Virtual Pet Sites

insert divider image here: a compilation of favorite and/or oldest pets across several sites

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Virtual pet sites will always hold a special place in my heart. My first glimpse into the wild internet was one, back in 2015; Chicken Smoothie. Having never really been on a real website before, this felt like an insane discovery. I could have animals in my computer that didn't need to be taken care of, so they wouldn't die like my Fish Tycoon fish always did? I was sold.

>Chicken Smoothie is where I learned everything online for a solid few years. It was where I met people, where I could talk about things I liked, and most importantly, where I learned to draw digitally. I made my first digital drawing there just two weeks after joining! Be nice, this is 10 year old Clover you'd be insulting:

But you didn't click on this page for that. You're here for the pet aspect of pet sites! And since joining Chicken Smoothie, I've made it my mission to try out as many virtual pet sites as I possibly can. Here, you can benefit from my testing, and - if you have the exact same tastes as me - find out which sites you should sign up for, and which ones you can skip out on!

So what's your criteria?

To me, pet sites fall into five categories: breeding, care, battling (or "Pokemon-like" sites, as I often call them), collecting, and clickables. A site can be just one category or even be all at once! Personally, I prefer breeding and collection types, with battling coming close behind. Care sims aren't really my jam - I like getting to intereact with my pets, yes, but I don't like them being sad if I don't log in. I especially tend to dislike sites where your pets can die from lack of care. Clickables are pretty hit or miss; I mostly judge them on if they die.

Can you elaborate?

Breeding sites boast the ability to breed your pets. These often have complex genetics systems, sometimes even following real-life genetics!

Care sites are often defined by taking care of your pets. This can be as simple as needing to feed them daily for them to be happy, or as complex as needing to manage several status meters to keep your pets happy, healthy, and in your care.

Battling sites give you a way to battle your pets. Many sites of this category have an arena or exploration system to contain the battles.

Collecting sites allow you to hoard an often limitless number of pets. These sites generally don't mesh well with other categories, particularly care, and can often feel more like having trading cards than pets.

Clickable sites see pets grow by being clicked on. These sites thrived off forums, with their pets fitting perfectly in players' forum signatures.

And how does this list work?

Sites are fitted below into six categories: peak, good, neutral, dislike, dead, and under-played. Each site will be represented by my oldest and/or favorite pet I have on it, with their images linking to their profiles and the site's name below linking to the site's home page. Any of the above categories that apply will be listed beneath the site name. A breif blurb of my experiences on the site finish off a site's listing here!

Alright, that's enough preamble. Without further ado:

Clover's Guide to Pet Sites

Peak

This rank is reserved for my favorite sites. The ones I'm checking daily, always eager to return to, and no matter the hiatus, will always fall back on.

Chicken Smoothie

Collecting

Blurbs coming soon!

Mweor

Breeding | Care | Battling

Blurbs coming soon!

Eliyo

Breeding | Care | Battling

Blurbs coming soon!

Pixel Cat's End

Breeding | Battling

Blurbs coming soon!

Warrenz

Breeding | Battling

Blurbs coming soon!

Good

While I do like these sites, they just can't top my favorites. They're still plenty of fun!

Neutral

These sites don't stand out to me too much. I don't think they're bad, but they're nothing special to me either.

Dislike

This sounds a bit too harsh. There's nothing wrong with these sites, they just aren't for me.

Dead

Many of the sites listed above are also dead! This category is for sites that are worse to play because of it.

Under-Played

While I've spent a lot of time playing virtual pet sites, some slip under the radar! I can't give an honest opinion on these sites, as I barely play them.