Palworld

Arcade action-survival game from a third-person perspective in a vast open world with a key mechanic of taming unusual creatures called Pals. They resemble Pokémon in appearance, but according to the lore, they are ordinary beasts — they can be used, captured, sold, and defeated.

Combining ideas from different genres, Palworld doesn't limit itself to a single setting, offering a journey from a stone axe to a bazooka, from a primitive camp where everything must be done by hand to a complex conveyor where employed prisoners take care of everything. These prisoners are the Pals. They will become helpers in routine tasks, companions in battle, beloved pets, and wild beasts used for food. Additionally, the game includes resource gathering, processing, a construction system focused on base development, and technology upgrades.

At the time of early access, the structure of the Palworld universe is unknown, except that the action takes place in a post-apocalyptic setting. Events begin some time after a global catastrophe, with known civilizations having vanished into oblivion. The protagonist's biography is that of a typical adventurer seeking to uncover all the hidden corners of the world. Gathering available geographical maps, he identifies an unexplored area and sets out to investigate it.

Encountering a strange protective barrier along the way, the protagonist suffers a shipwreck. Waves wash the hapless explorer onto an archipelago not marked on any map. A true "terra incognita" with traces of artificial origin — mysterious creatures, artifacts, portals to other dimensions, ruins of the Ancients, and a giant world tree in the center.

The plot and narrative were not the focus of Palworld's early access. There are a few characters to chat with, as well as story bosses and factions. The former have their own stories of how they ended up on the island and mastered their personal armies of Pals, while the latter have a unique code of honor. Traditional quests for such games were absent. The lore was explained through scattered notes and item descriptions. A full-fledged plot was planned by the developers for the final version.

The action takes place on the Palpagos Islands archipelago, consisting of numerous islands of varying sizes, each of one of four types:

The world is open from the start, but movement is restricted by the level difference between the protagonist and each zone. The higher the level, the greater the chance of dying from a sneeze by the natives, who have high damage and health. Fast travel points are scattered across the map, there is a teleport to the player's base, and a choice of respawn point after death. Over time, flights on Pals become available, similar to "Zelda." The map is interactive, serving as both a navigational tool and a hint, visualizing the habitats of Pals, treasures, bosses, etc. Apart from nature, the world's content is small — a few raider bases, tower-like structures, and dungeons.

In Palworld, there are over a hundred Pals, each with their own characteristics, strengths, weaknesses, set of abilities, and most importantly, element (water, fire, earth, lightning, and others, a total of nine). The interaction between elements resembles "rock-paper-scissors," where some elements are stronger than others but weaker than a third. For example, a fire Pal's attacks will deal more damage to an ice Pal than vice versa and will be weaker against a water Pal's attacks.

Characteristics (attack, defense, stamina, health, carrying weight, work speed, and food consumption) define each Pal's individuality and improve as they level up. This includes training and battles, completing tasks that affect experience gain, and using useful equipment and even weapons.

In early access, Pals had their own skill system:

Pals are not just companions and fighters. They are reliable household helpers, predisposed to various tasks: resource gathering, plantation care, cargo transport, etc. Base development, where process automation relies on Pal labor, adds a unique economic strategy element to the gameplay. However, they also need care: timely feeding, washing, letting them sleep, and monitoring their mood. A monster that catches "depression" can wreak havoc.There is a breeding mechanic to obtain desired skills and characteristics. By selecting a pair with suitable traits, feeding them sweets, and placing them in a secluded spot, the player eventually receives an egg to hatch in the Incubator. The result of breeding is unpredictable but "inherits" from the chosen Pals. After a few tries, the desired combination will emerge. There is also a chance to obtain a completely new species through breeding.

In early access, Palworld offered a poorly tuned but standard "entertain yourself" attraction: explore the world, collect pals, discover new technologies and develop, set up new bases and workbenches, defend against enemies. Despite the initial variety, the patterns quickly become predictable, reducing the gameplay to repetitive actions.

All activities bring experience, which accumulates into levels. As the level increases, the character receives technology points, which can be used to purchase blueprints for crafting new tools, weapons, various devices, or structures, as well as attribute points. Distributing the latter among 5 attributes — health, damage, stamina, carrying weight, and work speed — eases the player's survival. There is no auto-leveling — neither for the world, the protagonist, nor the pals.

Starting with wooden clubs and stone axes, within 20-30 hours, the player progresses to crossbows, rifles, and even rocket launchers. To create weapons, necessary materials must be collected, but crafting in early access was simple. There is an inventory where the protagonist stores loot collected during the game, allocates weapons and first aid items to slots. Excess is stored in chests.

The main goal to complete Palworld in early access was to defeat the leader of each of the five game factions. To do this, it was necessary to invade the eponymous Tower, defended by his faction, and fight his personal pal and the boss himself. On the way to the goal, factions could pursue the player for violating their code of conduct and also invade his bases. Such violations included attacking ordinary people, faction members, or actively exterminating pals.

Palworld can be played with 2-4 friends, either by launching your own game server or on dedicated servers, where up to 32 players can run around. Multiplayer requires creating a new character, and it will remain tied to the world or server where it was created. That is, on each new server or in co-op mode, there will be a separate character with its own progression.

In addition to joint actions for base development and resource gathering, in both modes, you can exchange created pals, trade items, and join existing guilds. PvP was added to multiplayer later with its own rules. As well as character transfer between different servers and platforms.