When I originally saw Palworld come out in early access, I was extremely tempted to dive in and give it a go. But I thought, be patient, wait until the full release, and experience it as the devs intended. So I did, and oh boy am I glad that I waited, because this team has been cooking, and the experience is divine.
However, before I even get started with Palworld and the whirlwind of emotions I had when playing through the game, perhaps it makes a little more sense that I start with my experience with Pokémon and my gradual alienation from the franchise.
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I’ve been a lifelong Pokémon fan, Pokémon Yellow being one of the first games I ever played on the Game Boy Color. I’ve played every generation since, including the spin-offs. It was my childhood, basically. I was happy, content, until Sword and Shield came around, and I was left feeling utterly unfulfilled. Scarlet and Violet came and went, and still that feeling of emptiness persisted.
Was it because I had become an adult? Had Pokémon lost its soul? Or had Game Freak become so unwilling to innovate and improve that they were beginning to push away entire sections of their fanbase?
Well, I can tell you one thing: I may be a bit older now, but Palworld not only brought back the joy I used to feel when playing Pokémon all those years ago, but built on the formula, creating something fresh and unique. In reality, Palworld is hard to compare to Pokémon, barring some superficial comparisons, so if you hear anyone mumbling “Pokémon with Guns”, you can be sure to ignore it.
A Staggering World, Bustling and Bursting with Life
So just what has the team over at Pocketpair done to reinvigorate my love of the creature collector genre? Well, let’s start with the whole world, a vast expanse of diverse biomes brimming with hundreds of unique and expressive Pals.
From humble beginnings, washed up on a foreign shore, you explore this new land, create expansive and complex bases, collect Pals, train teams and take down the ferocious Tower Bosses. And all the while, as you push on against the odds, you forge bonds with your teammates, creating powerful partnerships and lasting memories.
All of this leads to an explosive climax with beautiful yet difficult boss battles against titanic monsters that dwarf you in size. Of course, defeating these Pals is no easy feat. You’ll have to strategize, creating teams with specific types, equipping special accessories with schematics found all across the world, and even fight on your own terms with a wild array of interesting weaponry forged with the help of your base Pals.
And this world, well, it’s no joke either. You begin your journey feeling swamped in a land that seems too vast. But as you begin to conquer the elements, making items that protect you against the bitter cold and searing heat of the environment, and eventually taming Pals, granting you the power of flight, suddenly you realize that the world is as big or as small as you want it to be.
And all the while, as you push on against the odds, you forge bonds with your teammates, creating powerful partnerships and lasting memories.
You can revel in the spectacle of the world tree, the inside of which feels like an unexplored wonderland, untouched for generations. You might get lost in the vast expanse of the desert as you’re hunted by vicious Pals who fancy you as a tasty snack. Or perhaps surf the oceans, fishing for loot while dodging dangerous drones in protected Wildlife Sanctuaries. Right from the get-go, the world is yours to conquer, no matter which way you choose.
A Home to Return To
But honestly, the world is just the beginning. Once you’ve been exploring for a decent amount of time, you’ll realize you’ll need to build yourself a base. And this process, well, might just take over your life a little bit.
This is where any comparisons to Pokémon really start to fade, as Palworld starts to evolve into something more reminiscent of ARK Survival Evolved. At the beginning, you’ll start with just a little encampment, some beds for your Pals, maybe a furnace or two, some crops and a bit of storage.
Suddenly, you need new ingots for new crafting recipes, which require new Pals to mine, higher levels of Kindling to smelt, and better Handiwork to craft. Then you learn about breeding and powerful passives for your Pals, food buffs, electricity generation and a whole world of other things that are going to make your life so much easier, and yet more complicated than ever!
And yet none of this feels like a pain or a drag. It’s insanely fun learning how to automate the process, with Pals gathering materials, others harvesting and making food; all the while, you’re out in the world exploring or improving your base. And then, you notice you can have multiple bases, one for each section, which naturally pulls you even further down the rabbit hole. Once you’re done, and you look back at your specially bred and trained Pals, all working their hardest in bases scattered far and wide, you feel like you’ve raised a family.
