You've heard of Palworld, right? It's Pokemon, but with guns! And crafting! And survival mechanics! And in-world mini kaiju boss battles! And you beat the Pokemon things up with your bare hands, or even an axe! And 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:you can, wait, catch people? Palworld is Pokemon with guns plus a whole load of other things, plus it's missing most of the things we hold sacred about Pokemon. There's no home town, no professor or mentor, no narrative hook, no starter, no anything, really. You throw mechanical orbs at Pals to catch them, and there's a list if you want to catch 'em all, but it's a very different game.
I say this not in defence of Palworld, particularly. As I wrote about yesterday, this is a game that fairly shamelessly riffs on Pokemon's designs and art style, by a dev who is a vocal champion of AI - although it should be noted that there is no evidence that Palworld itself uses AI. Even leaving that aside, I don't think the game itself is all that compelling.
Oddly, the game it feels most similar to is 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:South Park: The Stick of Truth. Both are clearly designed as entry level paths into often complex genres, and replace any real mechanical depth or originality with a shallow yet rewarding feedback loop. Whether it be Palworld's plagiarism or South Park's... everything else, both are also a little problematic. That doesn't mean Palworld is a write off, however. It's enjoyable with its modest aims, and its Mammorest success may even teach Pokemon a lesson or two about embracing change.
But what's especially interesting is how 'it's Pokemon with guns' has stuck in the public perception. That is what Palworld was sold as, and the virality of that idea is probably responsible for a large chunk of its success too. Playing it even a little bit though, it's clear that this is only the jumping off point. Sure, Palworld is mostly about its Pals who roam the world, can be used in battle, and must be caught, but there are a lot of other inspirations too. Compared to a lot of other Pokemon clones, Palworld has the most original (or at least the most 'not stolen from Pokemon') ideas, and yet where other games have been celebrated for their closeness to Pokemon, Palworld has been criticised - the devs have even reported receiving death threats.
A big question you'd have to ask is 'how much is a Pokemon game made by its designs'. The region of my favourite Pokemon game, my favourite region overall, and the region with my favourite designs would all be different answers (Johto, Hoenn, and Unova). If Palworld stole designs from Pokemon - and it's pretty obvious it borrowed liberally - then that's all it stole. The game's map, adventure, and mechanics are completely different. And rather than Pokemon, these take more inspiration from Ark or Fortnite.
This article was written prior to a new development regarding 3D models, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:which you can read here.
It's fascinating that Pokemon has been the sticking point for so many people to decide they're not supporting it. The claims of AI use don't have a lot of concrete evidence, and feel thrown in there as an afterthought. This Pokemon clone, that does almost everything else differently, is somehow worse than games that copy the formula far more liberally and call themselves loving homages?
Like I say, I have no skin in the game one way or the other for Palworld, and I know Pokemon is an easy shorthand. But it's not very much like Pokemon at all, and it will be interesting to see where it goes from here. Will those who pushed the game away for stealing from Pokemon feel differently when it becomes clear that the game goes in an entirely different direction? Likewise, how long will those who tuned in for Pokemon Pals put up with chopping trees and smashing rocks? As ever with Palworld, the conversation around the game seems far more interesting than the game itself.
Pokemon's Biggest Palworld Issue Isn't Stolen Designs
Pꦍalworld has a lot of similar desiꦬgns to Pokemon, but Pokemon could learn a lot from its different take on the Pokemon genre
