Even though nearly two weeks have passed since its release, Palworld remains at the top of Steam. Its clear that its immense success did not go unnoticed by members of the gaming industry, who rushed to share their opinions. While the overall conversation is very positive, some were harsh in their criticism.
One of the personalities who threw his hat into the ring was Nathan Sellyn, head of personnel at Behaviour Interactive, the studio behind Dead by Daylight. In a now-deleted post, he shared his opinion on Pocketpairs viral project. As expected, his statements sparked discussions.
Behaviour Interactive Member, Developer of Dead by Daylight, Criticizes Palworld
According to a screenshot showing the post before its removal, Nathan Sellyn expressed that Palworld wasnt very good. He argued that it has many bugs, the combat is boring and repetitive, and the open world is "filled with points that dont host anything interesting."
Moreover, the Behaviour Interactive member highlighted that the balance "is horrible," as the probability rates seem to become too low for higher-level players. Despite these drawbacks, he acknowledges that the monster-taming and structure-building loop is very appealing, so he invested many hours in the game.
Additionally, Nathan Sellyn is aware that Palworld is in the early access stage, so he trusts that the developers will release new content and address balance issues and technical errors. However, he believes theres something that money wont fix: "the lack of warmth."
Nathan S. argues that the connection between players and Pals is nonexistent, something that doesnt happen in, for example, Pokémon. Additionally, he cites a Polygon article explaining that Palworld creatures are "disposable resources and labor."
Its not entirely clear why the Behaviour Interactive employee chose to share his opinion about the game on LinkedIn. Nevertheless, a screenshot of his post went viral and sparked much discussion.
Its no secret that Palworld debuted surrounded by controversy. The main criticisms are directed at the fact that its creatures bear a striking resemblance, perhaps too much, to Nintendos Pokémon franchise.
Despite the controversies, Pocketpairs project is an absolute success. In less than two weeks, it managed to gather nearly 20 million players. Besides being the most successful third-party release in the history of Xbox Game Pass, it surpassed the 2 million concurrent users mark on Steam.
But tell us, do you agree with Nathan Sellyns words? Let us hear from you in the comments.
