Tom's Verdict
🏡 Pocket Spouse is a game I've wanted to properly return to for quite some time. I played the demo during the very early days of De Tom Plays and enjoyed what I saw, so finally getting into the full version felt like finishing a little piece of unfinished business.
🎮 Getting there wasn't quite as straightforward as I'd hoped. I had a lot of trouble getting the game to behave properly in a window on my system, particularly when trying to get it positioned and captured correctly for recording. After plenty of experimenting I eventually found a setup that worked, and I've passed what I discovered back to the developer in the hope that it might help other players experiencing similar problems.
🗺️ Once I was actually playing, I found much of the same old-school charm that originally caught my attention in the demo. I like that Pocket Spouse doesn't constantly tell me where to go or what to do. I started in my new home, completed a few initial jobs and then headed out into the world, meeting people and gradually discovering how everything worked for myself.
🤔 That lack of hand-holding occasionally went a little too far for me. It took me around five minutes just to discover exactly where I needed to click on a noticeboard to use the fast-travel system, and in the end I resorted to checking somebody else's video. Amusingly, even they seemed to stumble across it rather than immediately knowing what to do, so I didn't feel quite so bad.
⚔️ There's a lovely traditional RPG feel underneath it all, helped enormously by the pixel art and the sense that there's always somewhere else to wander off and investigate. My first proper session with the full game lasted around 40 minutes before a group of beach lizards rather unceremoniously brought my adventure to an end, but I'd already seen enough in both this and my earlier time with the demo to know there's a lot here that old-school RPG fans could enjoy.
👍 The technical problems are really the main thing stopping me from recommending Pocket Spouse more strongly. If I'd been able to launch it, set up the window the way I wanted and simply get on with playing, I could quite easily have seen this earning my highest verdict. As it stands, there's a charming and interesting RPG here, but getting comfortably into it was harder than it needed to be.
For me, Pocket Spouse earns a Worth a Look.
Game Screenshots
Watch My Gameplay
Prefer to see Pocket Spouse in action? Watch my gameplay video to see how the game plays before reading my full verdict.
Why I Liked This Game
- ✅ 🏡 Old-school charm — The pixel art and traditional RPG style give Pocket Spouse plenty of character.
- ✅ 🗺️ Encourages exploration — I enjoyed being allowed to wander off, meet people and gradually discover the world for myself.
- ✅ 🔍 Plenty to discover — There always seemed to be another place, character or system waiting for me to investigate.
- ✅ 🎮 Doesn't constantly hold my hand — I liked being trusted to experiment and work things out rather than having every step explained to me.
- ✅ 🌱 Life sim and RPG mix — Combining everyday activities around your new home with exploration and adventure gives the game an appealing identity.
- ✅ 💜 Made me want to persevere — Despite the technical problems, I liked what I'd previously played enough to keep trying until I finally got the full game working properly.
What I Didn't Like In This Game
- ❌ 🖥️ Window and display problems — I had considerable difficulty getting the game to behave properly in a window on my system, creating a frustrating barrier before I could simply get on with playing.
- ❌ 🪧 Sometimes too little guidance — I enjoy figuring things out for myself, but some interactions aren't communicated clearly enough, with the fast-travel noticeboard being the biggest example during my playthrough.
