Quick Review: Tattletail

The more I play games I’ve bought, the more I realize that I’m terrible at horror games. Even this one. Let’s make this review fun, shall we?

"Tattletail loooooooves you!"

Tattletail is a videogame toy developed by Waygetter Electronics, and published manufactured by Little Flag Software, LLC. It came out on December 28th, 2016 in December of 1998. Tattletail is the cool toy of the year, and parents everywhere are spending their hard-earned money on these things to give their kids an unforgettable Christmas. Tattletail has it all and can compete with the best of them; forget Furby. Screw the Cabbage Patch Snacktime Kids. Tattletail is a creepy cute little creature with a mind of its own very advanced AI. It can speak! It can be groomed with a brush! It can eat (Waygetter not responsible for hairs or fingers lost to the mechanical rollers within Tattletail’s mouth)! It loves to play!

"Tattletail has nice hair now."

Parents, make sure your kids aren’t gonna look for Tattletail in their gift boxes before Christmas morning. Even if you don’t pay attention, the thing’s loud, so unless you sleep like a rock you should hear your kid playing with it early. Some kids have a tendency to do that at night, walking around their homes, with often nothing but a flashlight to see where they’re going. You might want to leave some of these Waygetter flashlights lying around – just shake one to recharge the battery! It’s never-seen-before technology! It’ll help your kid while they tend to their Tattletail. (Not that we condone kids opening their presents before time, but in case they do...)

"Buddy! Let's play hide and seek!"

Speaking of, your child’s little ovoid-shaped furry buddy will always have something to say – it will announce when it’s hungry, when it wants to be groomed, or when it feels its battery to be low and needs to be put on the charging station (sold with the toy! We don’t sell it separately, we’re not that cheap!). Tattletails are also surprisingly social with each other – a nice little bonus for kids with friends who also own the needy baby.

If you want to join in on the fun, purchase lots of these miniature eggs and stuff them full of candy or whatever small items you can think of! Come Christmastime, hide them around the house – your kid and their new friend will have a lot of fun looking for those around! (24 models available. Eggs may be a choking hazard). 

Come on, that cassette-reading thing can't be so dangero-

Oh, you want to know about the previous model, Mama Tattletail? Yeah, there were some glitches… it got pulled from shelves. Don’t worry about it, she shouldn’t come back. We hope. Just tell your kid not to approach any bigger, brown Tattletails with red eyes, if you have a hunch that they’re going on nocturnal adventures with their toy that should still be wrapped up in the basement. Hey, what’s the worst that could happen with a recalled toy anyway? (Please report all sightings of Mama Tattletail to Waygetter Electronics immediately.)

"John, call the Waygetter legal department, we got another
kid found with his face ripped off his skull by Mama."
"Again? It's the third time this week!"

Why would anyone need a glow-in-the-dark flashlight?
That sounds like one of those inventions that get laughed
out of a science convention.

Okay, so, all in-character advertisement aside, this is a neat horror title. It’s a great starting idea: You’re a kid sneaking out of their room at night to unwrap Tattletail early, and must deal with the thing suddenly choosing to come out to play every night even when it should have been turned off. It’s a strange combination of horror and virtual pet, as you must keep the thing happy by grooming it, feeding it, recharging it, and playing along to its requests. All the while, avoid angering Mama Tattletail, as she reacts poorly to noise. Your only other tool is one of the most annoying horror game clichés: A flashlight whose beam dims down too quickly, so you must constantly recharge it through the noisy process of shaking it violently.

Sold at your nearest Toys'R'Us, ZanyBrainy, F.A.O. Schwarz, or KB Toys!

I guess it makes sense for me to post this in November,
somewhere between Halloween and Christmas.

Tattletail itself is alright, but I thought it could get pretty annoying – although, not to the point of making me drop the game because of it. Some players actually wished for a new Tattletail game without the horror – just a straight virtual pet title to care for the little guy without having to worry about such trivialities as getting horribly maimed or killed by another toy. Speaking of style, the game fully embraces the ‘90s aesthetics in its presentation. Environment-wise, the house isn’t that big, but good luck finding your way around it in the enveloping darkness. The bonus quest of finding every hidden surprise egg around the house is also a nice thought. Lastly, Waygetter has since added an additional Story Mode to be played after beating the game once, the “kaleidoscope” New Game released on May 9th, 2017.

As for me? I didn’t beat the game, but I played a good portion of it. It’s a fun idea. I’m looking forward to Waygetter’s next product. Meanwhile, this one’s on sale in stores (y’know… digital ones) for roughly 5$.

OK, OK, I admit it, they’re kinda cute. I wanna boop that teeny Tattle muzzle. ~Boop~!