The Palworld 1.0 patch notes are gigantic, but an understated element of the update was only spotted after players dove into the new content themselves. Several old Pals have been redesigned, seemingly to bring them up to par with modern creature designs, but many fans also noted that the new versions put some distance between similar Pokemon designs that sparked comparisons in the past.
On the Palworld subreddit, user Silverr98 assembled side-by-side comparisons of the new designs for four updated Pals. Verdash, a green bipedal Pal, is now a bit shorter but has much longer ears, a less pronounced collar, and poofier shorts.
I think this is all redesignsfrom r/Palworld
"Verdash actually has its own identity now instead of giving off 'legally distinct Cinderace' vibes," Reddit user Pends101 says in a reply, and they're not the only one that feels this way.
"Verdash is now a smol boi instead of grass Cinderace," says Twitter user Rasen.
The Pal Robinquill, whose colors and overall shape drew comparisons to the Pokemon Decidueye, now sports an olive green cloak and a leaner silhouette which sheds the feather headpiece altogether.
Similarly, Fenglope, which previously used colors close to the horse-like Pokemon Cobalion, now uses a purple palette and has more flame-like horns.
Players also spotted a small change to the Pal Grintale, whose bright yellow eyes and jagged smile were often compared to the Galarian version of the Pokemon Meowth. After update 1.0, Grintale has subtle eye markings and straight teeth, with more of a Cheshire Cat vibe overall. Congratulations on getting the braces off.
Obviously, Pocketpair hasn't drawn a straight line from these changes to the Nintendo lawsuit it's still dealing with, but assuming it was a motivating factor, this wouldn't be the first time the developer has updated Palworld to avoid overlap with Pokemon.
Reactions to the new Pal designs seem pretty positive overall, and they do feel closer to the more recent (and, in my opinion, generally better) Pal designs. We still haven't topped the best Pal design of all time, though: Chillet.
