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Palworld: the differences with Pokémon that fans don’t want to see

Posted by Arcangelo Padricelli
Last Updated:February 1, 2024

Arguments, disagreements and misunderstandings about the differences: that tirade that Pokémon and Palworld fans have been looking for for days

If you prefer to see less of the bigots, we have a more informative guide on the matter, but this little special is a sort of personal vent for the writer: self-styled, seduced and wounded lover of Pokémon and initially tolerant towards Palworldonly to then become entangled in the intolerance between the fan base of the former and the machismo with which the fans of the latter they praise the differences without fully understanding them. Over the past weekend, everything was said on Twitter. The casus belli this time was yet another case of fans taking place in a WhatsApp group chat, the reason for which, according to the undersigned, that thirst for fratricidal blood that console wars have always seemed to want us to get used to is evident, even in private. Let’s try to go in order.

Sun and nothing | Palworld and Pokémon, between divergences and differences

Let’s make a fundamental distinction: emphasizing on Palworld’s differences, when the article is written by a first-time Pokémon fan, may sound more like an apologia towards the Game Freak series. It is not so. If anything, a little competition, given the true similarities between the two parties involved, can do nothing but great good for pocket monsters. The series has decidedly let itself go, and has done so precisely at the most critical point: the transition, at least in part since it concerns hybrid consoles, towards the world of fixed platforms. Of course, Nintendo Switch owes part of its enormous success to the fact that you can play Pokémon games from the main series on your TV. A success, however, never taken for granted, much less guaranteed.

“And then” | Palworld and Pokémon, between divergences and differences

There is no real-time “reaction” behind the various recaps that the undersigned has had the pleasure of signing over the last three and a half years; for this reason, you will have to trust the “behind the scenes” summary of the Summer Game Fest 2023. The Palworld trailer was welcomed by the writer with an amused and sincere laugh, without any malice. “Good for you!”, in short. But the game it is not simply “Pokémon with guns”; there are elements of survivalothers from managementothers still from tough and pure shooter. Not that Pocketpair went beyond this premise in the initial marketing phase, on the contrary. “It’s what you always wanted, Pokémon with weapons,” last summer’s trailer seems to suggest. And if there’s one thing Wii U has taught us, it’s that the first answer counts.

That meme where Mr. Bean peeks at the neighbor’s paper | Palworld and Pokémon, between divergences and differences

Similarly, the trailer above shows a convincing character design: “If it weren’t for the guns, we’d swear we caught a glimpse of the tenth generation Pokémon.” But there is a substantial difference between inspiration and plagiarism. The first consists in fully understanding the little things that make Ken Sugimori’s artistic style so iconic that he confused Peach with Camellia in the character designer’s artwork for Greninja’s debut in the fourth Smash. The second is what some Pals pass off as originality: inspiration is one thing, changing Cinderace’s palette to obtain Verdash is another. But if on the one hand early access is a way to do proper beta testing, on the other there are points where Pocketpair could also have paid more attention to its main marketing hook.

The Foxparks and the Uva Academy | Palworld and Pokémon, between divergences and differences

Once the fateful January 19th arrives, open the sky. It’s difficult to say who threw the first stone: whether it was those elements of game design outside of Pokémon that were silent in the first trailer, which elevated Palworld to a premature “much better than”, or whether the triggering cause could have been the character design, thanks to Pocketpair’s past enthusiasm for the “potential” of AI. But there was resentment. And, as anyone who fully understands the football metaphor can unfortunately testify, there is no ultras fan without boorish scuffles. Thanks to the fact that each fandom has something to envy of the other: Pokémon fans pine for the technical performance (exceptions aside), while Palworld lovers, like the foxes that they are, define the Poké grapes as unripe, accentuating their unhappy present.

Palworld: the differences with Pokémon that fans don't want to see

Video killed the radio star | Palworld and Pokémon, between divergences and differences

We unlock a memory for you: in the PS2 era, the anglophone (and homonymous) counterpart of our local magazine PSM dedicated one of its covers to Dark Cloud. Those of you who remember the title can attribute their pachydermal memory to two reasons: one is having played it, and the other is the cover itself (whose author, Mike Wieringo, sadly passed away a few years ago). The game itself, whatever its merits, owes part of its sales to a big title like “Dark Cloud: Zelda killer?” And if gaming history teaches us anything, just as all first-person shooters were born as “DOOM clones” in their time, it is that video games do everything except kill each other. Nothing is the “killer” of anything else. It will be time, and Palworld’s user base in a month or two, that will decide the game’s survival. End of history review.

Even if | Palworld and Pokémon, between divergences and differences

Of course, in reality there would also be a “Pokémon killer”. And it’s the Pokémon series itself. Or rather, his premature transition from mere Turn-based role-playing game with multiplayer component (where you turn enemies in the game world into your team) a multimedia giant on a global scale. The now excessively short gestation of the games, dictated by the harmful needs of merchandise, sees almost every game arriving more and more “seven” in that damned month of November (with exceptions). In this sense, and in an almost poetically parallel way, the biggest critics of pocket monsters are often their own fans, thanks to the knowledge of the facts with which they speak. In recent days, however, a rumor: the lesson may have been learned, e.g Game Freak he could have more time to work on games. Fingers crossed, then.

Known card | Palworld and Pokémon, between divergences and differences

That said, it is undeniable that Palworld knows your audience well. It is not simply a title that accentuates its nature as an alternative to Pokémon (despite the gameplay being richer in everything that does not concern the mere faunal comparison); to do so, it would have been enough not to release on Nintendo Switch. Curiously, here we are dealing with a game that also snubbed Sony’s platforms. Early access is available on Steam and Microsoft Windows for PC, and on Xbox Series X/S on the console front. All platforms, these, united by a great love for shooters in all their forms, from Halo Infinite to Team Fortress 2, from DOOM to Serious Sam. It may sound reductive and stereotyped, but it is still aidentity not devoid of dignity, who now has a Pokemon-like to really call “hers”.

Palworld: the differences with Pokémon that fans don't want to see

“Confused people on a street full of broken glass”

After the Pokémon and Palworld fanbases have equally exploited similarities and differences as arcs for their barbs, this quote from Marvels (Kurt Busiek, Alex Ross) is what remains of the first days of “debate” on the two games. Pocketpair’s debut in the arena of monsters to capture and train has much more ammunition beyond the premise with which it was presented, but limiting itself to that was a conscious (and, let’s face it, also sly) choice aimed at bringing the riflemen in green and the deserters of the red and white spheres to discuss animatedly with Trainers still active. The debate, regardless of the disarming speed with which it has become sheepish, usually offers food for thought; this time it was just a lucrative fuss. And like the good pawns that we are, we are part of the eight million copies sold without having invested anything.

Now it’s up to you to tell us your opinion: what do you think of the partly (and unintentionally) provocative outburst above? Feel free to tell us below, and as always don’t forget to stay on techgameworld.com for all the most important news for gamers and beyond. For your purely gaming needs, you can instead find the best discounts in digital format on Instant Gaming.