg by other means. As you grow each Tamagotchi, you’ll gain levels for your planet, eventually unlocking new features.
The Tamagotchi Paradise features level-gating
The pacing requires patience, and is relatively slow. When you begin your adventure as a new Tamagotchi rearer, most of the added features will be locked behind level gating – such as the ability to visit Tama Fields in the Sky, Land, or Water biomes. (Notably, these are tied to the colour of devices, with each different colour allowing you to begin in a new field.)
For those keen to play with the Tamagotchi Paradise for nostalgia reasons, the level-gating may be frustrating, as progress requires investment, and is only really aided by having that second device to advance your Tamagotchi, and potentially pair it off.
A secondary feature is Space Travel, which is unlocked by careful raising of Tamagotchis and specifically, the collection of their poop. There are great rewards for completing tasks like filling the biofuel tank, but again, they are slowly earned over time. This Tamagotchi feels a bit more gamified that way, as you’re encouraged to spend time unlocking each feature and completing hidden missions to make the most of your time.
In lieu of those locked features, the Tamagotchi Paradise also encourages onward progress in other ways. As with most iterations, it has a slate of bright, fun mini-games which can be played to earn Gotchi Points. In the device’s shop, you can also purchase toy items which can be placed on your home field, inspiring your Tamagotchis to jump in and interact in delightful little animations.
The other key draw is the opportunity to play with Tamagotchi genetics.
Care habits will evolve your Tamagotchi in strange ways
Tamagotchi evolutions are still tied to care and how you raise them, but other factors also come into play here, particularly food. Depending on what you feed your Tamagotchi, it could come away with different genetics, like different colours, body parts, or facial features.
The first Tamagotchi I raised became a rock-like blob. The next one had little blob-like fins. In both cases, care was determined by my work schedule, and how much free time I had to nurture my pet during the day. Per Bandai Namco, there are ‘50,000 possible combinations’ of Tamagotchis due to the variant features you can unlock, and while I got nowhere close to seeing that number, experimentation to get there is an enticing prospect. Finding my way back to the classic Tamagotchi – favourites like Mametchi, Memetchi, and Kuchipatchi, is a welcome challenge.
It’s also rather neat to see these genetic combinations recorded in a lab journal, so you can track your progress and see how many Tamagotchis you unlock. There’s a persistence to everything you do with the Tamagotchi Paradise, providing a sense of progress and accomplishment.
Sometimes, the device’s memory does prove shameful, because your dead Tamagotchis wind up as stars on your planet’s home screen, but it’s nice to get that sense of story as you play.
What’s up with the Tamagotchi Paradise dial?
Where the Tamagotchi Paradise gets a bit stranger is in the inclusion of a new twisting dial and button that lets you interact with your new planet. On a basic level, the dial lets you ‘zoom in’ as you play. When you switch on, you’re in planet view. Then as you twist, you zoom closer and closer towards your Tamagotchi, until the camera zooms into their mouth, and you view their guts.
It’s a silly little conceit which is a lot of fun, and although the Tamagotchi Paradise doesn’t really use the dial to its fullest potential (you can participate in some mini-games and use it select menus), it’s a neat way of improving hands-on engagement. You can feel a bigger part of your Tamagotchi’s world, and get much closer to the action.
Selecting and holding the button in the centre of the dial will also grant access to the aforementioned Tamagotchi Lab – which I mention specifically because, having not read the manual, it was unclear how to access this feature, and where to spend Gotchi Points. Perhaps it would be wise to read the manual before playing, unlike me.
Overall verdict
Overall, my time with the Tamagotchi Paradise was strange. It’s a new entry in the Tamagotchi series that does things entirely different, with some choices better than others. Players who haven’t yet experienced a colour Tamagotchi will find a bright and delightful world illuminated by a neat pixel screen, and artwork that is lovely and charming.
But those who have experienced the Tamagotchi Uni may question some of the choices here.
For one thing, this device returns to running on battery, despite the Uni being a rechargeable device (a feature that aids practicality and playability). Removing the online features, in my opinion, is also a bad choice. While it no doubt saves on costs – this Tamagotchi is much cheaper than its predecessor – it means the device feels a bit more siloed. You’re controlling an entire planet, but that planet feels very separate to the wider Tamagotchi universe.
Still, there are plenty of other areas where the device shines. Its genetics playground is fun to experiment with, and raising a Tamagotchi of unique colours and features makes raising one feel more personal and exciting. The new, larger eggshell design feels great in-hand. And smaller tweaks like having to ‘fight’ viruses to cure your Tamagotchis gives a real sense of purpose and responsibility to your gameplay.
This device is a bright side-step from the Tamagotchi Uni. While I personally prefer the Uni for its online connection and that incredibly handy rechargeable battery, I appreciate how the Tamagotchi Paradise experiments with the franchise formula, and introduces new features to better engage players in their virtual pet-raising journey.
Three-and-a-half stars: ★★★½
Tamagotchi Paradise
Developer: Bandai Namco Entertainment
Release Year: 2025
A Tamagotchi Paradise was provided by Bandai Namco Entertainment for the purposes of this review.
