Palworld slammed for alleged Pokemon rip-offs, with players sharing design similarities

Palworld has been released on PC and Xbox platforms, but the survival title is drawing the ire of gamers. According to some players, Pocketpair's open-world game has ripped off several Pokemon designs for its Pals, with some fans even calling for the community not to support the new release because of it.

There are certainly heavy similarities between some of the Pals of Palworld and the creatures of the Pokemon franchise. While some fans stated that they wouldn't support Pocketpair's game due to what they consider theft, others said they didn't care and were tired of Game Freak's direction when it came to its Pocket Monster games.

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Gamers debate alleged Pokemon design rip-off in Palworld and how they should respond

Although several individuals on X agreed that they wouldn't support Palworld due to what they considered stark rip-offs of existing Pokemon designs, plenty of fans said they were past the point of caring. Some pointed to the gunplay-based gameplay and survival elements of Pocketpair's title, while others said they were tired of Game Freak and the Pocket Monster series entirely.

The comparisons between Pals and Pokemon are pretty undeniable. However, given the fact that many Pocket Monster fans are fed up with recent controversies, including game and DLC releases considered inadequate, they may be willing to look elsewhere. Some players also pointed out that Game Freak took pointed inspiration from Square Enix's Dragon Quest series.

This entire conversation leads to the inevitable question: Where is the line between design inspiration and blatant lifting of assets from a game for a different non-affiliated project? Would The Pokemon Company be able to take action? For some Palworld players, the answer doesn't matter much, as they've been pretty clear about their disinterest in Game Freak's creature collector series.

There's certainly no shortage of games that take inspiration from Pokemon, as there's an entire burgeoning creature collector genre available across many platforms. Franchises like Digimon and Monster Rancher have also persisted, so it appears that Palworld may end up being another competitor in the long run. However, it's clear some gamers won't be supporting Pocketpair's new title.

Many players also pointed out that Palworld is intended to be a parody of Pokemon and that the creature designs for Pals are intentionally similar. Whatever the case, Pocketpair's game seems to already have its ardent defenders, some of whom appear to be disaffected Pocket Monster players who have grown disinterested in Game Freak's recent direction for the series.

The debate will likely go on in the coming months as Palworld continues its development cycle and the Pokemon series navigates 2024. However, for the time being, it seems as though gamers are simply in two different camps. Some will object to the design of Pals, while others will defend Pocketpair's title for their reasons, from gameplay and features to the world design.

So, is Pocketpair's latest game ripping off the Pokemon series' designs? An argument could certainly be made given the comparisons provided by players, but if Nintendo or The Pokemon Company aren't willing to pursue litigation, it might not matter. Fans will simply have to decide where they stand and whether they're willing to look past the creature designs to enjoy the games collectively.