Although Palworld's early access launch was immensely successful, some fans were concerned that the game wouldn't receive consistent updates after its release. Pocketpair, the independent Japanese developer behind the game, didn't exactly have a great track record when it came to post-launch support. One of the company's prior titles, Craftopia, had been in early access for several years at the time, and still hadn't received a full release. In addition to this, others believed that Palworld was going to be nothing more than a passing fad, and that even though Pocketpair had repeatedly expressed its intent to support the game for years to come, it would ultimately fall by the wayside.
Thankfully, most of the initial concerns and skepticism surrounding Palworld have been put to rest. The game has not only maintained its popularity, but it's continued to receive major new updates at a consistent cadence. Just last month, Pocketpair added a large new region to Palworld called Feybreak, alongside a plethora of new Pals, weapons, and gameplay mechanics. Later this year, the studio also plans to add co-op crossplay, a final boss, and even an ending scenario to the game. Although this content roadmap does sound exciting, Pocketpair should consider taking things to the next level by adding a Witcher 3- inspired minigame to Palworld before it leaves early access.
The Monster Hunter Series Could Work Wonders With Palworld's Formula
With another monster-centric series around, the Monster Hunter franchise could evolve by taking some notes from Pocket Pair's Palworld for itself.
Pocketpair Should Add a Gwent-Like Card Game to Palworld
Considering how different the two games are, some may find the notion of Palworld taking inspiration from The Witcher 3 a little ridiculous. The former is, after all, an open world, creature-collecting survival game with little-to-no story, while the latter is a dark, narrative-driven medieval fantasy RPG. Even though they share very little in common, there is one feature from The Witcher 3 that wouldn't feel too out of place in Palworld, and that's Gwent.
Gwent is a Popular Card Game from The Witcher Series That Has Spawned Multiple Spin-Offs
Gwent, for those who don't know, is a card game that was first introduced in The Witcher novels by Andrzej Sapkowski, and was turned into a playable minigame in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The game, which can only be played by two people, has players command armies and compete against each other in one-on-one duels. To defeat their opponent, they must use the cards they have to perform combos and execute precise combat strategies. Once both players have no more cards left to play, the one who has the most cards left on the playing field usually wins.
Gwent may be too convoluted for some gamers' tastes, but it is still incredibly popular among The Witcher community. The card game has become so successful, in fact, that it's spawned three spin-off Witcher games. CD Projekt Red, the developer of The Witcher 3, released a standalone free-to-play version of Gwent for all modern systems (excluding the Nintendo Switch) in 2018. It then made two singleplayer expansions for the game called Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales and Gwent: Rogue Mage, which were sold individually and launched on different platforms.
A Palworld Card Game Could Be a Big Boon for Pocketpair
Considering the success that CD Projekt Red found with Gwent, it would be wise for Pocketpair to add a card game to Palworld, as well. The hit survival game already shares a lot of creature-collecting DNA with the Pokemon Trading Card Game, so a minigame similar to it would fit perfectly in its world. If this potential card game were to become popular, Pocketpair could develop several standalone Palworld spin-offs inspired by it, just like what CD Projekt Red did with Gwent. This way, the studio could make both singleplayer and multiplayer expansions for the game, and even sell merchandise based off of it.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 71 /100 Critics Rec: 58%
- Released
- January 19, 2024
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Violence
- Developer(s)
- Pocket Pair, Inc.
- Publisher(s)
- Pocket Pair, Inc.
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer
- Cross-Platform Play
- Xbox Series X|S, pc
WHERE TO PLAY
In this game, you can peacefully live alongside mysterious creatures known as Pals or risk your life to drive off a ruthless poaching syndicate. Pals can be used to fight and breed, or they can be made to work on farms or factories. You can even sell them or eat them.
Survival: In a harsh environment where food is scarce and vicious poachers roam, danger waits around every corner. To survive, you must tread carefully and make difficult choices...even if that means eating your own Pals when the time comes.
Mounts & Exploration: Pals can be mounted to traverse the land, sea and sky—allowing you to traverse all kinds of environment as you explore the world.
Collect all kinds of exciting Pals to fight, farm, build, and work for you in this completely new multiplayer, open world survival and crafting game!
- Cross Save
- yes
- Number of Players
- 1-4 (Co-Op); 32 Players Server Limit
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- yes
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X
- Genre(s)
- Open-World, Shooter, Survival
- How Long To Beat
- 36 Hours
- X|S Optimized
- Yes
- File Size Xbox Series
- 6 GB (February 2024)
- OpenCritic Rating
- Fair
