Palworld has been making waves (among other elemental effects) online with a gameplay experience that’s strikingly similar to Pokémon in many ways while being its own thing in others. While many players are refusing to take the game seriously, others consider it to be a spiritual successor to a franchise that simply hasn’t been living up to the expectations of many.
In a Twitter post recently, a dedicated player has listed down all the Pals in Palworld as counter-parts of Pokémon variants, giving the community a chance to look at the game in a new light and give the copyright narrative a twist.
111 Pals, One players comparison, and a lot of controversy
The tweet starts off with user CeciliaFae giving the online community a heads-up about what’s being explored here. Ideally, they’ve made an attempt at comparing each Pal’s design to its Pokémon counterparts, exploring what makes them different and what designs are almost the same. The thread explores a variety of Pals and what Pokémon seem like.
CeciliaFae has also made an important statement about this journey:
I just wanted to mention, I don’t think everything in this thread is plagiarised. Especially the lower down ones. But I wanted to fully compile a list of everything with a similarity so that those who weren’t sure what exactly what was going on would have a comprehensive list
This gives the copyright narrative a new angle. With the details out of the way, fans can now take a clearer look at what’s going on here, and whether or not a copyright strike is even worth it. Also to keep in mind that somewhere, someone must have already created a fictional creature that might end up being a Pal in Palworld. So, what’s real and what’s not? That’s a question worth exploring.
It’s almost hilarious to see how many of these Pals look like rejected versions of Pokémon that never made it to the show/game. While others look like original creations that weren’t inspired by an eternity-old franchise.
Will Palworld survive in a world overruled by Pokemon?
The comparisons, as uncanny as they may seem, do give rise to the copyright debate. After all, this isn’t the first time we’re looking at a game that’s trying to do what recent Pokémon games couldn’t. But, hold up, is Palworld truly an experience of its own or a game desperate to fill the voids in the hearts of Pokémon fans?
Well, according to Steam’s ‘Very Positive’ reviews, the game has been doing well since its launch. Many players consider the game to be a spiritual successor of the Pokémon games, while still holding respect for the age-old franchise. However, these are still early days of the game and we’ll have to wait and watch as time and nature take their course.
Nevertheless, many in the community consider Palworld to be a ‘meme game’ that actually turned out to be great, considering how well it runs on systems and how the gameplay loop feels polished. The matter of anxiety here lies in the IP ownership of Pokémon and the many creatures that exist within. Do you think that Palworld is a blatant copy of Pokémon, or it’s a thing of its own? Let us know in the comments below.
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