not being restricted by an annoying stamina bar is the highlight of this game. I was so happy. you can be cozy and enjoy things at your own pace with no limitations.
@@Spuzie yes a 100%. I could never get into stardew valley so I was worried when I started Palia, but I got hooked hard. and its still very early in development, so Im excited for the future!
@@fwenny This exactly, I think people forget this is Beta... They already mentioned a lot of content was removed so they can test them out first. Also, all the games he compared it to were fully released, Palia isn't completed yet. I've been excited for this game and can't wait to see what's in store for it.
I never had any intention to play this game. However, I wanted to say the format and quality of this video was great. I love the analysis and your perspective. I think I would watch more reviews like this.
@@happyhippo1043 That usually depends you know? I think a good MMO will always give you the tools to give you a great social experience, people just might choose not to engage much in it and maybe that´s what happens with the games you play. Usually rule of thumb, if a MMO doesn´t give you that, something might not be right xD
@@GGamerGeneralista I've never played Palia myself but judging purely from this video the social aspect is about the same as BDO or ESO, the two MMOs I played.
Normal MMOs give you plenty of ways to interact with other players, from events, to raids and chat trade to even just lounging around hubworlds. Hell FFXIV, is how I met some of my friends, by stumbling upon them playing an instrument in the middle of a town and me just sitting there enjoying it. MMOs are one of the most social games I've played, if done correctly, and if you have the proper ability to interact with other people.@@happyhippo1043 And Palia. Gives you nothing, but a chat window. No Events, no social interactions of any kind. Hell even the "trade" system is automatic. You just put in a request and someone accepts it. It's truly saddening.
I see Palia's current state as a promising foundation, but it still requires some refinement. As you mentioned, there's a missing element that would foster a stronger sense of community. Right now, everyone seems to be pursuing their individual activities, with the exception of occasional cake parties and flow trees.
Overall I agree- though the stuff you mentioned in the frictionless section is exactly why I've put more time in Palia already than I ever managed to in stardew 😂 the day/night/exhaustion cycle just felt AWFUL and stressful to manage in stardew, but Palia making it functionally optional helps that a lot. It feels like failing forward, instead of just failing- it doesn't kill momentum. As for the social aspect, I honestly have had a completely different experience. Early game, yes, it's basically singleplayer- but once you get all your skills beyond level 10, EVERYTHING requires teamwork. I've spent more time socializing in bahari bay while hunting for flow trees/palium than I think I've spent doing anything else, and my lowest level skill is bug catching at 21. The high level cooking, fishing, mining, gathering, etc. all require LOTS of teamwork. Cooking especially, you need at least 3 people to make a cake working in a kitchen on like 11 different workstations, it's basically Overcooked levels of chaos! All that said, if you need friction/possible failure then Palia will be a slog getting to the collaborative parts, so it makes sense that you didn't get that far lol
I LOVE this type of videos! I think you are meant to make this review-style content. Can't wait to see more stuff like this for all the games you love and play on stream and offline.
Haven't tested the game, but you clearly and efficiently stated your thoughts and opinions, both the good and the bad. A wonderful little review. Great job!
Agreed, I was very hyped for Palia as a social game to play with my girlfriend. But all the time we were playing with might as well have been playing separate games. Maybe the community that you can create in game could have a shared building plot or something to bring in more cooperation?
It's a beta.. They are still adding stuff, and also new mechanics. Plot for the Community would be cool, and everyone could add resources so you could build together ( would also facilitate trading between Communities and friends ) But again.. It's an open beta, game is far from being finished You can cook together ( actually it's way better )
Ive noticed that this has become an increasing issue over the years of gaming. Single player seems to be the focus unless its a cash grab MMO. You can find quality Co-Op, but the selection for quality multiplayer releases with actual cooperation tend to be few and far between. The greatest mentions are many many many years old by now and yet current releases simply do the same ideas mashed together and done worse, instead of taking time to consider what made it good in the first place. Even many of the ACTUAL mmo releases in recent years have been glorified single player games in openly populated world, like Black Desert. It seems so strange to me, that in the age of everyone going long distance, and people being on their internet calls more than ever, that we're not seeing more people cater to that audience except for the occasional indie dev gem.