Oh, and speaking of family, have I even mentioned the Pals themselves? These creatures are full of life, each having their own suite of custom animations and personality traits as you interact with them. As cruel as folk made Palworld sound, when you’re all working together at your base, it feels more like camaraderie than slavery.
It’s insanely fun learning how to automate the process, with Pals gathering materials, others harvesting and making food; all the while, you’re out in the world exploring or improving your base.
The amount of work that went into making every single Pal unique and interesting is truly mindblowing! And all of this, for less than $30, is honestly amazing. I bought Palworld on sale for £15, and in terms of value for money, there isn’t much quite like it!
A Game That Goes Above and Beyond
Once you’ve taken down the final boss of the World Tree, some might feel like putting down the controller, or taking their hands off the mouse. But no, in many ways, this is where Palworld really begins. Firstly, you have the hard-mode towers and the Arena. This will force you to fully optimize your Pals, breeding for the legendary passives, finding the right moves, maxing hidden stats to 100, condensing, using Pal souls to boost their power and maximizing their trust in you.
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To do all this, you’ll have to create a team built for farming currency, another for farming Pal drops in the world tree and perhaps even a specialized team to take on the score of super-tough Raid bosses that have millions of HP. To some, this sounds like busywork, but to me, optimizing everything to perfection was glorious.
However, maybe battling and breeding isn’t for you. Well, you can still create as many Ancient Spheres as possible and hunt down 5 of every single Pal in the game for the ultimate sense of completion. Or collect every single effigy and max out your player stats! Or maybe build yourself an entire city using the huge amount of building tools available. Palworld is as large as your imagination.
And all of this is without mentioning the world options you have at your disposal. The Devs obviously wanted people to be able to play and have fun, understanding that not everyone has fun in the same way. So, maybe you want 3 times the pals to spawn? Maybe you want more bases, or increased XP, or increased difficulty? Pretty much everything is customisable, and then, if you want, you can do this all again with your friends!
No Such Thing as Perfection
Of course, this isn’t to say Palworld is perfect, but there was nothing that truly bothered me while I was playing. Perhaps just a touch of polish is required here.
Some of the textures can seem a little rough around the edges, and many of the Pals will stutter a fair bit if you move too far away. In addition, if you’re someone who came here looking for a super in-depth story, well, this one might be a little bare-bones. Not bad, mind you, but just functional.
In addition, I wish there were just a few more structural pieces in the base building menus, as well as a way to build while flying on your Pal. If you’re looking to make a huge mega-structure, you certainly can, but it might be a little finicky, especially with the restrictions on where certain platforms and walls can be placed.
These are all, as you can imagine, rather small things that don’t really detract from the overall wonder of the game. They are all tiny gripes that can be easily patched or added to over time. And I’m sure Pocketpair have a lot more in store for this brilliant game.
I can’t recommend Palworld enough. If you’re sick of the monotony of other creature collectors and are looking for something deep and expansive, then look no further. Palworld offers a rich experience, full of charm, humor, gorgeous vistas and breathtaking moments. Not only will you find something bold and inventive, but you’ll find something you’ll want to come back to again and again. I reckon that Palworld is the start of something pretty ground-breaking, and if I were a certain other developer, I’d be quaking in my boots.
Released
July 10, 2026
ESRB
T For Teen Due To Violence
Developer(s)
Pocket Pair, Inc.
Publisher(s)
Pocket Pair, Inc.
Engine
Unreal Engine 5
Cross-Platform Play
Xbox Series X|S, pc
Pros & Cons
- 100s of fully fleshed out creatures to collect
- Beautiful landscapes and biomes to explore
- Detailed and addictive Base Building loops
- Large amount of endgame content
- Exciting multiplayer options
- Fully customisable worlds
- Fairly basic story
- Can feel grindy at times
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