Palworld is the Pokémon this sinful world deserves

GamesActionPalworldPalworld is the Pokémon this sinful world deservesWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Pocketpair)

Palworld screenshot - cute green Pal with an AK47

Let’s be honest, if Pokémon were real today, we’d have Pikachu power stations, Poliwraths flushing fatbergs from our sewers, Piplups cleaning crime scenes, and a rentable Chansey subscription service from healthcare providers. Maybe I’m just being cynical, but even the premise the games present—that we’d primarily just make them fight each other for sport—seems optimistic, a beautiful lie that we accept because we can’t resist collecting things.Palworldis a take on Pokémon that truly accepts our brokenness, and its smash success has perhaps proved quite how steeped in sin we all really are.

Palworld has exploded across the internet like a self-destructing Electrode, and the shockwaves of its arrival are sparking a lot of debate. From shaky accusations about the use ofgenerative AIandmodel copying, to heated arguments about itssimilarities to Pokémon overall, it’s certainly getting people talking. One of the things the two series definitely have in common is that they both have, at their core, pretty disturbing premises—but at least Palworld doesn’t pretend it doesn’t.

I’ve been into Pokémon since I was tall enough to reach the booster packs at the till. But even back then, as I watched Ash fighting to keep Charmander’s tail lit in the cartoon and felt proper emotions for the first time in my young life, I sensed the irony. Saving a little monster just to enslave it and then force it to battle for your entertainment and clout… it’s fairly twisted. The series has always had to bend over backwards to convince you that you’re not a terrible person, that it’s totally fine that you don’t just leave these weird and incredibly powerful creatures to live their lives.

Palworld on the other hand, leans into the darkness. There’s something about its almost nihilistic perspective that I can’t help but like. There’s a twisted frankness to it. You can give adorable creatures guns, force them to mine stone and chop lumber, and utilise their individual powers for purely selfish reasons. At least I know where I stand. There’s no convincing anyone that the bleak destiny you have set out for these Pals is for their own good. From the moment you’ve opened the game and punched a Chikipi to death… you’ve seen yourself become the villain.

(Image credit: Pocketpair)

Depresso lookig fed up with a tree in the background.

Depresso—a dark type who has a perpetually sad face and disinterested approach to tasks—is a great example of a Pal that riffs on how bizarre this whole pocket monster concept is. Locking me in a ball and making me fight and work would alter my mood a bit too. Its low effort approach to existence is justified.

Taking a beast’s strengths and using it for our benefit or entertainment is a very human thing to do. We make horses carry us around, we intensively farm livestock in cramped conditions to fill our plates, and keep domesticated animals to help cheer us up when the wrong package gets delivered, so forcing a Flambelle with its fire powers to fuel your furnace day and night in Palworld seems accurate to what would end up happening. You know that if there were actually little fiery Foxparks in this world, we’d be using them in warzones as living flamethrowers. It’s a sad truth, but it’s a truth nonetheless. Don’t get me wrong, I’m no supporter of the exploitation of animals—but at least Palworld is honest about what it’s encouraging me to do.

Palworld guides(Image credit: Pocket Pair)Best Pals: What to catch earlyPalworld roadmap: The early access planPalworld mods: Best tweaks to installPalworld multiplayer: How to co-opPalworld dedicated server: Full-time PalsPalworld breeding guide: Get started with cake and eggs

Palworld guides

(Image credit: Pocket Pair)Best Pals: What to catch earlyPalworld roadmap: The early access planPalworld mods: Best tweaks to installPalworld multiplayer: How to co-opPalworld dedicated server: Full-time PalsPalworld breeding guide: Get started with cake and eggs

(Image credit: Pocket Pair)

Palworld Black Marketeer - Petting a Pal

Best Pals: What to catch earlyPalworld roadmap: The early access planPalworld mods: Best tweaks to installPalworld multiplayer: How to co-opPalworld dedicated server: Full-time PalsPalworld breeding guide: Get started with cake and eggs

Maybe I’m too pessimistic; maybe the relationship between humans and small powerful monsters would be a symbiotic one, if we lived in such a world. But the smash success of Palworld does make me think I might be right—it clearly, on some level, taps into the way humans think.

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

But hey, it could just be the contrast that has people hooked. The irony of these cute little beasts being caught up in such morbid circumstances. It’s always funny to flip expectations on their head. If you saw a small adorable monkey end a lonely sheep with a desert eagle in real life, would you laugh or cry? I think I’d be confused, but also pretty curious, and that’s kind of how I feel while playing Palworld.

Maybe in a few weeks' time Swee, Leezpunk, and Melpaca will become just the names of my sleep paralysis demons rather than Pals I’m forcing labour upon. But with Palworld developer Pocketpair’s ambitiousroadmap announcement, maybe I’ll be enslaving… I mean collecting, trading, and battling Pals for a while yet to come. Either way, the harsh reality of keeping pocket monsters in magical balls can’t be denied. Whether it be Pokémon or Pals, it’s time to come to terms with the fact that in both instances, we’re the bad guys.

More about actionAll Zenless Zone Zero 1.5 livestream codesAssassin’s Creed Shadows is delayed again ‘to better incorporate player feedback gathered over the past three months’LatestTeam Fortress 2 just had the single biggest trade in its history, with ‘the absolute best hat you can get’ going for around $40KSee more latest►

More about actionAll Zenless Zone Zero 1.5 livestream codesAssassin’s Creed Shadows is delayed again ‘to better incorporate player feedback gathered over the past three months’

More about action

All Zenless Zone Zero 1.5 livestream codesAssassin’s Creed Shadows is delayed again ‘to better incorporate player feedback gathered over the past three months’

Zenless Zone Zero codes - Miyabi and section four

All Zenless Zone Zero 1.5 livestream codes

Image of Yasuke striking an enemy in Assassin’s Creed Shadows

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is delayed again ‘to better incorporate player feedback gathered over the past three months’

LatestTeam Fortress 2 just had the single biggest trade in its history, with ‘the absolute best hat you can get’ going for around $40KSee more latest►

Latest

Team Fortress 2 just had the single biggest trade in its history, with ‘the absolute best hat you can get’ going for around $40K

A valuable TF2 hat shimmers in the moonlight.

Team Fortress 2 just had the single biggest trade in its history, with ‘the absolute best hat you can get’ going for around $40K

See more latest►

Most Popular

‘It’s simply impossible to make a difficulty level that’s just right for all players’: How Final Fantasy 14’s lead battle designer has been playing a precarious balancing game for Dawntrail’s dungeons and raids

Please join me in getting super excited for all the cool looking survival games coming in 2025 (and beyond)

Competitive shooters are at a crucial crossroads in 2025: ‘sweaty’ teamplay vs. casual fun

Call of Duty’s $28 Squid Game skins are the perfect crossover for our capitalist dystopia, and Activision knows exactly what it’s doing

These are the 14 biggest upcoming RPGs of 2025—get ready for another amazing year for the genre

Five new Steam games you probably missed (January 6, 2025)

I’ve seen enough: No more forcing singleplayer studios to make mediocre live service games

6 games that could be bigger hits than you’re expecting in 2025

What are your 2025 gaming resolutions?

The FBI put a $5 million bounty on the ‘Cryptoqueen’ last year but still hasn’t found her, so take your pick: Russia, South Africa, or murdered on a yacht in 2018

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

A bunch of the best Steam Deck accessories on a blue background.

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review

Thank Goodness You’re Here review

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review

Thank Goodness You’re Here! review

2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review

3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

4Ikea Utespelare desk review

Ikea Utespelare desk review

5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals#

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals