Summary
- The Free Pal Alliance in Palworld showcases noble intentions, but their actions don't match their eco-terrorist persona effectively.
- The faction leader, Lily, embodies the group's values well, but the AI and behaviors of the followers need adjustment for consistency.
- Future updates should focus on emphasizing the religious fanatic element within the Free Pal Alliance to fully realize their role in Palworld.
Palworld features all kinds of villainous factions for players to test their might against, but the Free Pal Alliance stands out from the rest. A few things about their behavior and the way they are portrayed make Palworld feel less polished than it really is.
The various alliances that can be found around the Palpagos islands are a standout feature in Palworld. Each one has a different philosophy about Pals and how to treat them, showing the player a range of different personalities. They also provide boss-like battles when the player takes on the leader of each group. Faction leaders are the head of each faction, and focus on training a particular type of Pal. All of these factions function in virtually the same way, which at first doesn’t seem like a problem. But the Free Pal Alliance has a goal of freeing Pals from the oppression of humans, and fighting for Pal rights, so some of their actions don’t make sense in Palworld's expanding lore.
What Makes the Free Pal Alliance Stick Out From the Crowd
The Free Pal Alliance can best be described as a conservation group, acting as champions for the rights of Pals. Mixed in among the other factions of poachers, unethical scientists, and power-hungry militias, they don’t feel like villains in comparison. Some have argued that the group is meant to represent eco-terrorists, which might be a valid argument, if the Palpagos Islands had any major cities or governments to terrorize. The closest they come to corruption might be a comparison to PETA, a group that works for animal rights but has a reputation for taking things too far. Even so, their goals seem noble, so their classification as villains doesn’t quite match the others in the game.
Despite their noble intentions and devotion to helping Pals, however, the Free Pal Alliance devotees don’t act any differently than the members of other enemy factions. They can still be found attacking wild Pals, and their bases feature Pals locked in cages. Some players have interpreted their behavior as evidence that they are a group of hypocrites, but that still doesn’t necessarily make them evil. The behind-the-scenes reason for this is that the game likely uses the same AI for all enemy factions, so they will all participate in the same villainous activities despite how the lore of the game says they should act. This sort of narrative dissonance makes the game look lazy, when, in fact, it has put plenty of effort into other areas.
How to Fix the Free Pal Alliance
What the Free Pal Alliance gets right is the representation of their leader, Lily, who embodies everything they should be. Her appearance is very natural, wearing a wooden crown, and no shoes, which emphasizes her connection to natural and animal life. Her choice of Pal, the grass type Lyleen, reinforces this, as does the fact that she is the only faction leader who doesn’t keep her Pals in Pal Spheres. Lily's signature spear can even be crafted in Palworld, mostly using naturally found ingredients.
In Lily’s diaries, the player learns that she is a vegetarian, and that not only does she respect Pals, but she worships them. This plays into the evil role the group should be portraying. Religious fanaticism about worshiping Pals and believing they stand above humans in the eyes of a deity is far more interesting than simply wanting them free.
In future Palworld updates, the Free Pal Alliance desperately needs to be adjusted, and this religious fanatic element should take a larger place in their story. Even if it doesn’t, the faction also needs to have their own AI that doesn’t attack wild Pals. Their bases could be an opportunity to show more characterization too; rather than leave them the same as other factions, they should let fearsome Pals roam free as a means of protection. The hypocrite angle just isn’t working for this group, and to be successful, Palworld needs to lean harder into the core traits of the faction.
Palworld
- Released
- January 19, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
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!
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Violence
- Developer(s)
- Pocket Pair, Inc.
- Publisher(s)
- Pocket Pair, Inc.
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Number of Players
- 1-4 (Co-Op); 32 Players Server Limit
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X
- Genre(s)
- Open-World, Shooter, Survival
- How Long To Beat
- 36 Hours
- File Size Xbox Series
- 6 GB (February 2024)
