I was stoked to boot it up and like…what? It’s such a stupid game on all fronts. I get that stealing mechanics works if you’re into that kind of gameplay, but there’s no way that anyone other than pokemon obsessed people enjoy this. Even then, it’s such a poor analog for actual pokemon games. I feel like it’s “success” is all media buzz. Every actual human in my life agrees it’s terrible. Even my partner who is actually pokemon obsessed lol. But the coverage on the internet would have you believe it’s goty contender. I have never felt more convinced that we are living in a simulation lol. I can’t be alone in this, am I? Is there where I learn that I’m that far out of touch? Like, truly, if you enjoy it, good for you. We all have things we love that others don’t get. But like, someone please tell me I’m not the only one lol.
Let’s be totally fucking honest, this game has only sold so many copies because it’s a meme.
It’s a game where you shoot bootleg pokemon with guns. That’s it. If it didn’t have art that could at best be generously described as “remixed” pokemon assets, few people would have cared about it, and even fewer people would have actually bought it. From the very first time I heard of this game a few weeks before its release, I’ve only ever heard it described as a game where you “play as an anime girl and shoot pokemon with guns”. It’s a great game for YouTubers, TikTokers and Streamers to “react” to and “get hype” about (the thumbnails almost make themselves), it’s an easy topic for every game podcast to talk about, and that’s about it.
Whether the developers intended for this to be the case or not doesn’t change the fact that the game is a cheap knockoff of various other games mashed together, and it’s very heavily riding on the coattails of a pokemon aesthetic. If the monsters didn’t look almost exactly like pokemon that everybody knows and loves, nobody would give a damn about this game.
Personally I feel that the runaway success of Palworld shows just how shallow the video game world has become, both from developers and from players. There are so many good games out there that fail to find an audience, while a meme like Palworld sells millions of copies despite being utterly artless and devoid of creativity or individuality. I’m not sure if it’s the influence-economy or what, but I miss the times when the subculture could collectively look at some creatively bankrupt bootleg-ass shit like Palworld and simply laugh it off instead of rewarding people for making low-effort legally-dubious bubblegum trash.
Or maybe I’m just jaded…
Sounds like the music industry: Tons of amazing artists toiling in anonymity, and remixed pablum making all the money.
Extremely probable, I’d say. Craftopia, their previous game, was pretty much “Breath of the Wild, but with survival crafting”, and sold well on Steam. If you removed the copied aesthetic, in both cases, it would’ve flown under the radar.
Sad but true
Now now, there was some effort in making the pals. I mean, some genres have pretty much been done to death, so it’s very hard to be creative. What would be a creative addition to a survival crafting game? Off the top of my head, I can only think of going underground, digging new spaces.
Also, just because it copies from a lot of games, doesn’t mean the end result is bad. If you separate a pizza into individual components, you have things that, by themselves, might be good, but together are much better.
Yay! I’m not alone on the internet! Lol I’m shocked so many people who consider themselves savvy have eaten it up. You’ve just proven you are so easily bought. And bought by a demonstrably mediocre product. The devs hacked your brain. I’m actually surprised more people aren’t outright pissed off about how obvious and blatant it is. Bread and circuses I suppose.