As a game developer I find this video informative and interesting. Your analysis is very clear and I agree with the points you are making. Will look out for oppertinuties to FISH in upcoming games.
Great video and great points! I heard of Palia back when they first released the announcement trailer 2 years ago and I was so excited! And as someone who then followed development during those 2 years I gotta say, the game is EXAKTLY what I expected it to be and I really like it for what it is. I do hope they will make it more social cause that's the only point that I feel it doesn't really live up to what I hoped for, but it's a live service game so I'm sure it'll continue to improve over time.
100% agree with your analysis of what is wrong with palia. I'll add, that the way they have it so it's basically single player but online would be ok for me if they removed the crop limit, so I had farming to do. Instead I have... nothing I really feel like doing.
I feel like you didnt play chappa chase or go flow hunting, cause those are the two most social things you can do in this game. definitely one of my favorite games to date because it got me to create some new spreadsheets.
You managed to put my thoughts into the game perfectly, even that whole "make a schedule for yourself" thing. I did in and i decided to get every harvesting tool (aside from farming because its slow) to highest tier. I did and now there is almost no reason for me to use them. there is just nothing left to do that isnt just mindless collection.
I had very high hopes for this game too, also assumed it will be Stardew valley but in MMO :( As far as i know they plan to implement shared housing plots or even community plots where you work together towards something you share, although hard to tell when this will come to the game. I feel like it has some basic stuff in place and some things are done really well, but there is still a loooong way for this game to become REALLY fun in a long run. I love housing and decorating and currently this is the biggest motivation to do anything in the game (you need tons of gold for that). To the point it sometimes feels grindy lol. The only social aspect of "we need to come together to cut this tree" becomes more of a nuisance the more you play, rather than a way to interact with people... I agree with your points, but personally i will play it here and there, since my house is still not as pretty as I want it to be ;) And i keep my fingers crossed for devs to actually make this game as awesome as everyone hoped for it to be ♥
I don't care about interaction with people, so that's why I really liked this game. i can do what i want and still see people running around. i wish it has a larger world tho
I appreciate this video, Spuz! I've been enjoying palia an okay amount, and it's still in beta so I'm hopeful there'll be improvements. Definitely agree with you for what's lacking at the moment.
It's because they lied about what it was. This is not an MMORPG. This is a single player game where you see 20 - 30 other players running around. Palia is mid.
The missing social elements is a critical flaw in my opinion, but to me what reaaaally discouraged me from sticking around was the barebone character customization. I need to be able to decide how I look like, and really, the few options were just not doing it for me.
For the amount of money they have raised, and the amount of time it took them to create this open beta, I was sorely disappointed. I agree with everything you have said and I feel like everyone went through the exact same experience. All we can hope for is that much more time will be invested into the game, expanding on the mini games, the social aspect but mostly the map(s).
In Genshin you can same things (housing, fishing, basic farming, ..card game vs people or nps ) , and you actually can swimming wow , in 4.0 they added underwater mechanic ...
I feel like there are plenty of other indie games that have done it properly with a energy system when adapted for multiplayer. The 2 games that come to my mind are Eco, where you lose energy by doing stuff and need to fill up your hunger when you want to continue doing stuff. And when you balance your food intake (protein etc.) you even get a higher exp multiplier, so you are encouraged to maintain it. The other game is My Time in Sandrock, where you can go to bed to regen once a day (even if it's daylight) so you are not depended on others, but if you all sleep to skip a day, then you can pass a day and get another regen. When your energy is empty in both of these games you won't be able to do anything that is like mining, fishing etc.
I haven't played the game, just basing my comments purely off of your review here, which I think does a fantastic job of laying out your thoughts, both positive and negative! It's funny that the BotW opener wasn't something that BotW invented. Explore old ruins into a grand panoramic view of the world you're going to be exploring, with the title drop during the reveal? Same with the stamina bar next to the player model, or a glider. Just because BotW used these things _well_ doesn't mean that they didn't exist beforehand, even in the same game. The difference between BotW and the games that had it before is that BotW really did deliver on the implied promise of "If you see it, you can go there.". IMO this shouldn't be a negative against the game. Do think that the whole "We're in the same game, but not actually playing together" is a valid turnoff for these type of games. Having something that people can work towards together I think would just add to the game, as long as they don't make it so that you _have_ to work towards it with someone else.
