Summary

  • Palworld's success has brought both praise and criticism due to its genre-blending and similarities to Pokemon and Ark: Survival Evolved.
  • Pocketpair, the indie developer behind Palworld, has a history of sparking controversy with visually familiar games, which raises concerns about its upcoming Metroidvania game, Never Grave.
  • While Palworld's resemblances to Nintendo titles haven't yet hindered its success, drawing inspiration from a fellow small studio like Hollow Knight's Team Cherry might impact Never Grave.

The recent success of Palworld has undoubtedly thrust indie developer Pocketpair into the spotlight, but the sudden attention has become a double-edged sword. While some praise the game's ability to blend genres, others have raised concerns about Palworld's similarities to Pokemon and Ark: Survival Evolved. Following the recent controversy, concerns have been raised that Pocketpair's upcoming Metroidvania could be a lightning rod for criticism due to its visual resemblance to the 2017 game Hollow Knight.

While Palworld isn't Pocketpair's first title, it is the studio's first game to surpass seven million copies in five days. Interestingly, when Pocketpair's open-world survival game Craftopia debuted in 2020, it was accused of heavily mimicking The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Now, with the publisher's 2D Metroidvania slated for a Q1 release this year, it's possible that fans of Hollow Knight won't be happy with the similar visuals and mechanics.

Pocket Pair Has a History of Sparking Controversy

Hollow Knight and Never Grave

Never Grave Is Likely Inspired By Hollow Knight

Given Pocketpair's penchant for igniting controversy with visually familiar games, Never Grave could very well be next on the list. In the upcoming roguelite, players set out on a platforming journey with the aid of a cursed hat. On paper, Never Grave's promise of obstacles and puzzles and guarding ruined villages is intriguing in its own right. However, the trailer throws a curveball, showcasing double jump and dash maneuvers reminiscent of Hollow Knight. This also includes a few eerily familiar enemies and landscapes.

Though there is strong evidence suggesting that this game drew inspiration from Hollow Knight, the publisher has not explicitly acknowledged it. Surprisingly, Palworld didn't cite Pokemon as one of its main inspirations, either. Instead, CEO Takura Mizobe referenced Ark: Survival Evolved, Rust, and the Dragon Quest series as his inspirations.

Pocket Pair's Plagiarism Controversy May Heighten With Never Grave

Never Grave Pocket Pair

Despite the controversy, Palworld's success appears unaffected, seeing as it just surpassed over 2 million concurrent players on Steam. A key detail may be due to Palworld players being unconcerned about a game allegedly targeting Nintendo's intellectual property.

Accusations have been leveled at Pocketpair for drawing heavily on established ideas in its games, but without concrete evidence, whether this is intentional or not remains debatable. That being said, Hollow Knight was created by an indie developer akin to Pocketpair. While Palworld's resemblances to Nintendo titles didn't appear to stop its momentum, drawing inspiration from a fellow small studio might be enough to stagger Never Grave's chances of success.

At the moment, it's unclear whether Never Grave's visual echoes of Hollow Knight will generate any significant attention. Since the game is expected to debut before March 2024, this could still be impacted by the buzz around Palworld. Even so, Palworld has proven to be far more than a standard Pokemon clone and Never Grave may exceed what Hollow Knight fans expect from it, too.

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Palworld Tag Page Cover Art

Palworld
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Open-World
Shooter
Survival
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Systems
PC-1 PlayStation-1 Xbox-1
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Top Critic Avg: 71 /100 Critics Rec: 58%
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Released
January 19, 2024
ESRB
T For Teen Due To Violence
Developer(s)
Pocket Pair, Inc.
Publisher(s)
Pocket Pair, Inc.
Engine
Unreal Engine 5
Multiplayer
Online Multiplayer
Cross-Platform Play
Xbox Series X|S, pc
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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!

Number of Players
1-4 (Co-Op); 32 Players Server Limit
Genre(s)
Open-World, Shooter, Survival