Summary
Pocketpair’sPalworldhas already proven its worth in a plethora of ways, but that doesn’t mean it’s perfect by any means. Being in early access, it has a long road ahead of it full of additions and improvements, many of which have been and will likely continue to be requested by fans. In light of that, there is one area the developer should give more attention to as it works on completingPalworld: its open world.
Palworld’s open world is undoubtedly beautiful, and it serves its purpose as much as it currently can. For the most part, it works as designed, and is home to a variety ofPals for players to battle and capture. However, if Pocketpair chooses to developPalworld’s open world beyond where it is now, it should consider adding more variety to it to increase its environmental diversity.
Palworld’s Open World Could Use More Variety
Palworld’s Open World Currently Only Has Four Biomes
Currently,Palworld’s open world only has four biomes: Forest, Desert, Snow, and Volcano. While four biomes may seem like plenty for an open world ofPalworld’s size, after so many hours in the game, everything starts blending together and the once-beautiful environments begin feeling rather bland. This is largely due to the type of gamePalworldis, as successfulopen worlds such as that ofThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom(which features the same four biomes thatPalworldhas), rely less on the elemental aspects of their environments and more on simply being diverse enough to break up monotony while players complete various activities.
In some cases, these open worlds can add another layer of challenge to exploration. InTears of the Kingdom, for example, players are required to wear certain armor pieces to withstand severe cold or heat without taking damage. This is fairly common in survival games, as their environments are often considered enemies just as much as any other foe. As a survival game,Palworldalso adopted this mechanic by encouraging players to change their outfits when they enter harsh biomes, or they risk gradually losing their health. AlthoughPalworldis indeed a survival game, its primary focus is the various Pals that inhabit its world, and this is precisely what Pocketpair should consider as it continues to developPalworld’s open world.
Palworld Could Add More Biomes in Future Updates
One of the key features ofPalworld’s Pals is their various elements. Each Pal is associated with a different element, with most of them being almost identical to theirPokemoncounterparts. However, unlikePokemon’s eighteen types,Palworldcurrently only features nine elemental affinities, so there is still plenty of room for more. If Pocketpair chooses to continue adding elements toPalworld’s pool of elemental affinities, it could simultaneously use that as an excuse to tune up the game’s open world in the process.
Palworldcould still add more element types, even if they continue to be based on those present in thePokemonseries, and this could also pave the way for a more diverse open world. For example, if Pocketpair chose to eventually add Poison Pals to the roster, perhaps a swamp biome would be in order. Additionally, if it wanted to lean even more heavily into itsTears of the Kingdominspiration,Palworldcould see floating islands added that double as homes for unique Pals.
Pocketpair has made it clear that it is committed to givingPalworldregular updates, but its open world isn’t currently included in the roadmap. That being said, the developer has stated that it should take around a year to finishPalworld, which may leave plenty of time for it to increase the diversity of the game’s open world.