Was playing Palia with my boyfriend also hoping we could interact more in it but it just felt like we were playing two different games, hopefully they’ll add more interactions later cause we liked it otherwise!
The social aspect is absolutely what is letting the game down right now. It's more empty than a single player game because players are meant to make up the void of limited NPC interaction. Hopefully they can expand on this by making more co-operative experiences, giving reasons for random interactions, and designing things that take time and planning for a group to complete. Also, I thought a good idea might be to make a 'shared farm' for players who start the game together and want to remain together. As an opt in at character creation.
Enjoyed this vid. I had too many glitches on my gaming laptop, Palia got more frustrating than fun. Also, the focus was to totally rape the tiny planet of Palia as well as its NPCs - who just couldn't deliver.
I felt the same honestly. I did a lot of testing for this game in the early stages and had a lot of fun, but it honestly felt like a single player game. There wasn't much depth that kept my hooked, which was unfortunate since I really enjoyed the fishing in the game. At the end of the day, it just wasn't my game, but I'm glad for those who enjoy it.
I have not played the game, only checked some of the streams. But honeslty from what you are explaining it felt much more like a animal crossing then stardew valley. I dont know much about animal crossing multiplayer but as far as I know it was mostly just showing of your home your clothes, showing what you caught and stuff like that. But I do agree the whole being an MMO part definitely gives it a different light. Great vid as always Spuz ^-^
From cozy to competitive. Competing for end game resources made me really start to dislike the game.. and the community has been a nightmare. The discord was on fire and the subreddit was full of complaints. No lifers vs casual players in... well.. a supposed casual game. "its beta what are you complaining about!" Nothing its just not for me anymore. I'll check back in a year lol.
so in summary, the game really does made to be cozy and easy game for the players to just farm or do something. But the proximity voice does looks nice to have ngl. It will become something like a role-play game, as in people can actually role-play like those GTA private servers kinda vibe.
Can't recall how many of this style of videos you've done but keep them coming when you play new games. Really enjoy listening to your perspective. The video has some clear subjectivity to it that other reviews are missing. It's nice listening to what someone THINKS of something instead of them telling you what it IS.
That being said, I definitely agree with some of your points, especially the proximity voice chat. And I think your summary nailed it. It is a great game for the folks that like the things it has or doesn't have, but that it's just not YOUR game, also due to some of those things. Props.
Do you think you will come back to this game at some point in the future, maybe 3-6 months just to see how it's changed? I mean, it's an open beta so far, so maybe, just maybe, they will add stuff that you'll enjoy and it will be the game you hoped it to be in the end.
I also dropped Palia after a few weeks of playing. My reason was that i REALLY wanted this to be something i did with friends, but the game just did not have anything to do together. It markets itself as an MMO, yet doesn't have any MMO features pretty much.
I played it for some days but at some point I was just logging in, watering crops, logging out and played something else to log back in to harvest and re-plant crops and at some point I was like "this isn't even fun I'm not interacting with anyone because there's no reason to do it" and then I stopped playing... It's a shame because I waited for it a lot and I was really enthusiastic about it 😢
i think the most important thing to state here is the fact its still in beta. things are bound to change and videos and comments like these are what help make the game better.
