If you were part of Facebook's early era, you'd probably be well-acquainted with this game called Pet Society.

The social network game, developed by Playfish and accessed via Facebook, granted users the illusion of being depended upon by a virtual pet that had to be fed, bathed, and played with on a regular basis.

Back in its glory days, the now defunct game reportedly garnered 50 million monthly players, 5 million daily players, and made as much as US$100,000 (S$134,149) a day by selling in-game items like pet clothing and house decorations.

Many were left bereft when the game's server was shut down in June 2013.

So, you can imagine our delight when we stumbled upon its successor, Pet Pals City.

Pet Pals City

The new Pet Society is playable on your browser, on Facebook, and downloadable from your Google Play or App Store.

According to its Facebook posts, the multiplayer game was launched some time in 2019.

But we had no idea.

Eager to make up for lost time, we immediately downloaded it for a trip down memory lane.

For those of you who missed the memo like us, here are some key features of the game we gathered from our brief play.

Familiar features

Players are first initiated into the game by customising their pet.

You can alter almost all aspects of your character except for its outfit, which you're stuck with until you earn more coins to purchase a new one.

Next, you're teleported to your pet's house.

Your pet stands there, dirty and swarmed with flies, and a message prompts you to go to town with it with a bar of soap.

Nostalgic.

Navigation is also nothing new — you use the arrows on the sides of the screen to pan around rooms and simply click where you want your pet to move.

Beyond the house, you can hang out with other pets, go shopping for a new fit, or grab a bite to eat.

And because your pet, like you, lives in a "society", these things don't come free.

They have to earn their keep by participating in games at the arcade and stadium.

RIP Pet Society

Whatever happened to the original Pet Society?

According to The Atlantic's article, "When a Cold-Hearted Corporation Takes Away Your Beloved (Virtual) Pet", Pet Society was axed by the video game company Electronic Arts (EA), five years after its launch in 2008.

Citing stiff competition from opponents like FarmVille and the migration from Facebook games to mobile games, The Atlantic noted that from EA's perspective, "things stopped making as much sense".

"Pet Society was modern at the time of its conception, but it wasn't built to scale up like later Facebook games, and, in a cruel twist, the players' enthusiasm made it a more costly operation."

To say people were displeased with the game shutting down would be an understatement.

Some players even took matters into their own hands and posted petitions to "save Pet Society" on Change.org.

"Shutting down Pet Society is like someone coming into our house and shooting one of our real cats," wrote a supporter who signed one of the petitions.

If that's the case, then getting wind of Pet Pals City must be like finding out the bullet only grazed your beloved pet.

Top images via Pet Pals City