Gotta catch ‘em all!

PalworldRating 455Developer Pocket PairPublisher Pocket PairPlatform PC XboxPrice Rs 1300At first glance Palworld may seem like a Pokeacutemon clone but the game is so much more Letrsquos start with the controversial bits Yes the creatures look ldquoinspiredrdquo by Pokeacutemon just like Anu Malik draws inspiration from trending music for his totally unique not at all copied music Pals are very similar just with some variation My kids legitimately thought I was playing a new Pokeacutemon gameThe capture method is also oddly similar and different types of capture balls have varying degrees of effectiveness just like Pokeacutemon Yes you have to go around the world capturing Pals and you can use them during battle to takedown other Pals There are also other Pal trainers that are evil because they mistreat the Pals and you have to defeat them eventually However these statements would only scratch the surface of what Palworld isSo what is Palworld then The game is part of creature taming but it also belongs in the survival genre The object is to of course catch lsquoem all but it is also to put them to good use so you can progress in the game In fact most of your time in the game will be spent building your base and putting your pals to work There is an initial bit of grinding but the game lets you automate all the processes by getting pals This is crucial to why the game succeeds so well All the systems interact and fit into the game perfectly If you want to automate food production get some pals with a green thumb others with watering abilities and some with handiwork capabilities to have the farm automated Your base will also need some defending as it can be periodically raided by other groups and these groups sometimes have hilarious names There was some Pal liberation army that invaded my base and also fangirls of some sort It is very weird in a very Japanese way This is possibly because the developers are from JapanOther than the survival base building aspect There are some RPGH bits as well where you have to level up your character and pals for better stats passive and combat abilities Pals also have some useful abilities in combat and just for ease of traversing around You can ride around on certain pals or even better fly around by mounting some flying Pal speciesThe Pals also have personality traits which make them suited for certain tasks paying attention to all of this is also a very important aspect of the game At later levels you can even set up a love nest for your Pals so you can selectively breed the best ones for a Pal with ideal traits Did I mention guns Well there are guns and you can massproduce them and even arm your Pals with them Itrsquos really something to see a cute penguinlike creature taking care of business with a rocket launcherThe map is huge with rich biodiversity There are volcanic peaks snowclad mountains and lush green meadows Each region has specific boss monsters and pals that you can capture Some are common in all regions as well There are also dungeons spread across the land and finding these is a task While exploring the land you can also find a treasure chest and hatchable Pal eggs The game has villains other than the boss monsters These main villains are of course other evil trainers who have their own set of agendas and use the pals for evil or mistreat them No itrsquos not Team Rocket or Giovanni but it is very controversially similarFor me the morally grey areas of the game are really what makes it stand out Yes you are fighting against evil Pal hunters who misuse and abuse the Pals Through the course of the game to get by you have to do the same and in the end Pals are no better than slaves that you command around and overwork Some get irreparably damaged in the process some get depressed and if you donrsquot want dead weight on your team some may end up as dinner You can also capture humans in the game and essentially enslave them to work at your factories Most will do it begrudgingly but it is possible This makes the game very different from anything Pokeacutemon will ever do You canrsquot be so brutal with your monster pals in any Pokeacutemon game and neither can you capture humans in a Poke ball This unrestricted gameplay feels free and makes you feel like anything is possibleI have spent at least double the amount of time I had planned on playing to review this game and I enjoyed every moment of it even if it does have bugs Pal World is in preview which means there are going to be a lot of bugs and from time to time it will crash on you There are also stuttering issues and some texture and sound issues as well For an open world this vast and this complex with interlinked processes this game is surprisingly well put together Even better than say Cyberpunk 2077rsquos initial releaseSo while playing the game you have to keep in mind that it is a preview so frustrating things can happen from time to time but this does not take away from the core of what makes this game so great Palworld despite its flaws is a reasonably polished game for something still in preview You can play the game solo or with friends but itrsquos obviously more fun with friends The game is available on Steam for the paltry sum of Rs 1300 which is an excellent deal You can also play the Xbox version for free if you have Game Pass Regardless of the platform this is a game that shouldnrsquot work but does and should be part of your library It is guaranteed to take over your life for the next few months