Note: This game is in early access so the review will be based on the most available build as of the time of writing. We at CCG are also aware of the ongoing litigation with Nintendo and in the event of this game no longer being available for legal purchase, this review will still stand on Palworld's own merits.


For a long time, Nintendo had cornered the market on cute monsters and the ability to collect them in Pokemon. However, it has had many challenges to its Pokémon throne. Palworld is an attempt to take that throne, which as of the time of this writing has had litigation launched by Nintendo. Regardless of the merits of their claims, Palworld is definitely a fun and interesting game.

A bit of background. Monster-collecting games are a lot older than Nintendo's own Pokemon series. The fourth Wizardry is far older (dating to December 1987). However, the oldest game with monster collection mechanics is the Megami Tensei games, which date back to September 1987. This in mind it's worth noting Nintendo suing Palworld for being a ripoff is somewhat disingenuous given their own game was released years after the above two that codified a lot of the mechanics. Palworld combines survival open-world gameplay with monster collection, with the monsters able to help not just with combat but also with helping the player survive in the open world via performing skills and tasks. This last concept dates back to the antiquity of humanity when we mastered the art of domesticating wild animals for companionship and labor.

The actual game itself starts with your character waking up on a beach with no apparent memory, a data slate, and a need to survive and find out more about your situation. What follows is an attempt to explore your new surroundings (The default name is Palpagos Islands) and survive. True to the game name premise, a large part of the game revolves around the capture of Pals, or monster-like beings who can assist the player, both in combat against hostile beings or as support for survival-related tasks.

The gameplay is divided into two halves that interrelate. The player must build shelter, obtain food, and otherwise keep themselves alive. Hostile Pals, NPCs, and the simple need to secure vital resources must all be taken into account. The Pal mechanics involve the capture of Pals for use as allies or their destruction for resources. While Pals generally have combat uses, their abilities can be used to farm, mine, and do other tasks to assist the survival side of the game greatly.

Graphically, this game uses a cel-shaded anime look. Both NPCs and the monster-style Pals are drawn in this style, and the latter have especially varied and unique designs. Animations are generally smooth and fluid. One standout thing is that the art style leans more into the cute, even for some of the more fearsome-looking Pals. Given the demographic of the monster collection game crowd, this is obviously a fairly deliberate choice.

The music and sounds have a mostly ambient quality, with some gentle music here and there. Sound effects for the Pals are rather distinct, though there is no voice acting for the human characters thus far. Given the fact that they want this to be an open-world game with minimal distractions for the player, this works out just fine in setting the mood.

Palworld can be controlled using either a keyboard and mouse or any Steam-supported controller. I found that I prefer the keyboard and mouse, but both options are fully supported with remappable keys. There are tutorials included for the player to learn basic game controls.

Stability for this game, despite being in Early Access, is fairly solid. Palworld runs natively on Microsoft Windows and will run quite well on Linux via Steam Proton. It is also rated Playable on Steam Deck. Palworld does support modding, and this may further degrade or enhance stability. Multiplayer is included for cooperative play, but be advised it may be more unstable than the single-player experience. There is support for cross-platform play with console users as well.

It's worth noting this game is generally functional in early access, but I found a lot of mechanics, particularly in the use of Pals, are still a work in progress. Fine-grained control of Pal actions is implemented, but getting things like Pals to remain in place at certain tasks proved a bit tedious. This should hopefully be ironed out as the developers update this game further.

Morally, this has some issues.

Violence is action RPG style. There is no gore or blood, but you will see the damage done by both humans and creatures. This can include blunt, bladed, and projectile damage, which includes modern gun weapons. You can kill Pals for resources, but they include a censor blur when this happens to comedically hide any gruesome stuff. You can attack both friendly and unfriendly NPCs. In the case this is done accidentally, most friendly NPCs will respawn later unless otherwise noted. As to inadvertent friendly fire, it is possible, but generally, they won't fight back and instead give you a chance to cease and desist. Conversely, you can come to the aid of friendly NPCs if you choose.

Language is fairly clean, and aside from a generic male or female avatar that has on generic undergarments (and you can quickly give them more covering clothes with an early crafting recipe), there is little to complain about in that regard. They have Type 1 and Type 2 bodies, but according to the developer, they added this so players could make really ugly characters if they wanted. To be exact, male and female features can be swapped at will, so if you want a female body with a male face and female voice, you can. Your avatar is generally not referred to in anything but general terms, so this has no real effect on gameplay.

There is a profanity filter in place, generally to prevent naming Pals inappropriately for multiplayer. It has been noted to have some false positives at times, meaning an innocent name will revert to a generic name in multiplayer.

There is a very vague sort of supernatural presence, but any specific religious ties are not entirely clear in my experience. Pals have various abilities like using ice and fire or some other elemental ability, but it is mostly innate to them as a natural ability.

Morally, this is fairly straightforward. It's set in a survival-style setting where you need to defend yourself and that may include fighting both Pals and humans, of which there are some who are hostile, though most can be attacked or not at your discretion.

Overall, while it certainly has similarities to Pokémon, it's more a survival-style game that happens to have collectible monster-style features and both are pretty fun. Technically, aside from a few minor gripes with controls and performing certain actions, it's pretty solid and quite stable. Morally, it's got some mild if cartoonish violence with little else of note. Overall, I enjoy Palworld, and if you want a survival sim mixed with collectible monsters to make your pals, this is a great game with those themes.