Peridot Review: A promising premise struck down by a lack of creativity

Niantic recently launched the augmented reality title Peridot which has received mixed reactions throughout the player base. This is yet another title from the creators of Pokémon Go and sports title NBA All-World that makes extensive use of real-time imagery. The game uses your phone to project a virtual pet companion into the real world, where you must care for them as they develop. it is a known fact that many people would like to read and review the first impressions of Peridot and how the game fares before deciding whether or not to play it. In this review, we will discuss our initial impressions of the title as well as our ratings for Peridot.

An intriguing idea to begin with

Many people are pet lovers, without a doubt. For them, Peridot is a go-to title. It offers a unique way for players to interact with and care for their digital companions, providing an unprecedented level of immersion and connection as the relationships, desires, and activities of their Keepers cause the Dots to evolve. It’s nice how it’s made and how you interact with the world, which is pretty unique.

Niantic and its problems with UI and optimization

We had a similar complaint when we reviewed NBA All-World this February. Niantic tries to keep the UI simple but what they should work on is the absolutely unnecessary transitions. The UI is very slow and it is occasionally unresponsive, and the sluggish transitions make you wonder whether this was worked on with interest.

The battery consumption is also exorbitant, and it worsens when your phone overheats while playing the game. This is noticeable even in top-end devices, and many players have encountered overheating of their phones during gameplay to an unbearable extent. The entire interface is dreary and monotonous, and the color scheme is basic aside from the start screen, which should have been prioritized as well.

Unpolished gameplay has been a massive headache

The gameplay is unpolished which is a huge disappointment. There should have been detailed experimentation before getting this into the picture but maybe the makers were just sold by the idea of having a virtual pet is exciting but sadly, it is not if you do not sell the idea effectively. The pet’s textures appear to be unfinished as well which is a major letdown for a project of this scale.

The AR and location accuracy are pretty badly implemented. The location doesn’t show up more often than not. AR glitches are pretty easy to observe, which is found even in devices good enough to run the game.

The Dots wander off your screen which is okay as they would like to extend their play area, but calling them back is something that has been on the difficult side. A lot of lag while playing fetch and food and Dots disappearing on some surfaces are some examples of bad implementation. Fixing all these should be the main priority.

Peridot doesn’t offer enough specialty to keep you engaged

Peridot is similar to Niantic’s other augmented reality games, but we believe the overall goal is lacking. Yes, having a virtual pet where you can have some fun with it overall is nice, but there should be something else appealing, say events that are exciting for a keeper to participate in, which is a major missing without a doubt, and this is the main reason you will have second thoughts about categorizing whether this is a game or not.

In-game items are very limited. As far as activities for your Dot are concerned, you can play fetch which is repetitive and uninteresting. You get a feeling that you are forced to do it often with different balls in the game just for the sake of quick upgrades. Lack of progression is a serious concern that can be improved later on, but as of now, it is in a stale state.

Paywalls kill the interest

The focus of the game lies on your dots and hatching more dots. This is where they fail, even though the idea is excellent. The nest is required for the procedure, and guess what, it has been locked behind a prohibitively pricey paywall. If you lock your core gameplay, you can’t expect players to stick around because there’s no point in playing the game as a free-to-play user.

It is the developer’s right to charge for stuff, but this is simply disrespectful to the user who would like to try out additional features. The other packs on offer are also overpriced as well. Simply put, this is greedy stuff, and you expect players to not complain. As far as advertisements are concerned, Niantic does not intersperse ads in their games, and Peridot is no exception.

Final Verdict

The game is promising. The pets are adorable, and they have a variety of interactions such as feeding, tricks, and so on. But you cannot just applaud the concept and give it a pass. If a game is presented as a finished product, it should be finished, and the complaints need to be minimal. But Peridot doesn’t tick these boxes at all.

While the game is adorable, it is locked behind a costly wall. If you are not the kind to spend a dime on games, you should avoid this for the time being. There is a lot of untapped potential here that might make this an even greater experience. Allow greed to float away and embrace the dots, or even the consumers. We hope that you find this Peridot Review apt!

What are your opinions on the Peridot and your review of it? Do let us know in the comments!

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