Palworld

A third-person arcade action survival game set in a vast open world with a key mechanic of taming unusual creatures called Pal. They resemble Pokémon in appearance but lore-wise are ordinary animals — they can be used, captured, sold, and defeated.

By combining ideas from different genres, Palworld does not confine itself to a specific setting, offering a journey from a stone axe to a bazooka, from a primitive camp where everything must be done by oneself to a complex conveyor where everything is managed by employed prisoners. We are talking about those very Pals. They will become helpers in routine tasks, partners in battle, beloved pets, and wild animals consumed for food. Additionally, the game features resource gathering, processing, a building system focusing on the development of one's own base, 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-apocalypse. Events begin some time after a global catastrophe, and the civilizations we know have faded into oblivion. The protagonist's biography presents a typical adventurer eager to explore all the hidden corners of the world. Having gathered the geographical maps at hand, he identified an unexplored area and set out to study it.

Encountering a wondrous semblance of a protective barrier, the protagonist suffers shipwreck. The waves wash the unfortunate explorer onto an archipelago that is 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 couple of 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 acquired their personal army of Pals, while the latter have a unique code of honor. Quests typical for such games were absent. Lore was explained through scattered notes and item descriptions throughout the world. A full-fledged story is planned for the final version by the developers.

The action takes place on the Palpagos Islands archipelago, consisting of many islands of four different types:

The world is open from the start, but movement through it is hindered by the level difference between the protagonist and each zone. The higher it is, the greater the chance of dying from a sneeze from the natives, who deal a lot of damage and have a lot of health. On the map there are fast travel points scattered around, there is a teleport to your base and a choice of respawn point after death. Over time, flights on Pals become available, similar to "Zelda". The map is interactive, serving both as a navigation tool and as a hint, visualizing the habitats of Pals, treasures, bosses, etc. Aside from nature, the content of the world is small — a few raider bases, some towers, and dungeons.

In Palworld, there are more than one hundred Pals, each with its own characteristics, strengths and weaknesses, set of abilities, and most importantly, an element (water, fire, earth, lightning, and others, a total of nine). Interactions between elements resemble "rock-paper-scissors", where some elements are stronger than others but weaker than the third. For example, fire Pal attacks will deal more damage to ice Pal than vice versa, and will yield to water Pal attacks.

Characteristics (attack, defense, stamina, health, carry weight, work speed, and food consumption) define the individuality of each Pal, improving as they level up. This includes training and battles, completing quests that affect experience gain, 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 helpers in household tasks, with a predisposition to certain jobs: resource gathering, tending to plantations, carrying loads, and so on. Developing a base, where process automation relies on the labor of Pals, adds a unique economic strategy to the gameplay. But they also require care: timely feeding, washing, letting them sleep, and monitoring their mood. A little monster that has caught "depression" can cause havoc.

There is a mechanic for breeding Pals to obtain only the desired skills and characteristics. By choosing a pair with suitable traits, feeding them sweets, and placing them in a secluded spot, after some time the player receives an egg, which is raised in an Incubator. The result of the breeding is unpredictable, but it "inherits" from the chosen Pals. After a few tries, the desired combination will appear. There is a chance of obtaining an entirely new species during the breeding process.

In early access, Palworld offered a poorly tuned but standard "do-it-yourself" attraction: explore the world, collect pals, unlock new technologies, and develop, set up new bases and workbenches, and defend against enemies. Patterns, despite initial diversity, quickly become predictable, reducing gameplay to the repetition of similar actions.

All activities grant experience, which accumulates into levels. As it increases, the character earns technology points, which are used to buy blueprints for crafting new tools, weapons, various devices, or structures, as well as attribute points. Distributing the latter among 5 attributes — health, damage, stamina, carry weight, and work speed — the player eases their survival. No auto-leveling — for the world, the protagonist, or the Pals.

Starting with wooden clubs and stone axes, in 20-30 hours the player progresses to crossbows, rifles, and even rocket launchers. Crafting weapons requires gathering the necessary materials, but crafting in early access was simple. There is an inventory where the protagonist keeps the loot collected during gameplay, distributing weapons and first aid items among slots. Excess items are stored in chests.

The main objective 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 against the 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 their bases. Among such violations are attacking ordinary people, faction members, or actively exterminating Pals.

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

In addition to joint actions for base leveling and resource gathering, in both modes, players can exchange created Pals, trade items, and join existing guilds. PvP in multiplayer was added later with its own rules. Likewise, character transfer between different servers and platforms.