Video Game / Pou

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Pou is a Virtual Pet game released on mobile devices on August 5th, 2012 by Lebanese developer Paul Salameh. In it, you take care of a round alien blob named Pou by feeding it, giving it a bath, and putting it to sleep. There are minigames (mostly clones of existing games) which can be played in order to get in-game coins. These coins can be used to buy food, potions, clothes, or just extra stuff for your Pou.

In December 3, 2025, a sequel called Pou 3D was soft-launched in a few countries and was released worldwide three days later. While the gameplay elements are similar to the original, the game uses the Unity engine to run 3D graphics. The sequel contains exclusive items and minigames, and Pou noticeably sports arms and feet.

Tropes (includes both Pou and Pou 3D)

• Armless Biped: Pou's pets (a hamster, rabbit, monkey, pig, cat, and dog) have only two front paws/feet.
• Art-Shifted Sequel: Pou 3D, as the name suggests, used 3D graphics.
• Auto-Scrolling Level: A few minigames endlessly scroll vertically (Tumble) and horizontally (Cliff Jump, Cliff Dash, and Jet Pou). Pou 3D introduces the minigames Avalanche and Mine Ride.
• Big Eyes, Little Eyes: A baby Pou's eyes are bigger than its body. After time its body grows while its eyes remain the same size.
• Big Eater: Pou can eat anything in Food Drop without getting fat. Averted in the main game itself, as Pou will refuse to eat when it is overfed.
• Canon Name: The virtual pet's official name is of course Pou.
• Character Customization: Pou's clothes, wigs, and colors can all be customized by the player.
• Cheeky Mouth: Pou's mouth is on its left cheek when it is happy.
• The Colored Cross: Though the liquid itself is red, Pou uses a black cross to represent its Health Potion.
• Early-Installment Weirdness: Older versions of the first game had less minigames and items. The Bathroom and shower did not exist, and Pou had to be cleaned with soap in the Lab. The Hill Drive minigame was released before the Pets were introduced, and Pou drove alone in the car.
• Every Pizza Is Pepperoni: The Pizza food item is a slice of pepperoni and cheese pizza. It has bits of green vegetables in Pou 3D.
• Fake Difficulty: In the first game's minigame Beach Volley, the player's Pou pits against its pet in a volleyball match. The pet has an advantage due to its wider hitbox, requiring the player to hit the ball at a precise angle, and also due to the pet's faster speed. This is especially difficult if the player uses a smaller ball. In Pou 3D, this is compromised by making the opponent a randomly generated Pou with the same hitbox size as the player, and making the ball a volleyball.
• Fluffy Cloud Heaven: Pou can reach a "Heaven" stage with angels and pearly gates in the Doodle Jump clone Sky Jump. Averted in the Pou 3D version since it only features the "Sky" stage.
• Grid Puzzle: Sudoku (Sudopou in Pou 3D) appears as a minigame in its regular 9x9 form.
• Healing Potion: There are potions to improve Pou's health and fully energize Pou.
• Hello, [Insert Name Here]: You can give your pet a name other than "Pou," given that you make an account first. Older versions of the first game played this trope straight.
• Innocent Aliens: In official descriptions of the games, Pou is stated to be an alien.
• Match-Three Game: Food Swap^noteA Candy Crush Saga / Bejeweled clone, Tic-Tac-Pou, Color Match^noteA game similar to Chuzzle, Pou Popper^noteA bubble-shooter game where three or more Pous of the same kind must be matched, and Star Popper^noteSimilar to Pou Popper but the playfield rotates.
• Medium Blending: Most of the food items (not counting drinks and some seafood) are photographs of food as opposed to the simple 2D vector art of the first game. Averted in Pou 3D where all food items use 3D models.
• Microtransactions: The gray skin color, Adult Potion, and Baby Potion can only be bought for 99 cents (or how much the same price costs depending on your region). Bundle packs of in-game coins vary in price.
  • Pou 3D introduces gems which are used to unlock some items or to continue after failing a minigame. While packs of coins can be bought in-game using gems, extra gems can be bought for actual money. They are still obtainable without payment through achievements and levelling up.
• Memory Match Mini-Game: In the minigame Memory, the player must match cards with pictures of food before the time runs out. The number of cards increases after a few rounds.
• Minecart Madness: The Pou 3D minigame Mine Ride is an Endless Running Game where the player has to dodge Pou out of obstacles such as broken tracks, rocks, and barriers.
• Mini-Game: The main way to earn coins and increase Pou's Fun meter is to play minigames in the Game Room (Playroom in Pou 3D).
• Mini Game Game: While the games are mostly Virtual Pet games, Pou contain over 30 minigames to play, while Pou 2 was introduced with 20.
• Nobody Can Die: It is impossible for Pou to die, even when it is sick, tired, sad, dirty, or hungry, or all at the same time.
• Nobody Poops: Averted; Pou leaves behind Poos in the Bathroom.
• No Plot? No Problem!: There's no backstory or lore as to where Pou came from; you just have to take care of it.
• Obstacle Ski Course: In the Pou 3D minigame Avalanche, the player swipes their finger to guide Pou away from obstacles while skiing downhill. Failure to do so results in Pou getting swept away by the titular avalanche.
• "Simon Says" Mini-Game: Pou Sounds. Even the Pous are colored red, yellow, blue, and green like the original Simon toy.
• Shell Game: In Find Pou, the player has to find Pou hiding under one of two to five cups. The player loses when they select a cup with a Poo underneath.
• Stock Food Depictions: Almost every food item is depicted in their most recognizable forms. Red apples, sunny side up eggs, maple syrup pancakes, and many more.
• Unmoving Plaid: The dirt texture that forms on Pou in the first game does not move along with the rest of its body, which is easily noticeable when Pou breathes.
• Virtual Paper Doll: One of the features of the games is to dress up Pou. You can even change your Pou's body and eye colors.
• Virtual Pet: The games are entirely about taking care of your pet Pou.
• Waddling Head: Averted in the original game, but in Pou 3D, Pou has stubby arms and feet which can be removed by the player.