"Palworld" is an action-adventure survival game developed by the Japanese developer Pocket Pair.
Palworld is an exciting action-adventure survival game developed by Pocket Pair. Immerse yourself in an open world filled with adorable animal-like creatures called 'Pals.' Engage in thrilling battles, capture Pals, and utilize them for base building, traversal, and combat.
Whether you prefer solo adventures or the camaraderie of multiplayer, Palworld offers a dynamic gaming experience with support for up to 32 players on a single server. Announced in 2021, the game officially launched via early access for Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S in January 2024.
The game's unique comedic premise, often dubbed as 'Pokémon with guns,' adds a hilarious twist to the action. Equip your Pals with firearms and dive into a world where creatures can be used for various purposes, from providing food to working in mines and factories.
Palworld received positive reviews for its engaging gameplay, rich content, and satirical premise. However, some critics pointed out its reliance on shock humor and the use of designs and mechanics that may seem unoriginal.
Despite the criticisms, Palworld achieved remarkable success, selling eight million units within the first six days of early access. It also reached a milestone of two million concurrent players on Steam, securing its position as the second-highest played game of all time on the platform.
《Palworld》 has received mostly positive professional reviews. IGN and PC Invasion praised its entertaining combat and captivating gameplay loop, with the latter noting the game's vivid portrayal of a large yet somewhat desolate environment inhabited by different Pals.
GAMINGbible stated that 《Palworld》 exceeded their expectations, emphasizing the impressive content during the early testing phase and the humor it displayed.
《The Escapist》 described the battles allowing players to team up with Pals against stronger enemies as a highlight. PCGamesN referred to the game as "a profound extradition on biological capitalism," acknowledging its flaws but praising its gameplay and open-world aspects.
In GameSpot, author Mark Delaney praised the game's mechanics and atmosphere as "a refreshing perspective in a genre often presenting things in a joyful and sincere manner," considering it a game that acknowledges the exploitation of in-game creatures by its game systems for the first time.
On the contrary, Rock, Paper, Shotgun and PC Gamer criticized 《Palworld》 for excessively relying on humor related to animal abuse and sweatshop factories. PC Gamer labeled it as a style reminiscent of the "mid-2000s Newgrounds edgelord," accusing the game of "overemphasizing this point."
Rock, Paper, Shotgun also believed that Palworld's game mechanics and presentation fundamentally misunderstood the meaning and appeal of Pokémon and monster-catching genres. Additionally, the lack of originality in Pal designs and the borrowing of mechanisms from other games garnered some criticism, with VG247 suggesting it weakened an otherwise "admirable" game.
The game lacks specific tutorial levels, but most early essential knowledge is documented in the in-game 'Survival Guide.' It's recommended for players to read the survival guide once before embarking on their adventure to grasp basic knowledge.
Palworld follows a survival gameplay similar to "ARK" and "Valheim," requiring players to build bases for resource production and crafting various equipment items. Basic Pal Balls (Pokeballs) need to be crafted at the workbench inside the base. Therefore, the first task after starting the game is to quickly find a location and build your first base.
Early on, players need a significant amount of wood and stone to craft various tools, weapons, and, most importantly, Pal Balls. After establishing a base, the first tasks should include gathering stone and wood. Capture Pals that can help with gathering resources within the base. Due to the early need for extensive resource collection and transport, it is advisable to prioritize upgrading and increasing weight capacity for easier handling.
Whether building structures or crafting items, players need to learn recipes at the tech station. Ideally, players should have enough tech points to unlock all recipes. However, early tech points obtained through upgrades are insufficient to learn all recipes at each level. If playing with friends, it's best to coordinate and allocate points to learn different recipes. For example, one person can focus on base upgrade recipes, while another focuses on equipment recipes.
Do not place campfires in paths where Pals work or rest, as they might walk into the fire and get burned. Similarly, if players step on the campfire, they will also get burned (very painful).
Once the first base is well-developed, start preparing to advance to the Metal Age. Produce "Metal Ingots" using metal ore and a smelter. The consumption of metal ingots is enormous, so it's recommended to build the second base near metal ore deposits for centralized metal ingot production.
Teleportation points make travel convenient after being unlocked. While exploring the map, players may come across green statues known as Verdant Leaf Rat Statues. Collecting them allows players to offer them to the Power Statue built in the base (Level 6 recipe), permanently increasing the character's capture power and making pet capture easier.
Normally, teleportation requires direct interaction between the player and the teleportation point and cannot be done freely on the map. However, if the server (world) is set up so that dying doesn't result in dropping items, players can press ESC and select "Respawn After Death" to suicide when the backpack is full or when wanting to return to the base, effectively "teleporting" back to the base.
Many players on Twitter have shared a trick where, by shooting the hookshot gun at the ground or a wall and quickly switching weapons upon collision, players can catapult themselves at high speed. Afterward, deploying the glider allows for covering long distances seamlessly.
Similarly, players have shared on Twitter that by standing on a captured Pal Ball, there's a chance to be catapulted into the sky. This technique proves useful when trying to reach high places during map exploration.
Most Painful thing you will ever see on Palworld 😭 pic.twitter.com/91DoUHSlCh
— Covent (@ChrisCovent) January 24, 2024
Can't be slick in palworld. #Palworld #furry pic.twitter.com/hNycOInb3R
— Tea The Rabbit (@TeaTheRabbit) January 25, 2024
Using the Frieren mod in palworld 💀 pic.twitter.com/IVBDpYda7c
— Brendan (@brenxdan) January 25, 2024
Meet X-15, the fastest mount in Palworld
— Palworld Updates (@PalworldUpdates) January 25, 2024
🎥 yashpwnz pic.twitter.com/ap8CCnxWf0