TL/DR Notes
Review Grade: 7.5+/10
Pros: Incredibly familiar and simple combat system, solid world design, good meshing of Pokémon catching mechanic, great open world and crafting akin to Ark: Survival Evolved and Craftopia, fun gameplay
Cons: Leaned too closely into Pokémon-like creature designs, feels weird using realistic-looking guns against cute creatures, enemy/friendly AI needs overhaul, game lacking free-cam console command, monster battles not available upon Early Access Launch, and XP system needs adjusting
Rating: T
Parental Guidance: Yes, Palworld has a bunch of cute little creatures, but we’re also talking about realistic looking weapons players can use to kill and butcher these things. Whereas I first thought the game was okay for anyone 9 and up, I’ve switched my stance after my gameplay experience and now set the recommended age for 13+, especially because of one creature that is sexually suggestive and likely off-putting for parents.
Gameplay Time: 30+ hours
Mode Experience: Single Player and Multiplayer
Platform Experience: PC (Steam)
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, call Palworld a full-blown compliment. Though there’s an ongoing battle over whether the game includes creatures that look a little too like monsters from the Pokémon franchise, the game is more than some cheap knockoff with nothing unique to offer. It’s a title filled with a genuinely fun gameplay and mechanics that scratches an itch that adult fans of the Pokémon franchise have taken a shine to. I don’t think it’s a game for everyone—especially children of every age—however, it has much to provide and is worth playing, even in its Early Access state. Let’s dive into why.
It’s Fun, It’s Fresh, It Needs Improvement
Palworld right now has somewhat of a loose storyline. You wash up on an island with nothing but the clothes on your back, greeted by three little creatures. You look for towers to battle leaders of a Rayne Syndicate, and you’re informed at the beginning that “the towers are the key…”. The game is centered around players capturing pals, the tiny creatures that—at least quite a few of them— 100% look like Pokémon rip-offs, and that’s okay. We’ll dive into that in the next section.
What makes Palworld fun is it’s an amalgamation of genres: it’s a monster capturing survival base building adventure with some RPG elements. What I thought would be a silly concept works very well. Yes, Palworld has guns and yes, you can use said guns to kill cute little creatures, but it doesn’t feel like solely a rip-off of Pokémon because it ventures into other genres. For example, you capture pals using pal spheres, and you can command them to do certain things, but it branches off from the Pokémon experience.
You can leave pals at your base to complete tasks, fight alongside them to stop an enemy in its tracks, and care for them in ways that are different from the Pokémon franchise. It was also unbelievably fun to be able to soar through an open world sky atop a flying pal and eliminate enemies on the ground.
Though the game has amassed nearly 20 million players as I’m writing this article, it still has a lot to improve. The enemy and friendly AI is less-than stellar. Your pal will mostly fight as you want, but I found they weren’t as responsive as they should be.
For example, the syndicate enemy types take a little longer than necessary in between attacks. The first boss in the game is a Rayne Syndicate leader riding the back of its grizzbolt, a clear legally distinct rip-off of the pokémon electabuzz. In every fight I’ve had with this boss, the grizzbolt walks right into the pillars in the level as if it’s not aware of the structure. It also has an attack that locks onto the player’s pal, but if you put your pal away before the attack is carried out, the grizzbolt just stares right into the sky and releases its attack at nothing. It’s an easy exploit and one that should be addressed.
The base building also needs attention. Players can pick up and throw pals toward an object or structure the player wants to assign the pal to engage with. It’s an imperfect solution for trying to assign tasks to your pal. The developers need to create a mechanic that allows you to specifically lay out what you want each pal to do and whether they are allowed to move between tasks on their own or only by player direction.
Many times I would leave pall spheres at a crafting table hoping one of my handy pals would finish the task without me telling it to do so. Wrong. They might stay there briefly but would eventually move to something else. You can have success by being near or throwing a pal in your party to something that needs completed, but that becomes taxing to have to move a pal from your base group and into your party.
Though I haven’t made it do the endgame portion of Palworld, I’ve had at least one person reach out to me saying the endgame elements are bare and need improvement; however, it’s important to remember this is an Early Access game, so there will be much to be desired in some respects.
Legally Distinct Pocket Creatures
Alright, let’s address the elephant in the room: Palworld—as it appears—does look like it took heavy inspiration—possibly little too much—from Pokémon. There’s this flock of people online who insist the pals look nothing like Pokémon and this game is a wholly original idea. Stop it. The pals absolutely do look wildly close to their pocket monster companions, and that’s okay. Some will argue Pokémon stole from the Dragon Quest franchise which debuted years before it, but whataboutism isn’t helpful here; we’re focusing on the now.
What I think could hurt Pocketpair – the developer behind Palworld—is they’ve created too many creatures that look too similar to Pokémon, regardless of if they disagree. The Pokémon Company has made it clear it will investigate any possible copyright infringement. I’ve also seen at least one YouTuber provide a video showing how closely character models in Palworld look compared to Pokémon. They might or might not have plucked character models and made slight adjustments, but I wouldn’t have even remotely left myself open to the speculation of infringement. I think Pocketpair should made model adjustments now to distance itself from the potential of a comparison.
