There are plenty of labels for Palworld floating around at the moment. It’s been branded everything from a fresh take on the monster-taming genre to a derivative cash-in. In truth, Palworld is both of these things and more – but one thing it’s not is a satire.
Palworld Is Subversive, Not Satirical
Don’t get me wrong: Palworld is undeniably subversive. It has off-brand Pokémon toting guns – how could it not be? The game even allows players to capture humans as well as Pal creatures, which is itself a sly inversion of the weird power dynamics baked into the Pokémon franchise.
But none of this is enough for Palworld to qualify as a satire. It is, at best, a parody; it lampoons the characters, worlds, and tropes of Pokémon and properties like it for comedic effect. To be a satire, Palworld would need to set its sights wider and say something about society itself – and it doesn’t.
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Consider Prime Video’s The Boys, which is widely regarded as an effective superhero satire. It’s not satirical because characters like Superman pastiche Homelander blow up people’s heads or engage in outrageous sex orgies. No, it’s a satire because all that edgy stuff is a vehicle for exploring the corrupting influence of power and celebrity, among other themes.
The closest Palworld comes to this kind of commentary is via its Pal sweatshops, yet even this concept is seriously undercooked. Sure, row upon row of cute critters slaving away at conveyor belts is a striking image; it’s even morbidly funny. But what does it actually mean?
Palworld Is Full of Pal & Fury, Signifying Nothing
The best I can come up with is that it’s a critique of corporations (including Nintendo and The Pokémon Company) exploiting and even corrupting their creations. However, that feels like a stretch. Instead, it seems more likely that developer Pocketpair was more interested in shock value than messaging.
The same goes for Palworld‘s lip service toward the hunting mechanic at the heart of the monster-taming genre. Again, Pocketpair handles this as spoof more than satire because isn’t it hilarious to think of (or even become) a Pokémon poacher? But does the game actually unpack poaching – and, by extension, the idea of ravaging nature for our own selfish ends – as a concept? Nope.
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Heck, there’s not even room in Palworld‘s story-lite survival sandbox for incisive snipes at the collector mentality or the ethics of pet ownership. Its “themes” really do boil down to Pokémon with guns; it’s as simple and profound as that. And honestly? There’s nothing wrong with that, any more than there’s anything wrong with enjoying Palworld itself.
But what is wrong is labeling Palworld a satire – because it just ain’t so.
Palworld Early Access is available now.
