New Game Is Basically Pokémon With Guns And People Are Losing It

I've played my fair share of Pokémon games in the past, and they're mostly a delightful, often chilled out experience. You get to raise and hang out with some adorable creatures, get to know people, see cities, and even advance your career as a Pokémon trainer. It's a dreamy scenario for most players, except one fan who decided it didn't have enough bazookas.

Developer Pocketpair has just announced its new game Palworld which looks like Pokémon in almost every way. The bright colours, animal companions, and landscapes are all reminiscent of recent Pokémon games like Sword and Shield - but the Japanese studio's title has one distinct difference. Your protagonist also has a bunch of guns.

Here is our first look at Palworld...

Footage of the game has gone viral on Twitter where people are both hyped and confused by what they're seeing. Rather than sending your creature companions into the battlefield, your hero will be fighting with an arsenal of their own. You may be thinking "good, now the poor pocket monsters aren't sacrificing themselves for their trainers" - but dear reader, you would be wrong.

The "pals" in Palworld help in battle by defending the hero, sometimes attracting the enemy and drawing their fire. But there's more: these Pals are also making the guns in a sad factory setting. For one wild second in the trailer, you see some cute pals making, like, AK-47s or something. If you look at the game's Steam page, it confirms that you're supposed to open factories to make guns and work the pals "until the end of their lifetime". You can also catch and sell endangered species of pals which is "only illegal if you get caught".

Predictably, fans are split. Many think it's pretty strange to make a Pokémon-like with such dark themes especially when the game seems so proud of these controversial decisions. Others aren't bothered by the themes of Palworld and are still interested in seeing what the game and developers Pocketpair have to offer. Either way, this is one to watch, and Palworld is due to release in 2022.

Topics: Pokemon, News