So to start this game is still in active development but this past week folks with X-Box Game Pass and Steam got Beta-access to PALWORLD. Palworld is an open world survival game where you explore a variety of islands populated by creatures (called Pals) that you can capture, train and eventually battle against other Pals. Now I bet this sounds familiar to anyone who grew up with a Nintendo GameBoy in the 90s, and there’s good reason for it. Palworld essentially functions the same as any Pokémon game has except two big differences, GUNS AND SURVIVAL.

That’s right, not only are your Pals mustering the gusto to take bring you a victory, you, yourself join the battle with a wide variety of weapons that you use against other Pals and their trainers. It’s a satisfying change to the PokéWorld status quo where you’d see the likes of Team Rocket stealing Pokémon from our heroes throughout the series. You can now bludgeon the Team Rocket equivalents to death or, you know, just shoot ’em. And you do this all while collecting cute cartoony animals to add to your base and collection. Character customization is pretty basic but I was able to run around as a green alien much to the delight of of my friends I got to play multiplayer with. There unfortunately isn’t a customization aspect to the Pals. Changing names is only available on Steam as of this writing, and no other customizations are available.

Another interesting mechanic is our created character’s are not the only ones armed. You can eventually equip guns for your furry friends to use as well! If you ever wanted to see Pikachu use a handgun, this is the answer to your oddly specific fever dream. Pals can be armed with anything from handguns, rifles, heavy machine guns and even bazookas. There’s something funny about increasing the bond between you and your Pal as it’s a small squirrel wielding a automatic handgun from your shoulder, as you both simultaneously unload your arsenals into the enemy combatants. It adds another level to the absurdity Palworld brings and I for one, am here for it. I honestly can’t believe I’m having as much fun with this game. There’s childhood nostalgia around every corner wrapped up in the insanely outlandish islands of Palworld.

Unlike a traditional GameFreak Pokémon game there is no turn based battles that we’d be used to. This is a free roaming free for all from the go, adding a satisfying layer to gameplay as you strategically use your weapons along side your Pal. In addition there is a survival aspect to the game as you’ll have to feed, cloth and craft items for yourself and Pals to survive the island. Much like games like Ark, Palworld required hunting and gathering of resources and food to survive. You need to build a fire to survive the cold nights and upgrade your base through the ages. You start with pretty primitive tools, and work your way up to more modern technologies. Here you learn how to care for yourself and Pals all while increasing experience. Farming, gathering resources and crafting propel you through Palworld’s map as the need for resources changes.

Palworld is not without faults, as mentioned before, the game is in active development and what we are playing is a Beta. Expect game crashes, glitches, rubber-banding, and broken mechanics. I had to restart my world 3 times over my weeklong playthrough due to game breaking bugs. However the fun and addictive gameplay kept me interested enough to keep the grind alive. The things that work well in this Beta preview make it all worthwhile and I cannot wait to see this game develop and grow a community with millions of players striving to be the very best Pal trainer they can. Palworld will undoubtably stir up some controversy as some Pal designs CLOSLEY resemble pre-existing Pokémon designs. Along with allegations of creating most designs for Pals with AI, Palworld has caught the ire of some gamers. Palworld Devs have reported receiving death threats in response to the game’s Beta release due to “simulated slavery” and of course “adorable cartoony monsters wielding weapons that already cause harm to communities worldwide.”

While there are penguin-like pals in the game I am sorry to report they do not have top hats, monocles or microphones for bodies however the penguins I did come across can be rather sadistic.

Palworld is single and multiplayer (however characters created in a multiplayer server cannot be transferred in between servers.) Palworld is available on Steam and XBox One and XBox series X/S.