What if I told you that the world had ended and, a few yonks multiplied by potentially a triple-digit number, in its place, a bunch of purple people have come to life and taken over humanity’s role of tilling the earth. Well, no need to think about it because that’s exactly what Singularity 6’s ‘Palia‘ is all about—a free-to-play casual life simulation and farming game with MMO-lite elements, players will be brought back into a world that was once saddled with humans before a supposed cataclysmic event sent them packing somewhere. As you explore the world that was once your people’s own, you’ll make friends with the local populace, build your plot of land, hang out with real players to complete tasks, hunt and gather, and even find love!
As of this writing, Palia still bills itself as a beta product. But considering its cosmetic store and the time I’ve put into it, along with the recently released “Elderwood” expansion, I am compelled to give my thoughts a score. Don’t worry, that’s not supposed to sound ominous—I quite enjoyed my time with Palia even past some miffs of mine.
Palia is a fully realised 3D open-worldish game that borrows quite a bit from its contemporaries, featuring pleasant visuals, a colourful art palette, and calming music and sound effects. I think it’s safe to say that farming and life games have exploded as genres over the last decade and a half, and not that I mind! These games have done a good job differentiating themselves from one another, and Palia’s ticket to fame is its always online and multiplayer-enhanced progression system. I say “enhanced” and not “focused” because you can very well complete nearly all the tasks in this game without talking to a soul—but it wouldn’t hurt to say “hello” as the community I found within Palia was overwhelmingly welcoming and friendly, with people helping out with questions from one another and my own as well as letting others know when valuable resources would spawn in.
This multiplayer enhancement does come at a “cost”, however. As it is an always online game, you cannot adjust aspects of progression to your liking, such as the time of day. You will also deal with some connectivity issues and a bit of queuing (nothing like waiting in line to enter your home!). And the way the game is built makes it so that non-playable characters (“NPCs”) can’t really interact with one another. Unlike titles like ‘Rune Factory’ and ‘Stardew Valley’, conversations between NPCs tend to come through to you, almost like a funky game of telephone (or really any theme park MMO) and while it isn’t enough to hamper my immersion in the world of Palia it does put a hamper on my connection to the towns within it and its peoples. The characters themselves, however, were decently fleshed out, and you could likely relate to some of their quirks. Oh, and there’s no weather system, which stinks as that would help out with farming a bit like players have come to expect in other games like Palia.
But world issues aside, that doesn’t stop Palia from feeling like a fleshed-out farming and life sim game. Players have multiple skills they can level up, including gardening, carpentry, fishing, gathering, and the like. You have multiple tools for the job, which you can level up to increase their workloads and output over the course of however many hours you put in. These tools will need to be repaired, however, so you’ll have to gather the resources for that.
The resources you need to gather will be all across Palia, so you’ll run out and deforest the continent either solo or with some newfound mates. Oh, but you’ve run out of stamina! This is where the harvesting and gardening come in—cook up a meal to recover and sell the excess in your shipping bin outside your flat to make money. And money you’ll need as it can not only buy you resources but precious backpack storage that you’ll pine for over the first ten hours of the game (and boy, do those menus really need a search bar).
If you’re familiar with the genre, all this will sound like pish posh. Palia does a great job with fleshing out these mechanics and rewarding players with various home cosmetics and resources to further aid in improving their character’s skillsets. Besides the environment, players will also be rewarded for mingling with the townsfolk and befriending them, plus helping out one another through the game’s resource request system. If you find yourself needing a specific item but are short on time, you can request it and have a member of the community fulfill it. It’s a nice system that has come in clutch and vice versa as I unload my unwanted stuff onto other players who do need those items.
Of course, as you explore Palia, you’ll slowly learn more about the events that preceded the poor outcome of the people that walked before (AKA humans). Ruins are scattered throughout the game that hint of an advanced civilisation that wandered too close to the sun amongst other dangers. These ruins aren’t just for show as the player will be able to claim treasures to adorn their homes with and find scattered documents to read and puzzles to solve.
These ruins are pretty cool if not sometimes confusing to complete due to some funky objective descriptions and markers. Though that does bring me to another point—platforming in Palia is a bit off. The player has access to a Breath of the Wild-style climbing mechanic that only works on certain surfaces, so it’s hard to discern what can and can’t be climbed sometimes. Also, the character controller does not clamber onto surfaces or ledges that the player might miss by just a few centimeters, dropping them unceremoniously to the floor and forcing a walk of shame back to the prior platform.
Ultimately, however, due to the way the game progresses, I much preferred to play Palia in short bursts rather than hours at a time. I found it to be the perfect secondary experience to other games I was playing, seeing as I could jump in some hours later and collect my harvests and whatnot without idling away in town or on my plot. And admittedly, there were times when I felt aimless or unsure of which quest to tackle due to the scale of some of these objectives (such as raising a villager’s relationship level).
Now, being a free-to-play game, Palia’s main source of income is through cosmetics that the player can purchase. There’s no real way for a player to gain an advantage in progression by ponying up cash which is much appreciated. But do note that you will also have no way to express your toon’s character without buying premium threads from the in-game shop. There is also no battle pass system, which I am thankful for, as it keeps the game relatively casual and only more serious if you want it to be. Something to keep in mind if you do delve into Palia, as we all love our cosmetics, particularly in a multiplayer environment. I thought the prices for purchasing clothing were fair, but that’ll be up to the player to decide for themselves.
Palia’s multiplayer-based life simulation experience is a unique one, something that sets it apart from other games in the genre. It’s got solid mechanics, an interesting lore, and a welcoming community. It’s a game best enjoyed in short bursts, but that can’t stop you from building the life of your dreams. ∎
Palia
Played on
Windows 11 PC / Xbox Series X
PROS
- Solid farming and life sim mechanics.
- Interesting overworld to explore with rewards to find.
- Pleasant soundtrack and lovely visuals.
CONS
- Player and world agency is hampered by the always online aspect.
- Some objectives aren't marked or described properly.
- Menus can be a hassle to navigate.
