First Impressions: Palworld

Palworld is taking the gaming world by storm currently. It was released just over a week ago and is still a hot topic for numerous reasons.

The game was developed and published by Pocket Pair Inc. and is currently available on PC via Steam and is also available on Xbox via Games Pass.

Hailed as a combination of action-adventure, survival and monster-catching, Palworld sounds like it has it all. Even though this is still just an early access/game preview, there is still a lot on the horizon for the game planned by Pocket Pair Inc.

A New Adventure Awaits?

I recall seeing the trailer for the game a few months ago, if not even earlier than that and thought to myself that it looked interesting and that was about it. Honestly, I had completely forgotten about it until the hype started to build around the game online a few days before launch.

Truthfully, I was undecided whether I was going to have a look at the game. However, curiosity got the better of me. I ended up downloading the game onto my laptop via Games Pass.

My Thoughts so far

I’ve played around twelve hours of Palworld so far at the time of writing this, just in my own single-player world. I’ve been taking it slow and just exploring what the game has to offer at my own pace. It’s very easy to pick up and learn the basics. I’ve mainly been collecting materials, catching Pals and expanding my base.

It might not sound like I’ve done a lot in that time, but it has been fun and has got me hooked on wanting to continue playing.

Crafting is simple to understand, and catching Pals again is also straightforward. Handling invasions can be a little nerve-racking the first few times, but you adapt and take it in your stride. Base building can be anything from simple to as extravagant as you would like.

However, this is where I started to become conflicted.

You can see that Palworld has been inspired by other games such as Ark Survival Evolved and Pokémon to name two that stand out to me. While not identical for the most part, there is one clear aspect that is a very popular conversation topic at the moment. That is how similar the Pals are to some Pokémon.

Are the Pal designs original? Are they the work of AI? Is it just a happy coincidence just how similar they are?

I’ve been doing some research myself, trying to learn more about AI in video games and art so that I can understand it in more detail. It’s been fascinating reading into it, but I still feel there’s a lot more for me to learn.

Another thought that came to mind while I was reading into Palworld in general is, why haven’t Nintendo stepped up yet? Palworld has been on the radar for the last few years, and the earliest trailer I could find dates back two years ago on the Gamespot Trailers YouTube.

It will be interesting to see if or when Nintendo step in or if they will keep a low profile and address any concerns behind the scenes.

As for the conflicting feelings, I think it’s down to the uncertainty I feel surrounding the game as well as the perception of the game itself. The game has been insanely popular and ever so quickly and rightly so.

Going Forward

My plan is to carry on following the development of the game and potentially hop in here and there to see when new features are added. As to playing on a regular basis, part of me wants to continue exploring what Palworld has to offer however, on the other hand, I have such a big backlog of games I want to work through that this may be one that sits on the sidelines for the time being.

Have you been playing Palworld? Let me know what you think in the comments section below.