Yeah, watching the streams of Palia, I was digging it at first but after you get a bit further in to the gameplay? It sort of falls flat. There's no real depth to the game and the social aspect falls kinda flat because there's not much to do with other players. As an example, I got into Final Fantasy XIV with my boyfriend (we're on a bit of a break from it at the moment but planning to get back in) and the social aspects of that game are so much more expansive because the game actively has you play with other people in dungeons and the city hubs are massively populated and there's important things in those cities like stores, market boards etc. so you see people doing all sorts of fun stuff-there's people regularly in one of the cities doing concerts with the various instruments you can get in the game which is nuts! Palia feels like it could be so much more but the lack of content in the game and how the social aspect feels totally flat really holds the game back from being something great. Hopefully they're listening to all the feedback because this kind of game definitely has an audience but you need to know what to have in the game for that audience. A big part of Stardew Valley's success comes from just how much there is to do, even in the earlier releases of the game. Palia feels like it went into open beta too soon and needs more time in development. Like... If they wanted a social aspect, maybe they should have something like Final Fantasy XIV where there's just a community neighbourhood for player houses where anyone who owns a plot can build a house and other players can just visit the plot whenever they want to see what you've built. It's obviously a bit unfair comparing a game with a huge budget to Palia but the game has promise. Even just like a friends only neighbourhood thing could be good where there's 4-5 plots so you can build together and help each other out. Palia shows promise despite all the flaws so hopefully they'll be able to keep the game going and get it to a better spot where it'll be worth revisiting to see if your opinion changed on it.
I really like this style of review video. It is super respectful of the dev(s) and their work while still having something meaningful to say about the content. Always kind and quality thoughts, I would be down for more of these in the future.
As someone who loves Palia and has completed nearly all achievements so far. I agree with everything said. I also continue to play in hopes of more community-esque content is coming. Would be nice to have a community plot where you can build it up and donate resources to it, or some sort of community museum where players can donate fish+bugs and towards the end of a cycle, maybe a 1-3 month period reward players trophies based on what they donated and over time it gets more and more full with everything the community has provided to it. The game is in open beta, and for the first time in 20 years I'm defending a game in open beta. It truly feels like a beta, and I can't wait to see what they bring in the future. Here's to hoping.
They should reframe the energy thing into what WoW did with their rested XP - when you have eaten you get a "well fed" buff(or even cooler if there would be more different food buffs on top) that doubles your XP until you "get tired", i.e. run out of energy.
Fair review, agree on many things. The game is really heavily in beta stage, but there is great potential. Just few pointers and opinions: The more social aspects come to play in events like the Maji market, the palium hunt and flow tree grind, people tend to work together on those, though sadly you have to rely on people's generosity to get trough that (which let's face it, it's not the best idea). You can also let your friend have "admin" rights on your plot and they can alter your house and farm too, so in that way you can build together. Cooking together is something you didn't really touch in your video at all, it's best done with friends. It is so much easier and cheaper to do with friends, and people do lots of cake parties with randoms. Yes this needs more absolutely, but in the friend menu they also have WIP of a social system in place with communities and specialties. You can also help other players by sending them items they need, and the game actually requires you to do so. There are more maps too at the moment, limited to few dungeons and temples you can enter as you process trough the story. The NPC's also tease you with something called "elderwood" and on the second map there is a barred entrance i think would be the opening to a new map in the future, which is exciting, the map actually sounds pretty fun with monsters and dark threats (follow the story, the NPc's tease it quite a lot) The "no punishment" gameplay is a preference. I tend to like that because after a hard day of work or then big grind in another game i need to relax and not have to worry about missing things, failing quests and being on timelimit. After failing at work, getting my ass beat in other games, i need to relax and just mindlessly farm and fish for a moment.
Great video & I agree with everything said. I think outside the lack of friction & social connection the game currently also lacks in content & a proper feeling of progression. Right now there are like 3 stages of progression, and the only thing that really blocks you is lack of money that you need for recipes. After you have your tools upgraded, you just get money to buy furniture or walk around the village nonstop, talking to the villagers once per day & finding out what gifts they want for the week. There's also some small stuff you can do like gather 'star' bugs/fishes for your house, but it doesn't feel fun for a more progression oriented player like me. Progressing in story isn't really a reward by itself for me either.
I played alot of it, and I know it is in Open Beta. But reputation with the villagers take so long, and I got stuck on a quest where I needed to know the person and ask them to basicly be my caretaker in the village. And I can't be bothered to be on this quest forever.
