Highlights

  • Palworld combines Pokemon, Zelda, ARK, and Rust elements, but falls short in some areas like balance concerns.
  • Palworld's durability mechanics are comparable to Zelda's controversial weapon durability, which makes gear frustratingly fragile.
  • While Palworld has its issues, its early access status leaves room for fixes based on fan feedback.

Pocketpair's Palworld is already one of the most successful games of 2024, as it combines elements of the satisfying creature-collecting of the Pokemon series with the exploration of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and the rather demanding survival mechanics of games like ARK: Survival Evolved and Rust. Those who have experienced or even witnessed Palworld firsthand have noted its clear inspirations, from Pokemon to Breath of the Wild, but even being inspired by some of the biggest franchises in gaming history, it still tends to fall short in some areas.

Despite the enormous success of Palworld, it hasn't been without its issues. While this is expected, as the game is currently in early access, there are issues nonetheless. One issue, in particular, is very reminiscent of one of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom's most common criticisms, and while it could be argued that it belongs in Palworld simply due to the expectations set by the game's genre, it is one of the many cited balance concerns that desperately needs to be addressed during its early access period.

palworld-tears-of-the-kingdom-game-rant
Related
Palworld’s Exploration Could Benefit from One Tears of the Kingdom Feature

Palworld's open world is massive, and one The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom feature would greatly benefit players while exploring it.

Zelda: Breath of the Wild's Weapon Durability Is One of Its Most Controversial Features

Even those who have yet to play The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild or its sequel Tears of the Kingdom know of the controversy surrounding each game's frustrating durability mechanics. Undoubtedly designed as a way to keep players going after better weapons in each game, BotW and TotK's durability mechanics are largely looked down upon, as even some of the best weapons in the game can be lost forever once they are broken.

Nintendo attempted to provide a solution to Breath of the Wild's durability criticisms with Tears of the Kingdom's Fuse ability and a rather hidden way of repairing items, but many fans still felt the durability system was mostly unnecessary. Others saw it as a unique and justifiable method for encouraging players to keep seeking out more weapons, but the vast majority continued refusing to validate the feature. Now, Palworld's durability system seems to be following suit.

Palworld's Durability Mechanics Are Reminiscent of Zelda: Breath of the Wild's

Item durability is a very common feature in the survival genre, so on the one hand, it makes sense that Palworld would have it. However, the argument is not that durability should be removed from Palworld entirely, but that it could be improved throughout the game's early access period. Currently, Palworld's durability mechanics are a bit too close to those of Breath of the Wild and its sequel, and judging by how much criticism those two games have received for the feature, perhaps it would do well for Pocketpair to reevaluate the rate at which items require repair in its creature-collecting phenomenon.

Palworld's Equipment is Just as Fragile as BotW and TotK's

At the moment, certain items in Palworld, like its weapons and armor, essentially require constant repairs. Obviously, this largely depends on how often the items are used and/or damaged, but other survival games are arguably a bit more lenient in this area and allow players to use similar items for a significantly longer time before repairing them. Armor feels especially weak when attempting to withstand the attacks of Pals only a few levels higher than the player. Even some of Palworld's early tools, regardless of being the worst tools in the game, often require repair before one resource node can be fully harvested.

Palworld's Early Access Status Can Easily Lead to Fixes

Despite the balance issues that Palworld's current durability mechanics create, it's likely Pocketpair has already noted this, and it may eventually update them accordingly. Many Palworld fans have made suggestions on the game's Steam community discussion page about how to improve the game's durability mechanics, so the hope is that Pocketpair will see this if it hasn't already and make the appropriate changes. Even still, the durability imbalance could be seen as a rather minor issue in the shadow of everything Palworld gets right.