Sometimes, playing Palworld is like listening to Stars on 45. Every few minutes, you'll spot another influence from another game and as soon as you recognise it, you notice something else. The most obvious influence is Pokemon, which is so obvious that Pocketpair are still locked into a patent dispute with Nintendo, but play it for more than a few minutes and you'll be amazed at what else you see.
When I booted up Palworld 1.0 for its first foray out of early access, I was struck by so many of these little bolts of recognition. The starting area, with a ruined church and giant monster that bears a more than passing resemblance to the Tree Sentinel's steed, for instance. If it weren't for the cute little monsters wandering around, you'd be forgiven for assuming you'd booted up Elden Ring (not to mention the game's World Tree that looms over the sizeable map). The menus, the gliding and climbing are all pure The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
Ton-Pal inconsistency
Developer: In-house
Publisher: Pocketpair
Platform(s): PC, PS5, Xbox Series X
Release date: July 10, 2026 (1.0)
In action, the game is excellent. It's fluid, the exploration feels great, and there are tons of hidden collectibles to find. Most importantly, it nails the key loop that survival games need: there is always something that you're working on, always more resources that you need, always plans firing off in your mind about what feature your base needs next.
You're not alone in working on these ideas, even in single-player. When you roam the land and capture Pals, the game's Pokenots, you gain the ability to use them in battle, sure, but why limit yourself? If you dump them at your base, they'll intelligently start working on gathering resources, building structures, and seeing off the riffraff.
It's what you could euphemistically describe as an unpaid internship. All they ask in return is a hot spring to bathe in and some food. Hell, I've worked for less. If you like your Pals with a side of tonal whiplash, you can also ignore their needs and put them to work with none of these.
As their sanity drops, you can butcher them for their meat – if you aren't bothered about becoming the game's true monster. You can also do this to the other humans in the world, receiving the loot you'd have got if you'd been merciful and dealt with them outright. You can sell captured humans, too, by the way, just in case the tonal whiplash wasn't enough and you want a tonal herniated disc.
Honestly, this put me off the game for a long while during its early access period. I knew, softy that I am, that I would genuinely feel bad if I was cruel to my Pals. The images on the store page of depressed-looking pals working on a production line just made me feel sad. Happily, you don't have to take this route, and can give your Pals 5-star treatment if you're similarly afflicted.
Just as in the real world, death is a part of life for the Pals, however. If you want to make things as easy on yourself as possible, you'll want to kill some wild Pals for their meat, which will keep you and your domesticated Pals fed very efficiently.
Biological flamethrower
One of the game's big draws during its early access period was its mixing of Saturday morning cartoon vibes with the likes of actual firearms. This could have easily just been done for shock factor, fading into meaninglessness, but the game features a wide array of weapons that showcase a deep appreciation for the combat system, ranging from stone axes all the way up to plasma cannons.
I've got a fox chambered in God's own calibre.
They're fun to use, too, with even the early bows and arrows feeling tactile and impactful. This cannot really be said for using your Pals in battle in the traditional sense: the real-time combat system makes it feel too chaotic to savor, the screen filling with flashy animations that obscure your view.
Grab the appropriate gear, and your Pals can even become your weapons. The first one of these that you'll encounter will be Foxsparks, a fiery fox who can be picked up and used as a biological flamethrower. You never saw Charmander do that. I had a great time going full Bill Kilgore on a base full of bandits called the Rayne Syndicate. They might have assault rifles, but I've got a fox chambered in God's own calibre.
In its 1.0 release, Palworld now has a proper story, but if you're not about that life, there's no shortage of other paths to follow. Want to sneak into a wildlife preserve to poach some rare Pals? Want to go dungeoneering? Just want to start breeding Pals for their best traits? You can do all of these, or none of these.
This reflects the one real issue I have with the game, which is that it still feels profoundly unfocused. It's like a hot dog: made of offcuts, probably not as good as something else you could be doing, but ultimately satisfying. It's a game that feels cobbled together, but switch your brain off and play, and you'll likely find yourself sinking many hours into it.
Our games like Palworld recommendations can help you find more like this, and our best survival games ranking can take you even further!
