"Palworld' Is Totally Bonkers, Yet Surprisingly Amazing

 

To be completely honest, I wasn't expecting a game that could be summed up as "Pokémon with guns" to be anything more than a joke. However, Palworld, the survival monster fighter from Pocket Pair, has turned out to be more than just a meme. It's a genuinely enjoyable experience that's skyrocketing on the Steam charts, making a splash on Xbox Game Pass, and making some players question what The Pokémon Company has been up to lately.

Now, I'm not usually into survival games. I didn't even fancy LEGO Fortnite when it came out, let alone more complex games like Valheim. But Palworld's base-building and survival mechanics are simple enough that I'm not overwhelmed, and surprisingly, I'm having a good time. There's something amusing about having animals manage your entire base. No, it's not slavery – I even built them a hot tub! The game is just wild and hilarious. In my first day with Palworld, I managed to do quite a few things:

1. Beat a chicken to death with my bare fists to level up within 30 seconds of spawning.
2. Upgraded my fire fox Pal so I can carry him around like a flamethrower.
3. Upgraded a ghost pal that now floats over my shoulder and shoots at enemies like a sentient turret.
4. Threw an underperforming sheep Pal off a cliff and replaced him in my lineup.
5. Found an enormous shiny Pal that I killed for extremely rare resources.

I didn't personally do this, but on a stream, I saw someone capture humans they fought, and apparently, you can sell or butcher them. Not sure if it's a bug, but it's definitely surprising.

I don't have any guns yet, so no "Pokémon with guns" experience for me, but it's still a blast hunting and fighting with my spear and bow. Sending out my giant plant dinosaurs and terrifying electric cats to take on enemies adds to the excitement. Material gathering is a bit tiresome initially, but once you figure out which Pals to assign to tasks, it gets much better. Having them auto-farm wood and stone saves you from constantly venturing out to chop trees and rocks.

Visually, the game isn't groundbreaking, just Unreal Engine 5, making it look and play somewhat like Fortnite. However, compared to Game Freak's lackluster attempts at pushing the graphical limits of Pokémon games on the Switch, Palworld stands out. Yes, Pokémon is a more intricate monster fighter, but its visuals have been declining with each new iteration, leaving room for something like Palworld to swoop in, attract players, and achieve nearly a million concurrent players on Steam.

It's undeniably a humorous game, as the half dozen dead sheep rolling around like beach balls on my screen right now would suggest. However, it also has a solid crafting/building/team management core, with real-time combat involving increasingly powerful weapons and Pals that's genuinely enjoyable. If the gameplay wasn't solid, even Pokémon with AK-47s and Gatling guns wouldn't save it. But Palworld is, indeed, a blast.

I completely understand why this game is immediately resonating with so many people, fueled by a snowball effect of recommendations due to its availability on Game Pass and a reasonable $26 price tag on Steam. It's somewhat mind-boggling that a AAA game with a $200 million budget and six years of development can be overshadowed by something like Palworld seemingly out of nowhere.

This game just ticks so many boxes. If you enjoy Valheim, Fortnite, or Pokémon, there's a good chance you'll appreciate Palworld. And that's quite a wide audience it's capturing. Clearly, whatever they're doing is working.