Definitely agree with pretty much all the points you mentioned. Had the same expectations, its almost what they were trying to sell, an mmo that feels like stardew, but even from the time i was on their discord it already felt like its gonna be a game not suited for majority of players or casuals, but for those that just want to live in a peaceful stressless world and... Perhaps do something? Concept felt nice, execution probably good from what the devs wanted, but man, did it feel empty. Would've loved Trove style houses so that you can see / visit randoms at any time, or just get inspired casually when farming materials because someone just built their house close... Would've loved making preparations for a team wide gathering session or materials, or even better minerals from the mines where there is at least some form of threat (lets say not even hp bar and damage to keep within the stress free idea, but some debuffs such as temporary blind, slow, dizziness etc.)... Would've loved community goals, for let's say multiple nations (just some flag differentiated groups of people) that need to gather resources to unlock something server wide, or community storage similar to Alta in VR (actually a game they could learn a lot from)... Would've loved to... Well, actually feel like playing an mmo. Played for 2 hours, havent felt the urge or meaning to come back to it, at least not now.
I totaly agree, I have been playing for weeks and haven't interacted with any other players yet, also I miss being able to interact more with the world like furniture, maybe more poses and the climbing is pretty disapointg. I hope isnce it's still in beta It'll get better soon!
Palia barely started the beta and already had alot of issues, from the contast nerfing of money making recipies which without a player market only serves to bloat game time, some upgrades cost more than 100k gold and by the end of a week you barely make 2k to 3k grinding daily for hours, and theres the problem you have to grind in a "cozy" game.
I really like how you explained what type of gamer you think would like the game rather than exclusively using yourself as a reference point. In my opinion, that elevates your review to a critique. I believe a critique is the more refined version of a review. Very well done, this is a production you can be proud of.
I agree with most points Mister Sp4zie Streamer is saying and i hope they add more social stuff !! i like palia after a long day at work i just put on some good music play a few hours and relax haha great video btw ^^
I'd love to see more videos like this one! The way you explained why you didnt like the game was super insightful, it really shows how much you know about games / game design. I feel like this kind of content suits you really well, I'd love to see a review like this one on other games you play!
Oh thanks! It was a first attempt at something like this so I am glad you thought it was insightfull! We'll see how it's recieved and if it's something I'll do more :)
I did play a bit of Palia and like you said it does feel empty there are players but there is no need to group up or a reason for them to be there apart from some high lvl nodes that you need more ppl to harvest a shared goal would be nice like if we build a house with the whole server or something to feal social
I mean, i never played BotW and i had a different reaction to the Intro of Palia. The World really doesn´t look that big, it´s just a relatively small valley, surroudned by Mountains, not really the exact same as BotW. The Scale is vastly different. I think i´ll actually give it a try some time.
For me, the need to plan the whole day and not be able to get everything done that I wanted to get done in Stardew Valley made the Game super un-cozy and unfun. I enjoy it so much that I don't have to be at my housing spot at a certain time or that there's punishment for being late or something. Stuff like that really stresses me out. I get that most gamers want that friction, want that action, want that limit but for me it would destroy the whole sense of the game. Chillin', vibin', doing my stuff in the amount of time that I need, meeting some friends, showing them my house (or the chaotic evil my house had become), that's what I love and need from this game.
I'll just say it'll be interesting to see what they plan on doing to address these concerns. That being said, I don't totally agree with your critiques, but I see you points. The only thing that I have a problem with the game so far is the instance housing and lack of player interaction.
Hey Spuz, if you want proximity chat, give Holdfast a shot. It's a goofy old timey war game. You've got muskets, so it takes like 10-20 seconds to reload your rifle before you can shoot again. I think you'd enjoy it.
That's fair. I've been loving Palia, but I have a good group of friends to play with, so we've been having a lot of fun together. Ironically, what you said at the end is how I feel about Stardew. I loved the harvest moon games, so I was excited for SDV. It was the first game I ever bought on steam back in like, 2016. Since then I've got.... 6.6 hours played. I have TRIED to love this game. I WANT to love this game. Everyone else loves this game. This is the exact kind of game I love, I SHOULD love this game. But I can't. I've never even made it long enough to harvest my first turnips. I just can't get interested. I have zero care for any of the townies, the fishing minigame is just PPPPTTTTTHHH, and after clearing a little piece of land on my farm, I find myself wandering off to do anything more interesting, like folding laundry or unloading the dishwasher. It's disappointing, but not every game can be for everyone, I guess.
