Palworld lead says "a very story-based" spin on the survival game is possible, as he knows "a lot of creature collector fans are used to story games" more like Pokemon

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The original was "never designed to be a linear narrative game" however

Palworld
(Image credit: Pocketpair)

Pocketpair Publishing boss and Palworld designer John "Bucky" Buckley says that a more linear story-based take on the Palworld franchise could be explored in the future.

Although I think Nintendo and Pocketpair would rather it stop, it's impossible to talk about Palworld without Pokemon coming up. But when it comes down to it, the two games don't really have all that much in common outside of the creature collecting aspects. One is an open-world survival crafting game while the other is an RPG with a predefined arc, generally seeing you battle the gym leaders and become the Elite Four champion.

Bucky recently asked Palworld fans what the one thing they would like to see added to the game would be, whether it be "big or small, realistic or completely impossible." One user says that they would love to see story and narrative elements added to the game, adding that they struggle to keep playing without some narrative pushing it forward.

Bucky responds to this user, saying that Palworld is a survival crafting game at its core: "Palworld is, ultimately, a survival crafting game. I know a lot of creature collector fans are used to story games, but Palworld was never designed to be a linear narrative game. It's open-ended on purpose."

However, it's not all bad news. As the franchise grows with spin-offs like Palfarm, Bucky notes: "Perhaps in future, a very story-based Palworld can be made though." Of course, that ignores the existence of the Palworld dating sim which is mostly story-based, but granted that probably wouldn't be the same story found in the mainline game.

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Scott McCrae
Scott McCrae
Contributor

Scott has been freelancing for over three years across a number of different gaming publications, first appearing on GamesRadar+ in 2024. He has also written for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, VG247, Play, TechRadar, and others. He's typically rambling about Metal Gear Solid, God Hand, or any other PS2-era titles that rarely (if ever) get sequels.

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