Palworld has become a smash hit since it debuted in early access last month. Looking at the graphics and gameplay, you’d be forgiven if you thought it’s a new Pokémon game. It was developed by the Japanese gaming studio Pocket Pair, and it’s currently the second game ever to hit two million concurrent players on Steam.

Palworld’s success goes right back to its launch trailer that had the internet buzzing — calling it “Pokémon with guns.” The game’s based around collecting a powerful army of creatures known as Pals that are suspiciously similar to Pokémon in both how they look and behave. The game also seems a lot like Pokémon Legends: Arceus, an open world that sees you attempt to catch Pokémon roaming freely.

Similarly, Pals roam around the Palpagos Islands in Palworld. This has led to a lot of talk about whether Palworld and its developer, Pocket Pair, are infringing on Nintendo’s copyright. The game has also caused controversy about how players can treat their Pals, with some suggesting it’s equivalent to virtual abuse of animals. Still, you don’t end up with millions of people playing your game at the same time if there isn’t something appealing in the first place. I loaded up Palworld on my Asus ROG Ally to see why it’s been tearing up Steam charts.

First impressions

I’m the target audience for this game. I’ve been playing Pokémon since the original Game Boy games were released, and I own a Nintendo Switch almost exclusively to play new Pokémon games. So, I was excited to get my hands on Palworld, and went in without much knowledge beyond its viral trailer.

About those guns

You can craft guns with materials you find in the game. You start by making a wooden club and level up to crafting machine guns and flamethrowers. It takes some dedication to get to the point where you’re crafting the best weapons, which is surprising since the firearms were part of what made the game go viral. The guns also look kind of odd. They’re comically oversized, like someone quickly added a gun mod to a Pokémon game.

The game does look good beyond the guns, but it’s more like a bargain-basement version of Pokémon Legends: Arceus. There is a depth of gameplay that goes way beyond any Pokémon game with crafting, base-building, and survival game mechanics. That base-building is what you’ll likely spend a lot of time doing. You begin by crafting yourself a workbench, then you can make Pal Spheres (the Palworld version of Pokeballs), and head out to capture some Pals.

You don’t just use your Pals for battling; they can be used at your base to build things, harvest resources, and prepare food. Having Pals cook you food is important, because you do need to eat in order to stay alive. But what do you eat?

Palworld is pretty harsh on the Pals

Palworld asks a lot of you in terms of crafting. You can play for a while and feel like you’re not making much of a dent in the game, and the easiest way to speed up that process is by being awful to the Pals. Pokémon fans know the value of beating up on wild Pokémon to level up quick. Palworld takes that to a new level, by letting you beat the little chicken (Chikipi) and sheep (Lamball) Pals with sticks to level up fast and early. You will feel terrible about it. You can also overwork your Pals to the point it affects their sanity, or you can sell the ones you don’t want for a few extra coins. Then, there’s the truly macabre stuff… like building a meat cleaver to chop up and eat your Pals.

A huge mistake?

All this is pretty harsh, of course, and has led to a wide array of criticism, with Slate even calling the game a huge mistake in a recent headline. The game has also been shredded on Twitter, but that hasn’t stopped a sizable fanbase from emerging.

At the end of the day, you get to decide how you’re treating your Pals, and freedom of choice like that will always be appealing to gamers. I also think it’s interesting that these horrifying elements were always present in the Pokémon Universe. Many Pokémon are used as food sources, and they’re constantly being forced to fight and do laborious tasks. I don’t think Palworld set out with ambitious goals to satirize the dark parks of the Pokémon, but I think it might have inadvertently ended up doing it.

Will Nintendo stop Palworld?

One of the main questions surrounding Palworld has been whether its developer, Pocket Pair, will be stopped by Nintendo, which has an owning stake in The Pokémon Company. After playing the game, I think there are a lot of similarities between the two, but Palworld doesn’t outright copy Pokémon at any point. Yes, there are some Pals that look sort of similar to Pokémon, and the core idea (catching little monsters in little balls) is essentially the same, but it’s different enough that the game can exist on its own, in my opinion.

Pals vs Pokémon

The gallery above shows some of the most similar Pals and Pokémon I’ve spotted so far. The Pokémon Electrabuzz and Pal Grizzbuzz come the closest to being an outright copy, but they’re still slightly different. The rest share one or two design elements, as you’ll notice.

Nintendo’s biggest hurdle is that video games steal elements from one another all the time. The design of Palworld is incredibly similar to Pokémon Legends: Arceus, but most popular games get ripped off all the time. After Fortnite, tons of games offered battle royale modes.

Pocket Pair is flirting with the line here, but neither Nintendo or The Pokémon Company have taken legal action against it. Strangely, The Pokémon Company is taking legal action against another game, PokeZoo, which blatantly copies Pokémon without attempting to differentiate itself. PokeZoo has even referenced Pokémon directly on its website, indicating a clear acknowledgment of its inspiration.

Verdict

Many controversial games often fade away just as quickly as they pop up. Between the rumors over whether the game will lead to legal action against Pocket Pair and animal cruelty cries over how players treat their Pals, Palworld has grabbed tons of headlines since it released. Palworld now has to prove it has the staying power to be successful in order to emerge as a true competitor to Pokémon.

Crafting gets overwhelming

After playing Palworld, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company have a reason to be nervous. Yes, their games share a similar concept of capturing cute powered-up creatures and battling them, but that makes up maybe 25% of Palworld. If anything, Palworld could be scaled back and focus more on that concept — as the amount of stuff you can craft gets overwhelming.

It’s also important to remember this game is in early development, so there are bugs and elements of the final game will change. There have been reports about save files being corrupted after the latest update, but this appears to have affected Xbox users, specifically.

Palworld is honestly a refreshing experience for older Pokémon fans who’ve long wished that The Pokémon Company would experiment with different types of games. The survival and crafting elements may also interest other gamers who’ve never played Pokémon beforre.