Highlights
- Palworld's open world and survival approach offer a rich and rewarding exploration experience, contrasting with Pokemon's focus on battling and training creatures.
- A possible Pokemon Legends: Arceus sequel could draw comparisons with Palworld, especially in terms of gameplay mechanics and open-world elements.
- While Palworld has received criticism for "stealing" Pokemon designs, any major changes in a new Pokemon Legends game may attract scrutiny for how Palworld handles similar features.
The smashing success that "Pokemon with guns" Palworld has been having since its early access release is sure to spark some interesting conversations about its comparison with the all-famous Japanese monster-taming franchise, especially given its similarities with Pokemon Legends: Arceus. Pokemon games have been innovating on the series' formula quite a lot with recent entries, and while that is a big part of what makes each new generation such a hit, the franchise could use some competition - and in a sense, Palworld is exactly that. Although the core gameplay loop of Palworld and Pokemon games differ dramatically, a possible Pokemon Legends: Arceus half-sequel or full-fledged second game could draw comparisons with Palworld that work both ways.
Palworld's open world can be quite rich and rewarding to explore, which the game actively entices players to do given its survival approach. In fact, contrary to Pokemon where battling with the critters and training them tends to be the main focus, Palworld has many other elements to it that range from building structures and creating encampments to using Pals to get resources or even sell them. These may all be elements that another Pokemon Legends game decides to adopt, and with an open-world setting to share, it may be tough to handle all the possible similarities and differences with Palworld.
Palworld Passes Impressive Steam Concurrent Player Milestone, Beats Cyberpunk and Elden Ring
Pocket Pair’s Palworld has achieved yet another milestone, surpassing two popular games on Steam, Elden Ring and Cyberpunk 2077.
How Palworld and Pokemon Legends: Arceus Sequel May be Two Sides of the Same Coin
Why Pokemon Legends: Arceus' Sequel is in a Rough Spot After Palworld
Palworld is not the be-all, end-all of monster-taming games, but the hype surrounding it has made it so that the Palworld vs. Pokemon controversy is being dismissed by many because Pocket Pair's title is considered enjoyable regardless of where its Pals' designs may come from. Pokemon Legends: Arceus is not a survival game, at least not in the traditional sense of the genre, and the only elements that get close to it are the crafting mechanics and wild Pokemon attacking players.
Still, not only a sequel may decide to explore these aspects further, but it could very well create a spin-off series where catching Pokemon is not necessarily the main goal any longer. If it does, comparisons to Palworld will likely follow, but this is something another Pokemon Legends game may not escape in any case. Palworld's combat and catching mechanics could very well be compared to Pokemon Legends: Arceus' throwing items like Sticky Globs at wild Pokemon to stun them and then using Poke Balls to catch them. An actual combat system where players can use weapons to chip away at wild creatures' health and then catch them seems unattainable, but it's what Palworld does.
It's worth noting that both Pokemon Legends: Arceus and Palworld make use of Alpha Pokemon and Alpha Pals, respectively. While the feature was first seen in Pokemon Legends: Arceus, a sequel may draw comparisons to Palworld's version of it.
Why The Palworld vs. Pokemon Comparisons Work Both Ways
This doesn't mean that Pokemon Legends: Arceus' sequel should have its own combat system, as it would be a massive Pokemon tradition to break, considering the mainline series has never included ways to have players directly harm wild creatures. However, the increased player agency in Pokemon Legends: Arceus compared to most mainline Pokemon games is comparable to that provided by Palworld, and the analogy may not always play in favor of Nintendo's property.
A new Pokemon Legends: Arceus game has not been confirmed just yet, but if and when it pops up, Palworld will inevitably become one of its biggest points of contrast.
There may be comparisons between the next Pokemon Legends game and Palworld in terms of open-world approach, gameplay mechanics, and even things like character creation or critter designs. Much like Palworld "stole" Pokemon designs, it's likely that a new Pokemon Legends: Arceus game will be under scrutiny for the same reason, although there would be no reason for Nintendo to go that route. More importantly, any major changes to how the game flows, be it survival elements or adjustments to the classic Pokemon formula, may draw unwanted attention to how Palworld handles all of it.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus
Pokemon Legends: Arceus is an action RPG video game set in the Hisui region, a place from the distant past in the Pokemon world. Players will explore this new region, inspired by ancient Japan, and study the behaviors of wild Pokemon. With the ability to sneak up on them and throw Poké Balls, players can catch Pokemon to add to their collection.
The game features a new combat system where players can choose between a speedy agile style or a powerful strong style to take on wild Pokemon and other trainers. Players will also learn about the mythical Pokemon Arceus, who plays a key role in the game's storyline.
- Platform(s)
- Switch
- Developer(s)
- Game Freak
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo , The Pokemon Company
