Should You Play Palworld?

Before I answer the title of this article, I have to make a confession.

I don’t like survival games. I get the appeal, particularly the ADHD alluring gameplay loop of collection and checking off lists. Unfortunately, at the core of survival games is the system I most loathe: crafting. However, I decided to give it a try with the promise of gun toting fowl.

In principle, it’s a great idea! Who doesn’t want to create and own a piece of the game world? Going on a quest in Dungeons and Dragons to collect fabled ingredients to forge a blade of legend is an excellent concept for a campaign. Yet, ay, there’s the rub.

That crafting-an-item campaign isn’t a crafting-focused game. The latter, at least to start, is about grinding. Collect resources, build items, collect more resources, build structures, ad nauseam. Add in meters for thirst, hunger, temperature, and item durability for what I feel are barriers to engagement. I’ve tried to get into this loop with various properties including Ark, Conan, and Valheim, but none can hold my attention. Hell, I almost didn’t play Breath of the Wild because of the incredibly low item durability and the importance of cooking. I still haven’t gotten around to trying Tears of the Kingdom.

Palworld is no different in its core gameplay. From the moment you finish creating your avatar, you have to punch rocks and trees to get to the point where you can build a crafting table that has a recipe for the main draw of monster collection games–a capture device that lets you actually collect them. On paper, Palworld is not my kind of game.

I just don’t like survival games and I had contented myself with looking on as others enjoy them and thinking “good for them.” Yet, the moment my sheep Pal, lovingly named GOAT, ran over to help me finish crafting her bed, then joyfully bleated with a fanfare of sparkles and flower petals, I knew this would be the exception. I want to craft and upgrade my base. I want to collect more Paldium to be able to catch more Pals. I want to equip an army of chickens with semi-automatic weapons.

So, should you play Palworld? Well, if you like survival games, you more than likely will like this. It has exactly all those systems and it does them well, while also adding the ability to have a pet AI run alongside you to fight creatures, while more pets stay back at your base automatically collecting resources and fulfilling crafting orders. 

If you like monster collection games, the answer depends on how much you like them, because that might be what helps you get past the survival design as it did for me. I love Pokemon–I was hooked at 13 with the release of Pokemon Blue. This scratches an itch I haven’t been able to scratch for decades since–a whole new world and set of creatures to discover. The best part is I can do so with my friends, which also will soften the whole survival experience.
If you don’t like survival and monster collection, well, I doubt you would have clicked on this article. Thanks if you did though! Now get back in the game.

Palworld is now available on Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S, and Microsoft Windows. It does not have cross-platform or cross-storefront play yet.