The arrival of Palworld has been an “interesting time” for the gaming community as a whole. First, there were controversies about whether it was “copying” The Pokemon Company on multiple levels. But those feelings seem to have died down. Then, the game’s success became the focus as it was being played by over 7 million players within a short span, and it keeps growing. But one key thing that gamers continue to discuss is how different the game is compared to Pokemon. Some of the changes are obvious, like being able to use guns, forcing your “Pals” to do acts of sacrifice, and so on, but some elements are more “nuanced,” which is appealing to gamers on a certain level.
One of the big ones is that Palworld doesn’t do evolutions. You can “fuse” monsters together via breeding, but that’s an entirely different thing. One of the highlights of The Pokemon Company’s line is that you can get a Pokemon and then raise it up until it goes into a new form. That form gives it new powers, arguably better stats, and, more often than not, a cooler look.
But on Reddit, one user pointed out a certain “flaw” with that process. They noted how it makes the actual Pokemon roster for the various regions feel much smaller because most of it is focused on evolution. Then, when you compare that with the “Pals” in this “rival” game, every Pal is unique, and that makes it feel like there are more of them running around in the world:
“It’s definitely been the most surprising. It actually feels like theres 100 of these little guys, even if most of them aren’t optimal. They all serve some purpose that’s not just ‘you exist to turn into this other monster’.”
That is a fair interpretation of things, and on that Reddit thread, many people upvoted this notion. This isn’t the first time that evolution has been questioned in the Pokemon world, as recent years have seen The Pokemon Company go to sometimes “extreme lengths” to make evolutions feel “earned,” even if it ticks off gamers. Sometimes Pokemon have to go through VERY specific requirements to go to their next form, which is a turn off. But they can’t complete their Pokedex if they don’t do it.
In contrast, these new gamers with their Pals enjoy the full breadth of their world and see them as they were “meant to be.” We’ll have to see if the original mimics the “new blood” later on.