honestly the fact the only reason you might need to interact with others is to Gather the higher tier mats or do a cooking party, You have no other need to party up...no mini bosses, no trading, no player run shops. Its just missing that muliplayer factor. I've been saying for months that a "boss" type events need to take place....like a giant flow tree that stops the spawn of the others until cut...but you need at least 10-15 people to cut it down, with a reward of 5-10 flow logs to each person & an achivement reward of a flow tree decor you can put in your plot, same with a animal boss...say like a Giant Bear that chases off all the other animals until its killed (bows), and again you need 10-15 ppl to shoot it down, with an achivement reward of a stuffed bear for your home. and each boss event you complete the mayor will give you a few hundred gold as a daily reward.
If i saw and heard whatever was going on when you two where fishing, i wouls slowly but surely walk backwards until suddenly sprinting off towards the horizon.
I've been grinding palia for about 4 weeks now... at first it was fun since you had goals to reach but now days I'm just logging in to harvest my garden, replant, go out and socialize ( WITH THE NPCs ! ) and log off. ... but my hunting is level 65 tho .... the only combat-like aspect of the no combat game is the most fun imo
The biggest issue i had with the game is there are no enemies, nothing fights you. And once you reach high lvl tools theres nothing to do. Literally last few times ive got on was just to slowly grow apple trees, talking to npcs is cute but i lost interest once i maxed everything. It was a "talk to them while im doing other things" but when its the only thing left to do its... just not interesting.
Lot of great points, and on the optimistic side, I think all of your points can be resolved with future updates and content. Lets hope they take the critique to heart!
Great video. I love the idea of a game review series like this if it has crossed your mind. Regarding Palia, I'd say the biggest negative is the non-interaction you have with other players. Like you mentioned, farms are fully solo (you can help with some stuff, but placing buildings is impossible). It's fun for a while, but then it becomes kinda not interesting to play. Yes it is open beta and there's plenty more to come in the future, but everybody has certain expectations that aren't really met or only partially. I really hope the devs listen to the community on these aspects. If they do, this game can become such a gem.
As an auDHDer, for me this was awesome. I do agree with some of your points, but I like it as it is as it's an amazing game to play to recover from meltdowns or if I'm generally feeling overwhelmed. It's an incredibly therapeutic game and has so little to do that it has you playing a healthy amount instead of getting addicted. The proximity chat would be a really cool toggleable feature though!
Hello Mr. Spuzey! Really enjoyed this review-style video, you should do it more often, talking about stuff while you show funny gameplay to strenghten your ideas! Reminds me of the "Story Times" with the Tibia stories and the problems with Roguelikes, it´s some of my favorite videos!
Palia is reduced to time gating and how much gold you can get to buy stuff for your house, which you can’t entirely use. It’s social aspect is nonexistent, other players around you when it’s not fishing or cooking feels like they’re taking away from you (hunting, mining, gathering, bug catching, etc), can’t even build a house with your friends. I played it for a month, got all I wanted for my house and then was left with nothing else to do, hence they nerf all kinds of gold generation systems, they want to keep people grinding for longer for no reason.
Haven’t played Palia but I wasn’t super interested initially. At this point, I might try it for myself (since it’s free) to see what I think. I already agree with a lot of your statements, though (even if I haven’t played BOTW lol). Thanks for the review, Spuzay! It’s always super helpful to hear your insights.
The social aspect of this game is lacking - I know I avoid other people, and most people I walk near avoid other people, though you do see some people running around together. One thing you missed about working together, though (probably skipped the tutorial on it), is that it's not just faster to do things together, but there's other buffs (like XP) for doing the same thing in proximity. bonus unpopular opinion: Stardew is a fairly stressful game (1 million things to do, but every aspect of your life on a short ass timer. I'm ADHD, fuck off with that! Any argument you think you have against this is wrong =P)
Such a cool video, thanks for this analysis ! Ever since I've heard about the Ultima series where there is 0 npc, and everything is player-run, I've always wondered, why does no game do this today ? From what you say, Palia would be perfect for that ! Make the merchants, the mayors, everyone, make them players ! What better interaction between players than a merchant restocking fish from a fisher, or tools from a blacksmith ?
