Palworld, the Pokémon-like game that lets you arm your creatures with machine guns, put them to work in factories, or just eat them, launches on Steam next week

GamesActionPalworldPalworld, the Pokémon-like game that lets you arm your creatures with machine guns, put them to work in factories, or just eat them, launches on Steam next weekWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

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Palworldis the game that asks the disturbing yet fundamentally sensible question: What if Team Rocket had access to a large cache of HK416s and maybe some M72 LAW rockets? After all, pulling little monsters out of your pocket and making them fight might be cute but if you’re serious about getting things done, hardware helps, right?

Arming your Pals for war isn’t the only thing you can do with (or to) them. Palworld features an extensive base-building system, and those bases don’t build themselves. Make your Pals do it, and then put them to work tending your crops and running your factories.

You can breed your own Pals, combining their rare genetic makeups to make even more powerful creatures, or if you’re in a hurry you can sneak into your local wildlife sanctuary and just steal some. As developer Pocketpair put it, “It’s not a crime if you don’t get caught.” And if you come up with a really good one, you can sell it to unnamed parties for a quick buck.

Hungry? Pals are also edible, and as Chris Livingstonnoted last year, that’s pretty grim but they might also be awfully tasty. You won’t know until you try!

(Image credit: Pocketpair)

Palworld animated image - a penguin being eaten by a blue dinosaur

Palworld promises to be pretty substantial when it hits early access, with more than 100 monsters, 350 items, 70 building types, and “a vast open world” in which players can explore, fight, and craft. It’s also dark and deeply weird, although in all honesty I find the overt villainy very funny: “Letting Pals do the work is the key to automation: 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.” That’s not the sort of thing you’re going to see in most creature-collecting game listings.

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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

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