Palworld 1.0 review: A solid creature collector with a mild identity crisis

August 1, 2026 - 10:10

A squirrel with a rifle is the least interesting thing about Palworld now that the game has hit its 1.0 release. After a long early access period that turned it into a viral phenomenon, the full version is finally here. And it is still a strange mix of survival crafting, base building, and monster catching that somehow works more often than it should.

The core loop is familiar if you have played any survival game in the last decade. You gather wood, stone, and food. You build a base. You fight off hostile creatures. But the twist is that the creatures you fight can also be captured and put to work. Your Pals will chop trees, mine ore, cook meals, and even operate assembly lines. That part is genuinely fun. Watching a team of cartoonish sheep and penguins run a full industrial operation never gets old.

Combat is where the identity crisis shows. You can fight alongside your Pals with guns, melee weapons, or just your bare hands. But the shooting feels loose, and the enemy AI is not smart enough to make gunfights interesting. Most of the time you are better off letting your Pals do the heavy lifting while you dodge and throw spheres. The game does not punish you for ignoring its shooting mechanics, which is good because they are not the reason to stick around.

The world itself is big and varied. You will find snowy mountains, dry deserts, and dense forests, each with its own set of Pals to catch. The visual style is bright and colorful, but the technical side is still rough. Frame drops happen on the base consoles, and some textures pop in late. It is not game breaking, but it is noticeable.

The biggest problem is tone. The game wants to be a cute creature collector like Pokemon, but it also wants to be a gritty survival game where you can butcher your Pals for food or use them as shields. That clash never resolves. You will be building a cozy little farm one minute, then watching a Pal get blown apart by a rocket launcher the next. It is jarring, and not in a good way.

Still, if you can look past the mixed messages, there is a solid game here. The base building is deep, the Pal variety is impressive, and the sense of progression is satisfying. It is not the masterpiece some fans hoped for, but it is a good time for anyone who likes survival games and does not mind a little chaos. Just do not expect it to know what it wants to be when it grows up.