[STEAM] Palworld 1.0 Showed Me Why Everyone Loves Survival Games

[Steam 0]

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Survival games have been wildly popular for years now. I’ve dabbled here and there to see what the fuss is about, but I’ve always fallen off after a few hours. Usually, I get tangled up in one meagerly explained system after another until I lose track of what I’m supposed to do, and my time with the game peters out.

When Palworld 1.0 came out to

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, I figured I’d give the genre another shot – and I’m glad I did. Palworld’s gradual, newbie-friendly onboarding helped me see what a whole lot of people have loved about survival games all along. Palworld made me a believer.

I’m glad I came in at the 1.0 mark, because I’ve heard Palworld had a much steeper learning curve out of the gate. But now, new players start with a series of missions designed to

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. You learn how to punch trees to get wood to create a crafting bench. You learn how to make a club you can use to beat some Pals to death (it’s a dog-eat-dog world out there) to get wool. You then use that wool to make clothes. You set up a camp. You build a house. You activate a teleporter and explore deeper into the game world.

Before long, you’re gliding off cliffs Zelda-style before whomping on every Pal you see to catch them in spheres to put them to work. You can deploy them at your camp,

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, or have them fight by your side to take on big roaming Pals and

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. It’s a blast. And there’s no way I would have stuck with it if it hadn’t held my hand and eased me into the systems that make up the game.

I still have a long way to go, because I was nowhere near powerful enough to defeat the first boss solo. But those early missions gave me a much-needed handle on what else I can spend my time doing as I level up enough to become a threat. There's a vast world out there I can keep exploring, all while catching Pals and building up my base. I’m having a blast doing it.

Palworld’s 1.0 is available on

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,

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, and

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. It costs $29.99, but you can save a few bucks on a Steam copy at

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, which is currently running its

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.

Chris Reed is a commerce editor and deals expert for IGN. He also runs IGN's board game and LEGO coverage. You can follow him on

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