I was stoked to boot it up and like…what? It’s such a stupid game on all fronts. I get that stealing mechanics works if you’re into that kind of gameplay, but there’s no way that anyone other than pokemon obsessed people enjoy this. Even then, it’s such a poor analog for actual pokemon games. I feel like it’s “success” is all media buzz. Every actual human in my life agrees it’s terrible. Even my partner who is actually pokemon obsessed lol. But the coverage on the internet would have you believe it’s goty contender. I have never felt more convinced that we are living in a simulation lol. I can’t be alone in this, am I? Is there where I learn that I’m that far out of touch? Like, truly, if you enjoy it, good for you. We all have things we love that others don’t get. But like, someone please tell me I’m not the only one lol.
I like that it isn’t Pokemon, and doesn’t tread lightly for younger audiences, which you typically get in games that use this “cutesy” art style.
To me, Palworld is a mix of Ark, Fortnite, Zelda BOTW, Satisfactory, and the best bits of other games that connect up just right to make a genuinely fun experience IMO. It’s not the best graphically or from a UX perspective, but 50 hours in I can tell that the devs knew exactly what they wanted to do, and created something with a lot of unexpected depth that isn’t noticeable in the early game stages.
The only thing really taken from Pokemon IMO is just the monster collecting aspect, and some very similar looking designs for the monsters, which to be honest I would have done the same looking at how much other stuff the game allows you to do, not to mention the endless animations that are unique to each individual monster in the game - faces included!
All in all, the game will feel like a unity project, especially for console/AAA gamers typically used to seeing a certain level of polish and gameplay design. Beneath the rough appearance are some devs that have produced something that is actually fun and engaging. Extremely stable too at release for an early access game, unlike most other “full” games that have released in recent times. A full gameplay loop is about 2 hours, and even then there is still a lot more to discover in game.
I feel there are going to be a bunch of clones popping up, but none are going to have the same impact without the same amount of effort put in, and attention to certain gameplay elements that Palworld just gets “fun” IMO.
The guns and flamethrowers are a nice meme and great for getting people interested, but they are not a key part of the gameplay at all. At it’s core Palworld is a survival monster collector, with light automation thrown in: a genre that it’s kind of created itself