Rewrite this title for a blog post. Remove any site names from it The title is: This is the game that Palworld was actually inspired by… and it's not Pokémon!

There is no shortage of arguments and enthusiasm – from the 25 million unique players – around Palworld. The developers of the Pocketpair studio will soon be back with a first major update., which will bring many additions such as new creatures as well as a new area. Innovations which are welcome and which should delight the survival game lover that I am. But unfortunately, a problem persists. Whatever the qualities and new features of Palworld, in my eyes, the shadow of another game continues to hang over the title. And no, it's not Pokémon!

See Xbox Game Pass on Microsoft to play Palworld

Palworld, between success and controversy

There's a pretty slim chance that you've never heard of Palworld. It's a multiplayer open-world survival game developed and published by Pocketpair, a young Japanese studio which was already behind Craftopia. The title propels us from its launch onto a huge map, which we explore in search of food, materials and points of interest of all kinds. And this, with the intention of surviving, prospering and defeating all the bosses residing in the lands. Released in early access on January 19, the game was a phenomenal success. On Steam alone, a peak of more than 2 million concurrent players was reached, ranking it the 2nd biggest peak in the history of the platform. Crazy figures, but which have obviously declined over time. In recent months, the average number of concurrent players is close to 17,000.

A record success therefore, but which is accompanied by its share of controversiesespecially because of a part of the game that I deliberately omitted: the Pals. Obvious cousin of Pokémon, the Pals are numerous and varied creatures that inhabit the islands of Palpagos, where we live. These species are truly at the center of Palword's gameplay and adventure. We capture them, we fight them, we make them work for us, we improve them, etc… An obvious comparison, but source of many controversiessometimes claiming that Palword is just a “Pal” copy of Pokémon, sometimes that it’s what Game Freak’s new games should be like.

A resemblance on paper, but which, in essence, does not really make sense. The two titles diverge in many aspects, and are part of very different genres. While Pokémon bases its experience on a mainstream RPG with a Game Freak twist, Palworld follows the codes of a survival game. And this, by adopting mechanisms of crafting, resource gathering, maintaining vital functions and discovering new manufacturing recipes. Devices that come much more from ancestors of the genre, such as Minecraft, Rust and DayZ, than from the Pokémon license. It is therefore not even necessary to mention the weapons, the combat in TPS or other clear contrasts, to distinguish the two titles.

Similarities with ARK

On the other hand, Palworld is very close to another universe: that of ARK. Released in 2015, ARK Survival Evolved is an open-world survival game where the adventure begins when players wake up naked on an island populated by dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures. In this world of all dangers, players must collect resources, hunt, cultivate, and build shelters if they want to survive. To tame their territory, although hostile, they can domesticate, train and ride various creatures, such as T-rexes or mammoths. Additionally, if they want to resist attacks from enemies and other threats of all kinds, players can create alliances and tribes to gather their forces. Finally, to finish the adventure, we will have to fight 3 bosses who will all lead us to a final opponent to finally access a last cutscene.

Concepts therefore more than similar, which would almost make Palworld look like a bad copier. Especially when the only original features of the title seem to come straight from Pokémon. From creature mounts, to engrams, to base creation and general gameplay, almost everything about it brings us back to ARK, those of us who have played it before. We will still note a principle of industrialization and bosses much more in depth in Palworld.

Watch ARK: Survival Ascended on Amazon

Getting rid of your inspirations

If Palworld wants to free itself from these similarities, its developers must separate their game from the shadow of ARK and Pokémon. And to do this, it seems that the new update, named Sakurajima, adds original ideas. We are thinking in particular of the PVP arena, which will allow players to challenge each other in 3v3 Pals combat, an intriguing and unique idea that is welcome.

Just like the addition of new pals, which should, if they are original, assert the style of Pocketpair. And thus, to make us forget, a little, the resemblance with Pokémons that we know only too well. With this update available on June 27, Palworld therefore has a lot to do, they must make players want to come back to their game, while standing out from their inspirations; no small feat when you see where they are starting from.

For its part, if Ark 2 wishes to build on the success of the previous part, the Wildcard studio should not delay in showing the first reassuring gameplay images, which meet the expectations placed on the opus. So, a lot of things are coming for fans of survival games, let's just hope that the proposals will be diverse and original, and that they will not be buried in classic codes seen and reviewed.