By focusing on survival crafting rather than traditional Pokémon-style gameplay, Palworld has made something unique out of two genres that have been stale for a long time. It’s still missing some big features like PvP, but given that it’s only at the beginning of its time in early access, it will only get bigger and better.
By YardBarker
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Do not let Palworld’s sub-80 score fool you. It’s an incredibly fun and endearing title that only really suffers from its lack of attention to its story. Regardless of how you think of the game going in after consuming its admittedly eyebrow-raising advertisements, Palworld is sure to blow away at least most of your expectations. To be frank, it has no business being this entertaining. And that’s awesome.
By Game8
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Palworld pleases, it has some errors that interfere with the gameplay and needs improvements in its multiplayer, but with a good job of updates, it has the potential to revolutionize the gaming market. In its current version, a 9.0 is a fair grade. The graphics, exploration and progress are perfect, the battles and characteristics of each Pal are unique, the game worked with excellent performance.
By UMGamer
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Palworld is an ambitious experiment that combines monster-catching with survival game elements but somehow fails in both aspects. While it holds potential, the current state of the game is more frustrating than enjoyable, riddled with technical issues and a monotonous gameplay. Recommended for those open to a unique genre mix, but patience is required during its early development phase.
By TheGeek
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Palworld offers everything you’d expect, and so much more. From incredible boss fights to satisfying community building, there’s something for everyone.
By PC Invasion
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Hands on: Palworld is a strange and obliviously cruel game that nonetheless shows effort and some real thought running through its core design. Consequently, the end result (so far) is an arguably-functional hybrid of several proven formulas that still can’t help feeling like a tonal car crash.
By GamesRadar+
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But for me, well, I’ve played so many of these “punch a tree, get some wood, build a thing, repeat” games that I’m just not sure I’m willing or able to sink in the hours needed to level up and earn an assault rifle all by myself. My dream of shooting Pikachu with an AR-15 will stay just that, a dream, for now.
By Kotaku
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Hands on: The real problem with Palworld is less the derivative approach itself, than it is it’s total shamelessness. It might be oddly refreshing to be so open about your cynicism, but it also has an impact on the player. Play Palworld and you won’t feel like you’re playing something made with thought, or craft, or an earnest team’s best intentions. You won’t feel admiration or wonder.
By EuroGamer
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No matter where it falls on your moral compass, Palworld has given the static formula of Pokémon a clear shake-up, both mechanically and ethically. On a technical level, I can’t say it’s good. However, its sheer playability is carried by just how bizarre it is from moment to moment. It’s certainly not bad going for a game that many people dismissed as vaporware at best, or forecast to go the same way as Fntastic’s The Day Before at worst.
By PCGamesN
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Whatever you think of it, there’s no downplaying the fact that this has been one of the most successful indie launches of all time and one that may go on to have important ramifications for both AI content generation and the Pokémon franchise as a whole.
By Metro UK
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Simply put, we’re having a ton of fun playing Palworld. The developers still have a ways to go if they want to live up to the expectations they’ve set by releasing in Early Access. All we can do is wait and hope they can continue to improve the experience to fulfill the potential such a surprising mix of ideas has clearly shown.
By CorrosionHour
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Palworld is a masterful blend of survival and industry. You’ll scavenge for basic materials, refine them into complex components, and eventually build everything from weapons and armor to complex machines and even terraforming tools. The world reacts to your creations, with your factories spewing smoke and your biodomes transforming barren landscapes.
By GamesHorizon
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Right now, like many popular games, Palworld has a rabid fanbase, is busting the usual benchmarks of commercial success, and is inspiring a lot of discussion on social media. But lest we forget, this is an early access game that’s only been out for a couple of days. It’s objectively broken on at least one of its two platforms, and it’s not likely to be the Game of the Year by any stretch. At this point, maybe it’s enough of an accolade that it’s going to make a lot of money.
By TheGamer
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80
Hands on: I’ve only barely scratched the surface of a world map that seems quite large, but so far running around and looking for hidden chests, battling dangerous boss Pals, raiding dungeons stuffed with loot, and chatting with a handful of NPCs and vendors scattered throughout the wilderness has been consistently entertaining. In one area I was ambushed by some wolflike Pals and a giant boss who was way beyond my level absolutely destroyed me…
By IGN
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