20 Recent Indies That Put AAA To Shame
8. Palworld Might Have Made Pokopia Happen
Palworld might be a controversial addition to this list, considering it blatantly rips off mechanics from several different games, and is in hot water with Nintendo’s cash cow franchise—Pokemon.
However, it is this exact beef that makes this game feel like an improvement over its AAA competition, because it has shown to Pokemon fans that even an independent studio can make a better 3D Pokemon game than Game Freak.
Whether you find Palworld to be a blatant rip-off of Pokemon, or you think giving cute critters access to guns is an excellent idea, Palworld does an excellent job of making its “Pals” come to life.
Unlike the titular creatures in Pokemon’s latest entries, Scarlet and Violet, Pals actually seem to interact with the world and the player. Fighting and playing with them feels quite immersive, and the critters themselves do more than just stand around, even if the player isn’t interacting with them.
Not to mention even to this day, the game’s updates are innovating its gameplay in ways Game Freak hasn’t even bothered to in years.
It's probably why this year’s Nintendo Direct has announced Pokopia—a Pokemon game that looks suspiciously similar to Palworld...