I’ve been spending a good amount of my free time lately in early-access life sim Palia. Since its early access launch, I’ve found myself returning to my human’s comfortable home to garden, hunt, and hang out with friends. Palia has become my Stardew Valley-esque chill game of choice.
The idea of a cozy MMO was a little barebones at the start of the game’s life — but developer Singularity 6 is supporting the title with regular updates, so the concept is much clearer now. I’ve started to not just encourage my friends to play Palia with me, I’ve started making new friends in the game.
As a rule, I tend to play most games solo unless I have my pals around to join me. After playing a whole smorgasbord of online titles, I’ve learned that most communities are full of rude dudes who will drop some slurs on you for the slightest of infractions. Palia, on the other hand, has a delightful community.
During the past few days, I’ve noticed some encounters that warmed my tired, pessimistic heart. A bunch of players were in Kilima Village, jumping in a circle, complimenting each other’s outfits. People call out resource drops and put on fireworks shows as they wait for people to show up and get the special ore or wood. Players will glibly chat about romances and share their favorite villagers in chat. Chefs plan cooking parties, inviting people without well-equipped kitchens or scores of supplies to come on over to their place and make some delicious fare.
At launch, and for most of the game’s lifespan so far, Palia worked best as a solo player — with only a few exceptions. Cooking, for instance, has always been a social mechanic that worked well. Flow groves — magical trees that spawn at night in Bahari Bay and require multiple players to cut — were a later addition that forced people to work together. But for the bulk of the day, I would be alone — it simply worked best that way. If I had friends online, we’d chat on Discord as we did our own things in-game and occasionally linked up.
Over the last few months, Singularity 6 added some more features to encourage party play, and they’ve done an excellent job at making Palia feel like an actual MMO. The first is a party bonus; now, if I’m rolling around with someone, that gives both of us a chance at double loot. Playing in a party can also earn some special furniture, so I have plenty of reasons to round up a couple of pals before I head out to hunt and forage.
The second recent addition is the hot pot tables in the Grimalkin underground. At night, I retire from the fields and go to the underbelly of Kilima Village, a black market where the capitalist cat Zeki sells paintings, rugs, and other high-end goods. The underground has tables where players can compete in a simple tile-matching game called hot pot in groups of four. Playing hot pot gives coins, which I can cash in at a prize wheel for furniture, high-end ingredients, gold, and more.
Palia has always excelled at being a cozy game, similar to Stardew Valley, but the multiplayer aspect felt a little perfunctory and unnecessary. Now, it’s worth finding a few buddies. In other games, I might resent this — why do I have to go and play with Randy Rando? But in Palia, I’ve been shocked at how pleasant the experience is. Everyone is incredibly nice. In fact, the harshest in-game interaction I’ve seen was someone griping that people were running past the bugs he was trying to catch and spooking them — hardly a toxic interaction.
The writing in Palia is also surprisingly good. I recently delved into the Temple of the Roots with my robot boyfriend, only to find him imperiled by an ancient caretaker we found in the facility. With the power of friendship, I was able to free him, and learn more about the mysterious world of Palia in the process. These narrative chapters are a big reason I enjoy the game, but they are infrequently released. The social aspects of Palia, however, are more easily accessible.
As a tired gamer who has experienced tons of multiplayer environments, I’ve learned to largely keep to myself. Palia, at the start of its early access journey, felt less like a MMO than a solo game that happened to have other people. As Singularity 6 updates the game, the developer has done a great job at making it feel more social. The game has had a rocky development with rounds of lay-offs, but I have hope that the continual updates and polite player base will lead it to eventually flourish.
For now, I’m enjoying the chill vibes of Palia, and it’s nice to have a new place to make friends. The villagers of Kilima are great, but they can’t compare to the pleasures of playing with other people.
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