SUMMARY
- Palworld is becoming a massive subject in terms of both popularity and the scorn its receiving.
- The game, dubbed Pokemon with guns, is being called a ripoff of Pokemon.
Pocket Pair’s Palworld has been creating a lot of controversies mainly due to its similarities with the popular game Pokémon. The concept of tiny cartoonish catching creatures was something that Pokemn had established itself with.
There were some significant differences that set the new blockbuster game apart such as its open-world survival gameplay, darker tone, and greater interactivity with creatures. However, many players from the community believed it was just a rip-off of the Pokemon game.
What is common between Pokemon and Palworld?
It is difficult to deny that some elements of Palworld bear close resemblance to Pokemon, but whether it’s a total rip-off is another question entirely.
Outside the gameplay, the biggest similarity between Palworld and Pokémon is their respective monster designs. Several players have highlighted how Palworld’s characters, Pals, in many ways resemble Pokémon. Be it their individual design elements or their overall concepts. Many have even gone on to accuse Palworld of plagiarizing Pokémon’s in-game assets.
To “accidentally” create a complex model mesh with so near-exact proportions is practically impossible. To repeat that improbability throughout your roster… doesn’t pass the sniff test. #Palworld #Pokemon
(Media credit: @byofrog) pic.twitter.com/IiSEe7MCDq
— Eric Covington (@covingtown) January 22, 2024
Some users even noted that several Pals have the exact same bodily proportions and structures as Pokémon. For example, Pokémon Lycanroc and the Pal Direhowl when placed in 3D modeling software Blender demonstrated near-exact proportions, as pointed out by an X user. Besides Palworld also shares a similarity with Pokémon in terms of the capturing creatures genre.
How does Palworld differ from Pokémon?
While Pokémon uses turn-based strategy RPG gameplay mechanics its combat plays a major role in the gameplay. On the contrary, Palworld’s description which claims it as “a multiplayer open-world survival crafting monster breeding game,” sets it apart in terms of genre.
In other words, Palworld is an open-world survival multiplayer game which Pokémon primarily is not. Notably, Pokémon does have free exploration, and the most recent, Scarlet and Violet, also offer an open world, and multiplayer has also always been a part of the Pokémon series. However, the way Pokemon approaches multiplayer is completely different from Palworld.
While Pokémon multiplayer is restricted to one-on-one battles, Palworld takes place in a constant, massively multiplayer world. Additionally, the survival elements have never been a part of Pokémon, so that is something that undoubtedly sets Palworld apart.
Another difference is in terms of character treatment. Pokémon allows Trainers to capture Pokémon, battle them, and develop bonds with them. On the other hand, Palworld allows players to “meet, catch, breed, fight, work with, sell, dismantle, and even eat” the mysterious creatures, Pals. Palworld features a relatively darker overall tone than Pokémon, which has always been a family-friendly adventure.
This is why it also got its name ‘Pokemon with guns’ since Palworld equips the Pokemon-like creatures with real guns, something that is not usual in Pokemon. Pals are seen using firearms such as pistols, turrets, and rocket launchers. Thus the violence in Palworld plays a huge role in setting it apart.
What do developers say?
A character artist even responded to these accusations in an interaction saying, “You cannot, in any way, accidentally get the same proportions on multiple models from another game without ripping the models. Or at the very least, tracing them meticulously first.”
To this, Takuro Mizobe, CEO of Pocket Pair responded in a tweet. The CEO asked critics to avoid making accusations against the artists who worked on Palworld. He also took full responsibility for the designs being one of the persons to approve them.
The tweet, originally in Japanese, read, “While we have received various opinions about Palworld, It is important to note that the supervision of all materials related to Palworld is conducted by a team, including myself. I bear the responsibility for the produced materials. I would appreciate it if these comments towards artists involved in Palworld would cease.”
Although the CEO didn’t directly address the plagiarism accusation, he does take responsibility for the final result. That being said the process of how the Palworld’s monsters were exactly designed remains unknown. On the other hand, the members of The Pokémon Company, Nintendo, and Game Freak have not responded to the situation.