Palworldis out and it’s already a huge hit! The so-called “Pokemonwith guns” has taken the world by storm. Fans are obsessed, with over nine million copies sold and countless players streaming it online. The game isn’t justa wakeup call for Nintendo, it’s a wakeup call for all developers that existing concepts can be played with, expanded, and molded. And it’s definitely a wakeup call for video game opinion writers that need you to click on my articles if I’m going to keep having this job.
Palworld isn’t without controversy. Right now, players are split on the art direction and originality of the game. While there’s no denying it’s heavily influenced by Pokemon’s aesthetics, according to posts with a lot of engagement, there’sno direct proof Palworld used AI to copy designs. The accusation that Palworld plagiarized from Pokemon is complicated and would take at least five or six essays to be read without Ad Blocker on to fully explain (here’s one!). It basically boils down to preference: Would you rather click through an article that says Palworld is a wholly original masterpiece or would you rather click through an article that says Palworld is stolen novelty trash? That’s the question we should be asking ourselves and I’m definitely asking myself as I’m writing this. I’m really good to go with whatever makes you happy re: stuffed animals with firearms game.
Of course, that doesn’t mean fans only want positive articles and detractors only want negative ones. Whether or not you believe Palworld steals from another franchise - you’ll want to read aboutthe small potatoes modders shut down by Nintendo. I’m cooking a whole bunch of stories on that right now and, baby, they’re going to do business. One article about the mod existing, one article about what’s in the mod, one article about how to get the mod, one article about how to install the mod, one article about the mod being taken down, and one article about why it’s bad the mod was taken down. All vital information that you should click, close, click again, close again, and then open a third time just so it really registers in the system that I’ve been productive.
And Palworld is still in Early Access! The game could significantly change over the next few months or even years, each requiring its own juicy article, video, and stream. Even if there’s no news, the headline, “There Is No News About Palworld Today” would be seen by more people than anything else I’ve ever written in my life, so I’m definitely going to be the one to do it. I’d also like to remind everyone in my Palworld article about Palworld that the more I mention Palworld, the more likely this Palworld piece about Palworld comes up on searches for Palworld. I’m going to take all the red and blue underlines on the previous sentence as Google Docs saying, “GOOD JOB!”
It’s easy to argue that Palworld is another trend likeValheimthat could rise to the top of the charts and then mysteriously disappear. It’s hard to say. It’s also possible that Palworld is the next Among Us - a game that seemingly came from nowhere to dominate the culture for years and always did reliably well in terms of YouTube and TikTok. For fans, a lot of the future of Palworld will rely on how often Pocket Pair updates their game and whether or not they bow to pressure to change their designs. For people who aren’t impressed yet, a lot of that will rely on how Palworld eventually differentiates itself and builds on its various influences. And for me? Well, a lot of that will depend on how many people keep clicking on my articles about Palworld.
So one more time, just to put it over the top: Palworld.
Palworld
WHERE TO PLAY
Palworld has been described as Pokemon with guns and well, it’s hard to argue with that. The game is very similar in nature to the Pokemon formula, tasking you with catching and working with monsters called Pals. There are key differences, though. Palworld is rooted in multiplayer, oh, and, unlike Pokemon, its Pals have guns.
