Summary

  • Palworld has faced controversies and criticisms regarding its similarities to Pokemon and potential breach of intellectual property, but no legal action has been taken yet.
  • The Chief of Staff at Behaviour Interactive, has criticized Palworld for poor balancing, an empty open world, and "boring and repetitive" combat, with the main issue being the lack of "warmth" and connection with the game's characters.
  • Despite the criticisms, Palworld has seen significant success with millions of players enjoying the game, and it has become the biggest third-party launch in Xbox Game Pass history.

Dead by Daylight's Chief of Staff Nathan S. Has shared some harsh criticisms of Palworld amid mounting controversies surrounding the hit indie title. In just under two weeks, Palworld has seen a meteoric rise to becoming one of the most-talked-about and most-played games out there. The survival shooter meets monster-collecting open-world adventure game has set records for both Xbox Game Pass and Steam. Despite its success, however, it seems Palworld still can't seem to shake waves of plaguing negativity from members of the gaming community and even other developers.

Much of the talk about Palworld has centered around similarities between it and Pokemon. The Pokemon Company even issued a statement about Palworld, claiming that it plans to investigate a potential breach of intellectual property. That said, no legal action has yet been taken. Regardless of copyright laws, Palworld has proven to be a divisive topic. Even while millions of players are currently enjoying the game, some still don't see what all the fuss is about.

Dead by Daylight Dev Says Palworld Has No "Warmth"

As first spotted by Level Push, Nathan S. Has taken to LinkedIn to share his opinion of Palworld. However, it appears the post has since been removed. The Chief of Staff at Behaviour Interactive didn't hold back. He states, "I don't think Palworld is very good." He goes on to cite reasons such as poor balancing, an empty open world, "boring and repetitive" combat, and an overall "buggy" experience. However, while the dev claims these problems might be able to be fixed with money and time, the one issue he doesn't see going away is the lack of "warmth."

A screenshot from Pocket Pair's Palworld, depicting in-game Pal Anubis.

What separates Palworld and Pokemon, according to Nathan S., is the bond that is shared between Pokemon and their trainers. Despite having played the game, the dev doesn't feel a connection with any of his Pals. Still, he finishes off his post by stating that the success of Palworld might be a wake-up call for Pokemon developer Game Freak. Lastly, Nathan S. Claims that perhaps the biggest winner is Xbox Game Pass. Palworld is the biggest third-party launch in Game Pass history, coinciding with its massive success on Steam.

For fans enjoying the game, Palworld released its future content roadmap that boasts new Pals, islands, and bosses, along with PvP and crossplay. The indie title is still in its early access period, so there are sure to be plenty of updates before the game inevitably reaches its 1.0 release.

The first issue the development team is looking to address is the various bugs. So far, the developers have been doing a solid job responding to increased demand, and Palworld recently released an update for Xbox, which helped bring the console iteration closer to the still technically superior Steam version.

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Palworld
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Released
January 19, 2024
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WHERE TO PLAY

SUBSCRIPTION
DIGITAL
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In this game, you can peacefully live alongside mysterious creatures known as Pals or risk your life to drive off a ruthless poaching syndicate. Pals can be used to fight and breed, or they can be made to work on farms or factories. You can even sell them or eat them.
Survival: In a harsh environment where food is scarce and vicious poachers roam, danger waits around every corner. To survive, you must tread carefully and make difficult choices...even if that means eating your own Pals when the time comes.
Mounts & Exploration: Pals can be mounted to traverse the land, sea and sky—allowing you to traverse all kinds of environment as you explore the world.
Collect all kinds of exciting Pals to fight, farm, build, and work for you in this completely new multiplayer, open world survival and crafting game!

Developer(s)
Pocket Pair, Inc.
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Publisher(s)
Pocket Pair, Inc.
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Genre(s)
Open-World, Shooter, Survival