Hasbro’s Nano-Mals are a virtual pet that rewards fidgeting

Since the original Tamagotchi landed on store shelves 28 years ago, not much has changed in the world of virtual pets. The basic gameplay remains, with players being asked to feed, groom and play with small digital creatures inside a handheld device. But new features have also been added, like Bluetooth connectivity and downloadable content (they're also a little bigger than before). This month, however, Hasbro is throwing its hat into the ring with the Nano-Mals, a $20 device that takes the standard features of a virtual pet and aims them toward a new purpose: fidget toy.

The first thing you’ll probably notice when you pick up one of the eight initial Nano-Mals models is how cute they all are: they’re styled after both common and uncommon animals, including two cows, two cats, a red panda, a narwhal, and a pair of unicorns.But the second thing you’ll notice is that there’s no screen to be found anywhere; instead, the sole “display” is a a light-up heart on the front of the toy that has three levels and changes color to indicate how satiated the toy is in terms of hunger, affection and play.

How you fulfill these needs is where the Nano-mals distinguish themselves from other virtual pets: Instead of pushing buttons and navigating through various menus, you interact instead with the various parts of the toy directly. Push down on its ear to “pet” it, flip its arms to “dance” and push its nose to “feed” it. The more you perform these actions, the more each color of the heart will fill up, eventually resulting in a rainbow kaleidoscope across the toy’s chest.

It’s incredibly easy to do, not just because these are simple actions, but because they’re engineered to be satisfying since it is a fidget toy. It feels good to flip the arms up and down and squish the ears. Not so much for pushing the shallow nose button though, meaning it was often the need that took the longest for me to fulfill. It just wasn’t fun to push the nose! I can only hope that future iterations improve on this.

Once you’ve figured out the basic functions, it becomes a game in itself to figure out the best way to hold and interact with the device. You don’t need to look at it and the entire thing can be operated with one hand, which is exactly what you want in a fidget toy. I found myself rotating it between my fingers while flipping the arms – the device also contains an accelerometer so any significant movement also counts as “play.”

If you have more than one Nano-mal – which is quite likely given the device’s low price – the toys will interact with each other, lighting up and talking to each other. It’s cute but also a bit unsettling, as it was very reminiscent of this year’s Black Mirror episode “Playthings” with the Nano-mals emitting mysterious bleats and chimes just like the Thronglets. Fortunately, there is an off switch, and the Nano-mals will burble happily before shutting down when you use it.

Kris Naudus for Engadget

However, the off switch isn’t absolute as, should you press any of the buttons, the Nano-mal will still react, though maybe not effusively as if the device were powered fully on. This is a problem given that the Nano-mal is meant to be taken out and about (there’s even a clip at the top), but will likely be banned from classrooms due to the possibility of it being accidentally triggered when a kid moves their stuff. The toys can be muted by holding down the nose for a few seconds, but it only works when the device is fully powered on, and resets every time the Nano-mal is turned off and on.

Aside from that and the fact that I couldn’t remove the attachment clip, which got in the way when I was trying to spin the device in my hand, I think the Nano-mal is a solid first try at this kind of toy. Kids will love how cute they are, especially when you dress them up in the included clothes, which double as protective cases for the devices. And adults will appreciate them too: Parents are big on screen-free devices, while the young-at-heart will appreciate having something to keep their hands busy that isn’t their phone.

The Nano-mals are available now at all major toy retailers, including Walmart and Amazon.

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