The open-world survival crafting game Palworld combines creature collecting, taming, and building with a richly detailed world. Players can explore and traverse the large island map on foot or by riding mounts like Pals. These creatures resembling Pokemon serve as mounts, companions, pets, and laborers for players to utilize. Pals are highly customizable with a range of skills and abilities, allowing players to create their ideal creatures for combat, farming, construction, or transportation. The game has received both praise and criticism for its gameplay, content, satirical premise, and use of familiar gaming elements. The developers of Palworld, PocketPair, openly acknowledge a strong influence from the 30-year-old Pokemon franchise in their game. They also draw inspiration from games such as Dragon Quest, Rust, Ark: Survival Evolved, and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
Much of the gameplay in Palworld happens at your base(s) where you can upgrade and build structures, harvest resources, craft equipment and weapons, and keep your bases well-stocked with food and materials. Your Pals are a key resource for this and can be placed in factories and automated production lines similar to those in roguelike games such as Factorio. You can also put your Pals to work in dangerous dungeons, where you can face off against formidable enemies.
While the base building and production aspect of Palworld is fairly barebones, it’s the Pals that really make this game shine. With their unique Partner Skills, they can help you delve into treacherous dungeons or defend your base against raiders. However, they can also be a significant liability when you don’t recall them in time – even with the compass indicator, it’s easy to miss your friends’ revival windows. Buy Palworld