Pocketpair has announced they are releasing a cozy farming-sim game called Palworld Palfarm. However, some Pokémon fans think that the timing of its release is suspicious following the recent reveal of Pokémon Pokopia.
Palworld Palfarm Gets Compared to Pokémon Pokopia
Pocketpair surprised many players when they revealed Palworld Palfarm with a September 23 trailer. In a press release, the Chinese developer described it as a “creature-collecting” multiplayer farming sim game. “Enjoy a farming life with mysterious creatures known as Pals! Team up with them to grow your farm at your own pace.” However, some Pokémon fans immediately had a critical reaction to Palworld Palfarm.
Most of the criticism stemmed from the fact that Pokémon Pokopia was just announced a week ago during the September Nintendo Direct. Both games also center around collecting creatures who then help you build your farm and city. With Palworld and Pokémon already locked in a lawsuit over claims of plagiarism, some Nintendo fans were suspicious about the timing of Palfarm’s reveal.
“The timing of this and that Pokémon spinoff is crazy,” a player said in reaction to the Palfarm trailer. Another user on social media exclaimed, “The last scene was just a slap to Nintendo in case they thought there’s no need to sue this one.” One commenter even pointed out, “Pokémon starts going into another game genre. Palworld: Right behind you pal.” However, not everyone was critical. In fact, many comments were praising Palworld Palfarm for continuing to compete with Pokémon.
Is Palfarm Copying Pokopia?
While many players were quick to speculate that Palfarm was copying Pokopia, the Palworld spinoff has likely been in development for some time now. Although there is a lot we still don’t know about Pokémon Pokopia, the trailers between the two games show off pretty different experiences as well. For example, Palworld Palfarm looks a lot closer to Stardew Valley and Story of Seasons.
At least in the gameplay footage we got, there is fishing, mining, and even romantic relationships. There are also the guns. Of course, it wouldn’t be Palworld without guns! Randomly in the middle of the Palworld Palfarm trailer, we abruptly get the black market merchant playing a game of Russian Roulette. Yeah, because what cozy farming-sim wouldn’t have a game of death in it?
While Pokémon Pokopia and Palworld Palfarm do look different enough on the surface, it’s still understandable why some fans think the timing is a bit suspicious. As mentioned above, Pocketpair and Nintendo are currently interlocked in a lawsuit. And the Palfarm trailer literally ends with a scene where the main character is clearly throwing a Pokéball to catch a creature.
If that isn’t a direct cheeky response to Pokémon, then I don’t know what is! That said, while the game has some detractors, Palworld Palfarm also has a massive wave of support. So it looks like Pokémon Pokopia is going to have serious competition in its bid for the cozy farming-sim genre.
The post Players Accuse Palworld Palfarm of Copying Pokémon Pokopia appeared first on VICE.
