Summary
WhilePalworldhas seen massive success as a survival crafting, creature-collecting game, it’s not without its faults given that the game is still in early access.Palworldhas already faced scrutiny for its Pal designs, which bear a striking resemblance to some of thePokemonseries' critters to the point where some claim the game is blatantly ripping off Game Freak. Aside from this controversy, there are still many gameplay improvements players hope to see implemented overPalworld’s early access period, with the size limits ofPalworld’s bases being high on that list.
A game likePalworldlives or dies by the creative freedom it affords its players since the nature of an open world with crafting mechanics invites players to explore, gather resources, and build structures to their heart’s content. However,Palworld’s creature-collecting aspect introduces a new layer of engagement that has kept players invested and allowedPalworldto achieve the success it has. As such,Palworldmay not need to improveupon all of its flaws to maintain its success, but it could lead the way for the survival crafting genre as a whole to overcome the standing issue of limiting the player’s building space.
How Settlement Size Limits Plague Survival Crafting Games Like Palworld
When jumping into asurvival crafting game likePalworld, most players are looking to flex their creative muscles and build whatever settlement or structure they can imagine. However, these types of games often place limits on where players can build and how many structures they can build within a certain area. This restriction seems to come into conflict with one of the core concepts of a survival crafting game, which is the notion that players should be able to craft whatever kind of settlement they wish to.
Some survival crafting games likeMinecraftgive players the freedom to manipulate almost every part of their environment to break and build any kind of structure they desire. Meanwhile, other games likePalworldandValheimutilize boundaries to denote where players can build structures via items likePalworld’s PalboxorValheim’s Workbench as the focal point of a base’s building range.Palworldtries to sidestep this problem by allowing players the ability to build structures outside the range of a Palbox to some degree, but the lack of a fast travel point and the existence of structure deterioration means this building method is not a long-term solution.
Palworld’s Bases Are Too Small for Some Players' Creativity
While somePalworldplayers have created unique settlements within the game’s limitations, others have been frustrated by them.Palworlddoes allow players to have up to three Palboxes placed at a time, so it’s technically possible to have all three Palboxes close enough to have their borders overlap, but the Pals working at each base will still be limited to their Palbox’s range. Increasing the level of a player’s base bymeeting certain requirements at the Palboxcan increase its borders somewhat, but many players find even the maximum border limit too restrictive.
There are a couple of waysPalworldplayers have found to get around these limitations, but they involve using mods or reconfiguring the game’s settings to turn off structure degradation. Some of themost impressive buildings created inPalworldare due to the use of mods that uncap the base size limits, allowing players to achieve their creative vision. It’s understandable why some games likePalworldmight want to limit the area where players can build structures for the sake of improving the game’s performance, but a futurePalworldupdate should make some of the mods players are using to increase building space a built-in feature of the game.
