I'll start this review by saying that I'm completely addicted to this game and to building increasingly larger and more colossal bases, but let's take it one thing at a time.

Art Style and Open World#

I'm a huge fan of stylized games, especially this anime/cartoon style that doesn't try to be realistic. And this game, much like Zelda Breath of the Wild and Genshin Impact, combines that with that wonderful feature where you can see the other regions of the map way out on the horizon, while your ultimate destination, the World Tree, remains visible from anywhere on the map, encouraging you to thoroughly explore every part of it in search of secrets, important items, and places to build your bases (I'll focus more on that further down).

As I said, the game's art style is beautiful, and it fits very well with the Pokemons Pals, very cute little monsters with incredible abilities - ranging from fighting with skills, being enslaved to produce resources, being ground up to produce resources, being killed for resource drops, and, last but not least, CARRYING A FUCKING BAZOOKA to defeat their enemies (and thus help you obtain resources). Yes, resources, your greatest enemy in this game, but we'll get to that later. Each Pal has a unique style (or almost), which makes collecting these creatures one of the most enjoyable tasks in the game.

The Base-Building Element#

I've always been addicted to survival and base-building games (as evidenced by my nearly 100 hours in Surviving Mars), so obviously this game was going to be no different. I currently have 3 bases, and I increased the number of Pals per base for logistical reasons (15 Pals are never enough), and as you can see in my screenshots above, I'd say I'm doing a pretty good job of making my bases as colossal and spacious as possible. I see a lot of people focusing heavily on efficiency, building compact bases and so on, but that doesn't suit me, and this game deserves special attention in that regard, considering there are a shitload of possible building styles and decorations.

The only problem is that I focus so much on building bases that I don't focus as much on leveling up, although that naturally happens with the amount of exploration I do across this map while hunting for some more efficient Pals to use (like the bastard Mimog, one of the best transporters, but almost impossible to find through sheer force of will). For clarification, I'm level 68, with ~110 hours of gameplay, and I'm nowhere near finished because I want to make the most of the experience.

Resources#

This is the most stressful part at first, but over time it becomes a very rewarding element (it's great to open your chest and see an absurd number of resources, only for them to disappear in the blink of an eye if you're not careful). They range from stone to energy cores from ancient civilizations and AI cores, which actually creates a very steep development curve. In my case, I haven't reached those more advanced resources yet, but I have plenty of raw materials that will help me get there in the future.

The best part is that resources are very well integrated with the game's progression system. You can use them to build your bases, upgrade your machinery, or sell them to make a fortune, and to obtain these resources, you'll need more resources, more productive slaves Pals, and better machines, turning it into a vicious cycle. It's also possible to use the old trick of putting something heavy on your keyboard over a logging or mining station and letting the PC farm while you do something more useful, like eating, which I sometimes forget to do while playing.

The Pals#

The Pals are the center of the game. Without them, you can't do anything. From battles and resource gathering to production, everything revolves around them. Although many people say they're Pokémon copies, I don't believe that's the case. They're very unique little monsters with very different uses (the day a Pokémon game has them using an AK-47, we can have that conversation). My favorite Pal is Jolthog Cryst. He's my main, and currently he can solo anyone below level 60. He's a really cute little hedgehog, and despite being an Ice Pal, I gave the bastard Dragon and Fire skills, so he's a monster when it comes to attack diversity.

Besides being able to capture Pals, you also have a rather... curious option here: capturing humans (which, even in this world, is considered a violation of human rights, but who cares? I only capture criminals anyway), and the best part is that you can make them work too, so we have some very useful inmates in a possible maximum-security prison with extreme work mode, violating all their rights (but we don't talk about that). The only downside is that these little shits are extremely lazy, and some of the bastards just sleep all day. Anyway, if you're going to build something like this, avoid the authorities' eyes 😉

The Story#

Well, I won't spoil anything, so let's just say that you were shipwrecked into an isekai where you can capture monsters using spheres and have the primary goal of reaching the World Tree, and along the way you'll have to conquer several towers.

In Summary#

Palworld is a very fun game that will give you quite a few hours of entertainment, and if you're a fan of genres like RPG and Base Building, then those few hours could be around 500. I highly recommend this game, so much so that I forced my friend to buy it so we could play together, which definitely makes the experience more fun, while also speeding up progression a little.

The conclusion is: Catching Pals is way too much fun. They're beautiful Pals with unique designs, tasks, and abilities. Come catch some Pals yourself. (Seriously, this name almost sounds intentional)

Date: 08/17/2026