Gameplay is Good, But Needs Polished
Palworld’s gameplay is mostly particularly good. The gunplay felt like it was going to be a silly element to have attached to a Poké-like game, but being able to use a crossbow and handgun to hunt down pals was a little more fun than I anticipated. Maybe it’s the juxtaposition of using such serious weapons against cute creatures, but it works. I only wish the weapons were a bit more cartoony to match the vibe of the game. I haven’t unlocked some of the more fun weapons, but what I have experienced has been satisfactory.
Though fun, Palworld needs work. I find the base building to be okay regarding gathering material, but snapping pieces together or placing some objects felt like it could be fine-tuned. I also don’t love having to hold the F key to complete a task. I’d rather the game let me press it once and allow my character to work until the task is completed. This is probably on me, but tethering the interact button with the command a pal’s special move button is not the best key configuration, though I haven’t tried to switch it yet.
One of the weaker elements of Palworld is its XP gain. The most productive way I’ve found to level my character is to repeatedly capture pals of the same variety and in doing so you get a little more XP with each capture. You can also earn XP by killing enemies, including bosses. My gripe with that is in a game in which you can do so much more than catch pals, great amounts of XP should be given for doing other things, such as building your base, mining, chopping wood, and other material-gathering activities.
A shining component of Palworld is its multiplayer. I’m currently playing on a friend’s server and it’s always fun running into my buddies. One person helped me capture two rare pals and take down a group of roaming enemies. Though I’m not in a guild, you can start one with friends and carry out your various shenanigans you plan to commit, including taking on boss battles together.
The Great Shakeup
What many thought was supposed to be a parody of the Pokémon franchise has created something I believe adult fans have wanted for decades but never got: a more immersive, polished open world Pokémon capturing experience. Though human violence against and hunting Pokémon is mostly implied in its franchise—at least from what I’ve seen—it does happen.
Palworld takes the nostalgia of Pokémon, dials up the feeling of openness and freedom of adventure, mixes in a simple but satisfying survival component, and has created a solid game. The NPC dialogue leaves much to be desired, but—as I’ve mentioned—the game is still in early access.
By no means do I think The Pokémon Company is scared of falling to this new game or Palworld is somehow a ‘Pokémon killer’; however, I think it’s put something very clear into the gaming world: previous titans of certain genres (such as Pokémon, The Sims, Sim City, and Call of Duty), are not invulnerable to a worthy challenger.
Gamers have asked companies to give them more catered-to experiences for a long time, and whereas some deliver, others tend to drag their feet. If anything, Palworld says loud and clear: we can provide an equally appealing experience like our competitor. That’s not my opinion, that’s a fact when looking at the sales this game has made in its month on the market.
Seeing as The Pokémon Company hasn’t quite given fans what they’ve wanted, Palworld provides a gameplay experience that feels like the direction Pokémon should have considered going in some ways. I’m not saying I want to hunt down a Pikachu with an automatic weapon; however, I wouldn’t mind a little more offered from the Pokémon world, like having my own little Pokémon ranch and house or something.
Palworld is absolutely worth the time to play. Is it wholly original? No. Is it the best game ever? No. Is it fun? Without question. It’s not for everyone, but for people who grew up with Pokémon and are now well into their 30s and 40s, it’s a fun take on the monster capture genre. It sort of did what The Orville did when trying to take on a Star Trek motif: made a standout version of itself. I gave Palworld the 8+/10 grade because whereas it had a strong release, it has a long way to go to be a more complete version of its current self.
Parental Guidance
I might suggest parents watch some videos of Palworld to see if it’s for their child. If you have no problem with your child playing Rust, Ark: Survival Evolved, or Fortnite, you should be okay with them playing Palworld. However, some elements of this game might not sit well with every family. There’s no blood in Palworld, but—as you probably know by now—you can use realistic-looking guns and weapons to kill the cute pals. There’s also an option to butcher pals, but when a player performs that action, they’re covered with a blurry square to carry out their butchering.
The game also has a pal called Lovander. The creature’s description reads as follows:
Seeking a night of love, it is always chasing someone around. At first, it only showed interest in other Pals, but in recent years even humans have become the target of its debauchery.
This description alone could lead to a child going to a search engine and look for—and find—some things you might not want them to. I’d give it some thought if this is too inappropriate for your child, though I think the game would be alright in the hands of a 13-year-old who proves to be mature enough to handle this. I should also mention the design of the creature is risqué. You can see it for yourself here (please link this link to the word “here” https://palworld.fandom.com/wiki/Lovander)
You might also encounter your child trying (and succeeding) in capturing human characters in the game. I point this out because you can have the captured humans perform tasks at your character’s base, and though the game is set in a cutesy-looking world—this is clearly slavery, human trafficking, etc. and I believe warrants a discussion.
Lastly, players have the ability to join games that are on servers hosted by strangers. Parents, please be vigilant in knowing whose server your child might be on should you allow them access to multiplayer. There’s a chat feature in the game that could easily be used for a bad actor online to solicit sensitive and inappropriate information from your child. Palworld is currently available on Xbox and PC, so maybe keep an eye on your child’s activities on these platforms should you find it okay for them to play this game but you are cautiously willing to let them play.
Palworld Screenshot Gallery
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