Pokémon Legends: Arceus brought many new innovations to the Pokémon series, but it's not without its mistakes, ones that upcoming indie title Palworld can improve upon. Palworld is an open-world survival RPG/creature collector that's often been referred to as "Pokémon with guns," a statement that's fairly accurate from what's been revealed of it so far. A release date has not yet been given, but its developer and publisher Pocketpair promises a launch sometime in 2022, so hopefully, there's not long to wait.
In Pokémon Legends: Arceus, the protagonist is sent back in time by the titular Legendary Pokémon Arceus, the primary deity of the Pokémon universe. They set off on a journey to capture and study every Pokémon in the region and create the first Pokédex, in a break from most of the mainline games that typically all use the same basic plot. In addition, Pokémon Legends: Arceus threw out the stat system used by most of the mainline series and revamped the battling and catching mechanics as well as introducing entirely new ones. It was a big step for Pokémon, but one that doesn't quite go far enough, and hopefully Palworld will be more of what Pokémon Legends: Arceus could have been if it had taken further innovative steps.
Although Pokémon Legends: Arceus wasn't quite the fully open-world experience that it was assumed to be in the time leading up to its release, the upcoming Pokémon Scarlet & Violet promises to be a completely open Pokémon game that gives players the freedom to explore at their own pace. However, it's made no mention of many of the features that Palworld has already revealed, such as real-time battles as well as base building and farming mechanics. In addition, it looks like Palworld will do things that Pokémon won't dare to, with a much darker story and vastly different interactions with its Pals than Pokémon has with its Pocket Monsters. It might be easy to dismiss it as a rip-off, but it looks like Palworld has a lot of potential to become something more.
Palworld Can Fix Pokémon Legends: Arceus' Focus On Capturing
Pokémon Legends: Arceus featured a new capturing system where players manually throw Poké Balls at wild Pokémon in the overworld without needing to enter battle with them. It was a stark contrast from most of the mainline series and added a fun aspect to a mechanic that became highly important due to the game's focus on filling out the Pokédex as opposed to challenging a Pokémon League or combating an Evil Team. However, Pokémon Legends: Arceus also put too much emphasis on catching Pokémon. It may be fun to seek out and capture Pokémon Legends: Arceus' hard-to-find species, but in order to complete the Pokédex, players will need to capture literal hundreds of Pokémon of all shapes and sizes, and some even need to be caught in certain ways. It quickly becomes excessive, and it may be for the best that Pokémon Scarlet & Violet appears to abandon the new mechanics.
Palworld can improve on Pokémon Legends: Arceus' capturing focus by not requiring players to capture as many Pals as they do Pokémon. Though it does appear to have a similar capturing mechanic in the sense that players will manually throw spheres in order to catch Pals, the multitude of other revealed features indicates that capturing will just be one more aspect of the game rather than the most important one. Legends: Arceus was almost a better Pokémon game that revolutionized the series, but its focus on capturing every Pokémon held its story and other gameplay aspects back. Although the full details of Palworld's mechanics are still unknown, it looks much more well-rounded than Pokémon Legends: Arceus was, so hopefully, each one is given its chance to shine.
Palworld Can Have A Less Repetitive Story Than Pokémon Legends: Arceus
The main plot of Pokémon Legends: Arceus revolves around the rift in the sky and the energy coming from it, which is causing the Noble Pokémon of the region to rampage uncontrollably. Players quell their fury by feeding them their favorite snacks in the form of throwable pouches and eventually manage to calm the legendary Pokémon Dialga and Palkia themselves. It may sound like a compelling story, but it quickly ends up becoming repetitive and dissolving into little more than a series of identical battles. The entire premise of Noble Pokémon being different is that they're guardians of each area of Hisui who watch over the region and protect its inhabitants. They had a lot of potential that Pokémon Legends: Arceus ultimately squandered by not giving them the individuality it should have.
Palworld can improve Pokémon Legends: Arceus' repetitive story with a compelling plot that consists of more than the same fight over and over again with different enemies. Few details concerning its main story have been revealed, but the latest trailer released by Pocketpair may have shown the antagonist, an unknown group that holds a character and their Pal at gunpoint, and bears a resemblance to Pokémon's Team Rocket. Palworld's darker themes mean that a similar criminal organization could be worse than any that Pokémon has had so far, especially since the Evil Teams have been growing less villainous in recent Generations; though there's potential for Pokémon Scarlet & Violet's Team to actually be evil. This mysterious organization can provide a gripping narrative that's much better than Pokémon Legends: Arceus', and the fact that players can be villains themselves means that they may even be able to craft their own story in a way that the Pokémon games don't allow.
Palworld's RPG Mechanics Can Go Beyond Pokémon Legends: Arceus'
In Pokémon Legends: Arceus, players can craft a variety of items to help them in their quest to make the first-ever Pokédex. They can also complete side quests to build up a small farm that will provide them with resources, and customize their living space to some degree by buying certain items from the Ginkgo Guild. Many games have crafting, farming, and base-building elements, and although it's heartening to see them in a Pokémon game, all of them pale in comparison to similar mechanics in other series. Pokémon Legends: Arceus missed a big opportunity with its substandard RPG mechanics, which felt like more of a side feature than a core part of the game.
Palworld is a survival RPG with farming, base building, and crafting mechanics that have been shown off in its latest trailer, where friendly Pals help farm crops and build a rocket. Players will also apparently be able to put Pals to work in factories and mines for them, so it would appear that there's some aspect of automation and optimization to these mechanics. Palworld has the opportunity to take them much farther than Pokémon Legends: Arceus did, although the mention of "dismantling" Pals on the Steam page paints a somewhat disturbing picture of exactly how far. Regardless, the RPG mechanics appear to be one of the biggest differences between Palworld and Pokémon, and may be the area where Palworld can most improve on Pokémon Legends: Arceus.
Sources: YouTube/Pocketpair, Steam