Palworld aka that game that looks a lot like Pokémon but with guns, is launching soon in early access as revealed in a new trailer. Oh and also, it will be available on Game Pass on day one. Finally, Xbox gets its own Pokémon game. Sort of.
The first trailer for Palword, released in 2021, was a wild and weird surprise that caught the attention of many thanks to its mix of Pokémon-like creatures—called Pals—and modern firearms. Things only got weirder as we learned more about the game, which lets you hunt, fight, sell, eat, and even exploit the cute and cuddly Pals. “Build a factory, place a Pal in it, and they’ll keep working as long as they’re fed—until they’re dead, that is,” reads a real sentence found on the game’s Steam page.
Is Palworld a clever, satirical takedown of Pokémon games? Or will, for all its edgy marketing, end up falling flat? I’m not sure, but I do know one thing: The game is out soon.
A new trailer released on January 9 confirms that the controversial survival and crafting game (because yeah, it’s got some Minecraft and Fortnite in it, too) is launching next week, on January 19 in early access on Steam. And, more interesting, the folks behind the game also confirmed this violent Pokémon-clone is coming to Game Pass on the same day. It will be available on Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC.
As you can see in the latest trailer, the Pals in Palworld might look like cute Pokémon, but they can use guns during combat. They can also be shot and killed, too. Though I don’t think Palworld is just a game about hunting Pals using AR-15s and RPGs.
The upcoming game also features base building, crafting, dungeons, enemy factions, giant Pal bosses, mounts, and multiplayer. Palworld will support 32 players at launch and will add PvP options at a later date. The studio behind Palworld, PocketPair, has also confirmed that it has plans to add more types of Pals to the game post-launch.
Will Palworld be good? Or just a weird novelty that people stop playing after a week? I’m not really sure yet, but with its imminent Game Pass launch I think a lot of people are going to at least check out this odd game.
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