Finch
Finch is a mobile app where you care for a virtual pet by setting and completing self-care tasks for yourself.
It was created by Stephanie Yuan and Thomas Aquinas Nugraha Budi to gamify taking care of your mental health. You name and design a "birb" and set daily habits for yourself — anything from drinking water to doing a jig to literally surviving the day.
Every time you complete one of your tasks, your birb gets energized with hearts. Once they have enough, they can set out on an adventure, exploring the world and discovering new things like a child. Eventually, your birb will "evolve" into different stages of life, unlocking more customization options. (The day my little Poppyseed graduated to toddlerdom was a very proud day indeed!)
This app seems particularly useful for anyone who struggles to keep a consistent routine or complete activities of daily living (ADLs).
Finch only uses positive reinforcement as motivation, with no punishments for not completing tasks. So if you benefit from cute rewards and mildly addictive external incentives to hold you accountable, the birb might be for you.
Some other features include daily quests, notifications to do your tasks, a mood tracker, a journal, a focus timer, the ability to play with a friend, and even micropets (smaller pets for your already small pet...lol). There is a paid Plus mode, but the core mechanics are not paywalled.
Overall, you can really tell the developers put their whole asses into this app. I started using Finch during an Alice in Wonderland-themed event with special items, storylines, and animations that I found surprisingly elaborate! There's plenty of novelty and collectibles here on top of the desire to keep your bird-like companion happy, both of which help keep you from getting bored and quitting.