Microsoft

Microsoft DRC-00033 Kinectimals Xbox 360 Game

4.1 (721 reviews)

Kinect's voice and motion recognition makes your living room the island — bond with, train, and cheer on a virtual exotic animal that actually responds to you.

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*Price sourced from Amazon.com. Last updated:Jun 04, 2026.Price and availability are subject to change.

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Overview

Kinectimals is a virtual pet experience built exclusively for the Xbox 360's Kinect sensor, and it represents one of the clearest demonstrations of what that hardware was designed to do. You choose from five exotic animal cubs at the start, then build a relationship through physical interaction — kneeling down to pet, throwing toys with a sweeping arm gesture, calling out voice commands and watching your cub respond. The island environment you explore together is bright and visually inviting, designed to pull younger players into the world rather than challenge them. What makes the game work is the responsiveness of the animal: the cub tracks your movements with visible attention, reacts to your voice with perceptible recognition, and grows more capable as your sessions accumulate.

This game is designed for the living room floor, not the couch. It needs a cleared space in front of the Kinect sensor and a player willing to move, crouch, gesture, and speak aloud — which is exactly why it works so well for children 4 to 10. Setup requires a properly positioned Kinect sensor and an Xbox 360 console; no controller is used during play. The game functions as a sustained virtual relationship rather than a series of discrete objectives, which means its value compounds for players who return to it regularly rather than binge through it. For households with the hardware already in place, Kinectimals delivers its premise completely.

Key Features

Bond with him

Talk to him

Cheer him on

Specifications

Platform
Xbox 360
Required Peripheral
Kinect Sensor
Rating
E (Everyone)
Animal Choices
5 exotic animal cubs
Input Method
Full-body motion and voice recognition via Kinect
Publisher
Microsoft
Model
DRC-00033

Pros & Cons

👍 Pros

  • Full-body Kinect integration means every pet, throw, and gesture uses your actual physical movements, creating a level of presence and connection that controller-based virtual pet games cannot replicate.
  • Voice command recognition lets players literally talk to their animal cub, directly fulfilling the game's promise of forming a real bond rather than navigating menus.
  • Five distinct exotic animal options at the start give the game meaningful initial choice, with each cub having its own personality and visual design.
  • E-rated content with simple interaction mechanics makes this one of the most accessible Kinect titles for very young children who cannot yet manage traditional controller layouts.

👎 Cons

  • The game is entirely Kinect-dependent — without a functioning Kinect sensor mounted correctly and calibrated, none of the game's core interactions are accessible, making sensor placement and living room space a hard prerequisite.
  • The content depth is calibrated for young children; older players or teens will find the gameplay loop — teaching commands, playing fetch-style games, watching contests — exhausted within a few sessions.
  • The Xbox 360 platform is no longer current-generation hardware; finding a functioning Kinect sensor and Xbox 360 combination at low cost requires navigating used hardware markets, adding setup friction.
  • Voice recognition performance is dependent on ambient noise levels in the room — households with background audio from TVs, other children, or open-plan living spaces may experience inconsistent command recognition.

Frequently Asked Questions

You need the Kinect sensor — Kinectimals is built entirely around Kinect's motion and voice input, so the game cannot be played with a standard controller. If your Xbox 360 setup doesn't already include a Kinect sensor, that is a required separate purchase before this game is playable.
Kinectimals is rated E (Everyone) and plays most naturally for children aged 4–10. The interaction model is built around simple voice commands and physical gestures rather than complex button sequences or coordination-demanding gameplay, which makes it accessible for young children and enjoyable for adults supervising or playing alongside them.
The game offers 5 exotic animal choices. You bond with your chosen cub as your primary companion; the game's interactions, teaching sessions, contests, and exploration are centered on that single animal's progression and your evolving relationship with it over time.
Core activities include teaching voice commands, playing games together, cheering your animal on in contests, and exploring the island environment. The Kinect sensor tracks your physical gestures and recognizes spoken commands, so actions like petting, throwing toys, and calling your pet use your actual body movements and voice rather than button inputs.
Kinectimals is progression-based — your animal grows and learns over time, which provides sustained engagement as you unlock new commands, areas, and activities. Replay value is moderate; it functions more as an ongoing virtual pet relationship than a game with discrete replayable levels, meaning younger children with consistent play sessions will get the most sustained use from it.