Palworld early access Review
Addictive, but can it last?
Watch the review or…
Read the whole thing here!
Platform: PC
Reviewed on: PC
Developer: Pocketpair
Publisher: Pocketpair
Release: January 19, 2024 (Early Access)
Time Played: 30
Genre: Open World Survival Craft Monster-collection
ESRB: N/A
The latest open world survival crafting monster catching game is taking the world by storm. Palworld, still deep in early access, has stolen the hearts of millions, and you may be wondering why? It just kind of looks like a ripoff from other games you already cherish. Let me tell you I love those games too, and I’ve come to really enjoy my time in Palworld. Let me explain how the game works and give you my final thoughts on it, maybe you can grab your friends and enjoy this game too! Please note, this is an early access review, there may be some major changes to the game in the future.
Where it starts
You wake up on a beach, wearing nothing but some raggedy clothes. Next to you is a tablet with a cryptic message. Taking your first steps into the Palpagos Island you find small critters running around and a few locals giving some advice on where and how to start your journey. Befriend Pals, build a base, and fight off the groups of people who don’t like your presence there.
Can the kids watch
It’s a cute game with small bouts of violence, different weapons anywhere from clubs to bap enemies with to giant guns will be used to fight Pals or other humans as they try to take you out. My kids loved watching me play, the only problem they had was when I would knock out a Pal instead of catching it, they felt all Pal are to cute and we have to save every single one.
Pals Gotta Snatch em All
The most enjoyable part of the game would probably be the discovery of new Pals and trying to catch them. You don’t have to use a Pal to catch a Pal, they can help you in combat, or you can just beat the Pal yourself with a weapon until it’s health is low enough and throw a sphere and hope it stays in there. The sphere will float around and show you what the chances are the Pal will stay contained.
Passive skills
Every Pal you catch will be unique, they may be the exact same Pal on the outside, but they will have random passive skills that change how that Pal works. Some skills increase player stats like mining efficiency, while other skills can make the Pal eat a lot more or lose sanity faster. The skills effect your character while they are in your party, so it doesn’t hurt to make sure your running around with useful Pals and not carrying around constant debuff in the world.
Your Base
After exploring the land and catching a few Pals, you can start building a place to call home. Your base is where you’ll sleep, make food, and craft all the tools you need to survive. But you’re not alone with all the work that needs done. Every Pal will have specific work capabilities around a base, if there is work to be done that they can do, they will automatically start chipping away at it. You can also assign a Pal to a station if you don’t want them to think for themselves. The biggest worries are keeping the Pals fed and sane while they work for you.
Combat
While fighting you can choose to go in alone or with a Pal. One Pal can be out fighting with you, they will attack whatever is a hazard to you automatically, you can command your Pal to be more aggressive or stay back a little, but I found it easier to just let them do their thing while I focused on the fight at hand. Some you can even pick up and use as a weapon, given you’ve made the proper equipment.
Utilization out of combat
Pals do so much for you in this game, besides fighting or helping out in the base. Quite a few of them can be ridden for example. The Pals you can ride usually have a special skill helping you in some way, like increasing mining speed while riding, or moving really fast, even taking to the skies, with the right Pals everything is within your reach.
Upgrades Upgrades Upgrades
Your base will give you tasks to complete, increasing the number of Pals you can have working at the same time and increase how many bases you can have at the same time. Then there is your character level, every time you level up you get special points to unlock the ability to build new things like crafting stations or gear. It seems the whole point of the game is to level up and upgrade everything on a regular basis, lest you fall behind and get destroyed by tough enemies.
The Grind
The farther in you get the grindier the game becomes. Starting off everything was new, there was a lot to do and discover, but that came to a screeching halt at a certain level when the materials needed were tougher to find, enemy Pals became tougher to beat, not saying it’s impossible, but it does turn into a job so to speak if you want to get to the end of all that’s possible. But it does add to the playtime you get with the game in the long run, so maybe it’s not so bad.
Steam vs xbox
I’ve been playing on pc through the Xbox Gamepass and there are quite a few differences between that and steams version of the game, not to say it will always be this way, Xbox just seems to be a little behind. Steam allows for naming your character and Pals, while xbox does not, multiplayer seems a little more able on steam than it does on xbox as well. The devs do plan on updating everything accordingly, but steam may always be a little ahead of the game due to licensing and certificates and stuff.
Outro:
It’s been a minute since I’ve played a survival base building game, and Palworld brings the same addictive nature that pulls you in and makes you want to strive for perfection, always pushing for the next upgrade for new gear and what not. I played a lot at first and powered through until around level thirty, that was when things slowed down a lot, not that it was difficult, just more grindy. That’s not a problem if your really into it, I just don’t quite have the energy anymore to keep at it for a while.
The game looks great, the various Pals range from cute to totally bad ass, and the different environments you can explore looked good, some much more than others. There isn’t much story in the game, I’m not sure if they plan on adding any or not. You can find memos from other explorers of the land, telling a small story of what they went through, but it’s not much. Most of the story for now can be extrapolated from the names of enemies and how they act, not much to go on, but enough to make yourself an interesting story.
I’m enjoying the game and plan on playing with my wife here and there, maybe taking things a little slower to really savor the flavor might make it a more enjoyable experience overall. But I don’t think the hype is going to last, it has a uniqueness with the capturing of Pals and putting them to work, but overall it’s the same kind of survival base builder that we’ve all seen before. Have you had a chance to play Palworld yet? What are your thoughts so far?
And without further ado, let’s get the ratings underway
Visuals are coming in at a four
The story, or lack thereof, get’s a one
Gameplay is working as it should for the most part, just mildly grindy, I’m giving it another four
Reaplayability isn’t terribly high, the idea of grinding through the beginning again to get to where I’m at is terrible, but for now you have to start a new player to play on a friends world, so I’ll give it a two.
Started off with a bang like a sick addiction, and slowly wore me down, we’re going with a three.
Earning Palworld an overall score of three out of five placing just at the end of the Midshelf. If you love the idea of surviving the wilds with wild critters around to help you out and building the perfect customized base, you can have a lot of fun with this game. I just fear how long you can enjoy it. The game is still in Early Access with a lot more still to come, so you can jump on the train now, or wait until it’s a fuller game with more to offer.