Palworld: imitation or innovation?

Having been a long-standing fan of Pokémon, hearing about Pocket Pair’s Palworld being dubbed as ‘Pokémon with guns’ had me, and millions of others, intrigued to say the least. Since its release, Palworld has completely swept the internet, and despite the game being in early access, its charming combination of features from many well-loved favourites such as Pokémon and ARK Survival Evolved have captured the hearts of many. With the game skyrocketing to the top of game charts for the new year, it hasn’t taken long for people to realise that Palworld brings much more to the table than stolen mechanics and may even have the potential to raise the standard for the monster-taming survival genre as a whole.

Alongside its stunning graphics, the realm of Palworld immediately draws you in through its generous selection of monsters to catch and convert into lovable workers. It puts an interesting twist on the traditional monster-taming genre by giving pals a usefulness beyond combat, allowing the player to put them to work crafting or gathering resources, even to the point of exhaustion or death, depending on your morals. I was pleasantly surprised by how the game’s unconventional blend of features somehow manages to knit together seamlessly, creating an overall enjoyable experience.

Palworld follows the traditional model of grinding experience to level up your base and unlock new buildings. While this initially seems compelling due to the game’s vast array of challenging bosses and fresh content to discover, it quickly becomes tiresome, especially with the empty open world and arguably messy combat system. The game feels hollow, and even after 25+ hours of gameplay I still find it difficult to connect with any of my pals, especially since the lack of a wider story leaves much to the imagination. Coupled with poor movement mechanisms and an art-style reminiscent of practically any other survival game, it is difficult to determine whether Palworld will stand the test of time as a lasting favourite or a short-term sensation.

Despite its bugs, Palworld succeeds where many other games fail simply by providing a shamelessly fun experience. With other mainstream games becoming notorious for unsatisfactory content, Palworld shatters expectations by providing a fresh experience of the survival genre. If you’re seeking a gaming experience that is both familiar and refreshingly new, Palworld won’t let you down – you’ll probably end up spending hours on the game without even realising it.