Jan. 19 marked the release of “Palworld” created by the Japanese development studio, Pocket Pair. Here is a quick summary if you have yet to hear about this game: “Palworld” is your basic survival-crafting type game but with the additional feature of “Pals” which are, in essence, “Pokémon,” but with slight changes to avoid Nintendo’s copyright lawyers. You are put into a magical world and are tasked with capturing these Pals until you and your team are strong enough to defeat different bosses encountered throughout your playthrough. That being said, Pocket Pair did not create a knockoff of other “Pokémon” or survival-type games; they created a game that is an amalgamation of the best qualities that these genres have to offer. “Palworld” doesn’t do anything new or groundbreaking, but they hit on a few key mechanics that keep players hooked on the addictive loop.
“Palworld” has various aspects of strength that contribute toward its success and these can mainly be seen in its gameplay. Like most survival games, you need to find various materials that you will use to build your base and craft increasingly better gear. The main way “Palworld” might differ from other games is that, at the base you build, you can work your Pals to find or create a lot of the materials you need to do the crafting. This is one of the better features of “Palworld,” allowing you to create a fully autonomous society of Pals that grow their food, chop their wood, mine their stone and even sort it all into chests for you. This feature makes the game much less tedious and helps your characters progress.
Another aspect of strength within the game is the exploration. The map itself is larger than you might initially think considering how small the game files are, especially if you’re playing on console. The different Pals you capture will also help you explore much faster as you can ride many of the Pals at your disposal. Much like how “Pokémon” influenced the Pals, you can also see how the exploration was influenced by another Nintendo game, ”The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.” The stamina bar is almost identical to Link’s and the climbing feature that allows you to scale practically all surfaces is incredibly reminiscent of the latest “The Legend of Zelda” installments. Again, the game does not do anything new but instead brings various aspects from other popular games — creating a parody game that can nonetheless be enjoyed.
The addition of multiplayer on the other hand is something that wasn’t taken from other games like “Pokémon” or “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.” Allowing you and your friends to build your own home together all whilst catching new Pals and battling unique bosses makes the hours playing the game go by much quicker and makes the experience much more enjoyable.
Although many features make the game enjoyable to play, some are severely lacking for “Palworld.” For instance, the sound design is incredibly repetitive. If you do decide to pick this game up, get ready to hear the same 15 sound effects for the entire game. Not only that, but the graphics are not something that will leave you awestruck. The best that can be said about it is that it gets the job done.
However, both of these negative aspects of the game are to be expected since the game is only half the price of your Triple-A game title, or free if you subscribe to Microsoft Game Pass. The game, in total, becomes very repetitive after a few hours of playing, as you will find yourself in a catch-grind-craft loop that gives you just enough dopamine to keep up the charade until the game is complete or you grow tired of the same formula “Palworld” continues to throw at you. If you are looking for something new and exciting, this is not the game for you.
After playing the game, it becomes clear that although “Palworld” doesn’t do anything innovative, it still provides an enjoyable experience for players. By combining the nostalgic feeling that “Pokemon” provides, the exploration mechanics that made “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” so popular and other survival features like base-building and multiplayer, Pocket Pair creates a fun little experience for those in need of something different to play.
Verdict: “Palworld” is simply a parody game that features all the best mechanics from your favorite Nintendo games and offers players a nostalgic distraction from their trials and tribulations.
