Palworld

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

By combining ideas from different genres, Palworld does not limit 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 taken care of by employed prisoners. These are the very Pals. They will become helpers in routine tasks, partners in battle, beloved pets, and wild animals used for food. Additionally, the game features resource gathering, processing, a construction system focused on developing one's own base, and upgrading technologies.

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 known civilizations have vanished into oblivion. The protagonist's biography presents a typical adventurer seeking to explore all the hidden corners of the world. Having gathered the available geographical maps, he identified an unexplored area and set out to study it.

Encountering a wondrous semblance of a protective barrier on his path, 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 arriving on the island and acquiring a personal army of Pals, while the latter have a unique code of honor. Quests typical for such games were absent. The lore is explained through scattered notes and item descriptions throughout the world. A full-fledged plot is planned for the final version by the developers.

The action takes place on the Palpagos Islands archipelago, consisting of many islands of varying sizes, 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 from the natives, who deal a lot of damage and have high health. Fast travel points are scattered across the map, there is a teleport to your base and a choice of respawn points after death. Over time, flying on Pals becomes available, similar to "Zelda." The map is interactive, serving as both a navigation tool and a hint, visualizing the habitats of Pals, treasures, bosses, etc. Aside from nature, the world's content is limited — 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, a set of abilities, and, most importantly, an 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 the third. For example, fire Pal attacks will deal more damage to ice Pal than vice versa, and will be weaker against water Pal attacks.

Characteristics (attack, defense, endurance, health, carry weight, work speed, and food consumption) define each Pal's individuality and improve as they level up. This includes training and battles, completing quests that affect experience gain, using useful gear, 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 for certain jobs: resource gathering, caring for plantations, carrying loads, and so on. Developing a base, where process automation relies on the work 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 catches "depression" can cause chaos.

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

In early access, Palworld offered a poorly tuned but standard "self-entertainment" attraction: explore the world, collect pals, unlock new technologies, and develop, set up new bases and workbenches, defend against enemies. The patterns, despite the initial variety, 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 purchase blueprints for crafting new tools, weapons, various devices, or structures, as well as attribute points. Distributing the latter across 5 attributes — health, damage, stamina, carry weight, and work speed — makes survival easier for the player. No auto-leveling — neither for the world, nor for the protagonist, nor for the Pals.

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

The main goal for completing 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 namesake Tower, protected by his faction, and battle with 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 include 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 linked 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 leveling up the base and gathering resources, in both modes, players can exchange created Pals, trade items, and join existing guilds. PvP in multiplayer was added later and has its own rules. Likewise, character transfer between different servers and platforms.