Palworld (Early Access)
This is the game commonly referred to as “Pokemon with guns,” the same game that generated a tsunami of attention upon its release. Released into early access on January 19, 2024, “Palworld sold over one million copies in its first eight hours of early access on January 19, 2024, which rose to two million copies within the first 24 hours, three million copies within the first 40 hours, five million copies by day 3, six million by day 4, seven million by day 5, and eight million by day 6. On January 24, 2024, it reached over 2,000,000 concurrent players on Steam” (Pocketpair Inc.). It was an unprecedented event in video game history.After nearly 50 hours into this monumental game, all I can say about it is “meh.” The world is empty, the crafting and base-building are very basic, and it all requires a tedious amount of grinding. Traversing a barren world to gather materials or level up is not saved by the fact that I’m riding a cartoon dragon. I like the pals, both their variety and utilization within the game, but that enjoyment probably only lasted 30 hours before the gameplay became all about the grind. The experience probably would have been more enjoyable if I was playing with friends, but I don’t think it would save the gameplay. If you haven’t purchased the game already, I recommend waiting until there’s significant progress in development. The game is expected to fully release next year, but I have a feeling it won’t; I suspect they’ll delay full release so they can continue to add to the game now that they have the money to do so from early access sales. Available on Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S, and Steam.
—Gage Wilson, Anime Editor