Palworld is arguably the biggest game of 2024 so far, garnering millions of players and thousands of viewers on livestream platforms. Developed by Pocket Pair, the same creators as Craftopia, Palworld has often been described as “Pokemon, but with guns”. It’s an interesting premise of juxtaposition that promises high-octane lead-driven action alongside cuddly companions. Growing in popularity by the day, Palworld is a force to be reckoned with, but is it truly a contender as a Pokemon killer?
If you base your expectations on Palworld‘s marketing, which heavily features third-person shooting action and catchable creatures, you might be caught off-guard when you boot up the game. In the trailers, Palworld seems more like Monster Hunter World or a ridiculous co-op shooter than anything else, but the distinct Pokemon-style creatures lend it a distinct charm. There’s an overwhelming variety of cool monsters, interesting areas, fun weapons, and more. However, the actual gameplay of Palworld is something much different.
The Palworld Promise and the Palworld Truth
First and foremost, Palworld is not a turn-based RPG with a focused narrative like any of the mainline Pokemon games. In its current alpha state, it feels like a slightly unpolished third-person adventure like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, but with a major emphasis on crafting and resource collection, similar to Valheim or Genshin Impact.
Sure, some aspects are reminiscent of Pokemon, including capturing cutesy monsters to aid in your adventure, but the moment-to-moment gameplay is very different from even the most recent 3D adventures like Pokemon Sword/Shield or Pokemon Violet/Scarlet. At best, Palworld is comparable to Pokemon Legends: Arceus, but only in regards to its open-world exploration style.
The marketing focus on firearms and crazy gunplay is also pretty misleading, as you won’t be wielding any weapons for several hours. Even after spending over 5 hours in the game, the closest I got to blasting baddies was by firing off a few arrows from a bow I crafted. Thankfully, the wild third-person shooting does exist (sporadically) in Palworld, it’s just buried behind a lot of other stuff.
Is Palworld as Good as Pokemon?
Even if Palworld isn’t exactly the same as Pokemon, the game’s style and premise are sure to intrigue curious fans. To that end, Palworld is actually pretty fun, but you have to go in with the right expectations. As an early access/alpha state title, Palworld has plenty of glitches, lacks polish, and doesn’t really have any story to speak of. Be prepared to spend at least five hours on the “tutorial” section, where you’ll go through the standard crafting/survival grind of punching trees, mining rocks, building a shelter, and more. Additionally, the general onboarding process isn’t great in its current stage, so if you’re a Pokemon fan without much experience in the crafting/survival genre or vice versa, you may struggle to comprehend some gameplay mechanics.
All this considered, once you’ve established your base and built up some resources, it can be a lot of fun to explore the map, discover and capture new “Pals”, and manage your party. Pals can be utilized both at your base and in combat, so they don’t feel underused in the slightest. Once you progress past the initial few entrants in the Paldex and stumble upon the rarer boss monsters, things get even more interesting.
Ultimately, your enjoyment of Palworld will depend on several things, including your: interest in the crafting/survival genre, patience with the opening hours, and existing knowledge of modern game systems. Despite its comparisons to Pokemon, Palworld does not feel like a game aimed at kids. It does not hold your hand, there’s a bit of occasional swearing, not to mention the focus on bullet-spraying and deadly weapons. If you’ve got some time to spare and don’t mind the jank that comes with early access titles, the game might be worth checking out, but it’s hard to call Palworld a Pokemon killer when they’re completely different genres. At the very least, Palworld has a decent foundation and, when finished, could be better than some of the lackluster Pokemon spin-offs and remasters that have been shoveled out as of late.
Short author bio:
Matt Owen
As a lifelong gamer and overall media fiend, Matt gets his hands on every new game and watches an unhealthy amount of movies and TV: action, horror, mystery, and sci-fi in particular. When not bingeing on entertainment, he enjoys reading and writing short stories, cooking, and producing video and podcast content.