They had it were you could make food together, but ppl found out Cake is where the money was to get rich and then Palia nerfed it....Twice but alao after the quest are done and npc's are maxed out the game gets kinda boring. 😢 i wanted it to be my game too. Hoping for more content and lessin game cosmetics in the future
I liked the idea , played it for 3 Weeks lost the fun in it. No real interaction no fun or longtime Goal , i find myself farmin Deer all day to get money. after getting all my top tier equipments for farming i see myself farming for house materials. While i reaylly love the gardenning system, i see no use in the houseing list only decocration. Even i like the design of the world , its starts to get boring. the constant Downtimes and Glicthig Patches are als debby downers. I 'n not the only one who calling this Buglia. The Community is very nice, but building a Community only on Discord wont create real Friend intercations. Esp. not to be able to trade or sell stuff. I'ne already seen China Bot spammers in Chat who sell gold.
I fell the same way, when i first saw this game i install told my GF, expecting to have a game that both of us could enjoy together just like, like you said Stardew Valley, in the end it feels like a chore/grind and we end up not doing anything together.
That was a very pertinent analysis of what's wrong with the game in its current state! However, I still have good hope for Palia, here's why: With all the current big games launching bugged and raw, as you said, Palia is a breath of fresh air as it is smooth and polished (still need a bit of work on 3C but it's good) and it's refreshing to see company putting extra care in the quality of the game. Yes it is empty but it's a live game in beta developped by 60 people, and what I see is a very strong fundation for what could become an amazing game in the next few months/years. Anyhow, great content, great video, luv it as usual! See you on stream
Honestly, I've been treating Palia like a single player game. I hear whispers of "cake parties" and bickering over Pallium in Bahari, but if I'm being honest, none of that really dampens my enjoyment of the game. I can set my own goals and just have a nice, relaxing time doing whatever I like! Palia's my unwinding game, especially after a rough day. It's great for that, and the social aspects that come later will be something to look forward to. If I'm comfortable with the game before the social aspect is introduced, then it's that much easier for me to get into the community. There is one major gripe I have with the game, though. The lack of earnable cosmetics is tragic! I don't want to have to shell out 15 bucks for a neat outfit, I want something to feel earned when I'm playing a game. Have I been tempted? Absolutely, I won't deny that, but I haven't purchased anything out of pure spite. F2P players are getting the short end of the stick! We can't even get a pet -at all-. Still, I can live without cosmetics if that means I get to play a silly little cozy game and catch some fish and learn the Lore(tm) of the world, which honestly has me engaged. I hope the stuff that's rough around the edges stems from the game being in beta rather than intentional design choices, especially in regards to the cash shop. Seriously, no idea why we can't just have a pet wander into our housing plot at some point and just have them follow us around.
You have a lot of great points and things they do need to add. From my understand a lot of the stuff you talked about wanting in this game is going to come in time. The proximity voice chat is something I think they will have to add into the game as a must have, especially once this comes out on nintendo switch. IDK about you but if you are trying to play Palia on nintendo switch without a in game voice chat options its not going to go well.
Well, to me Palia's housing was so much promissing, because I miss my favorite game with this kind of stuff. But, you know, it's such a shame! You can't even interract with it! And you know what? Wildstar Online from 2014 (yea, there was such MMO), had housing so much better! 2014, Carl! Anyway, love you Spuz, best warm emotions as always ♥
I agree with the criticisms, but I also have faith in the devs, they've already said they're working on implementing some of these things, and some of the big complaints from launch have already been fixed. The game has only been in open beta for a couple of months. I think it'll just take a little more time. But I for one am going to enjoy continuing to play it with friends as is!
To be fair, they did market as an MMO, which it isn't. You will only ever find 25 people in a map, max. The only co-op thing really is cooking. They market gathering together and stuff, but it just doesn't work. If you're in a party out hunting, you just kill everything in one shot, which means only you get the loot, because fuck your partymembers. For me the thing that made me just stop was the fact that money became such a massive grind. Shit get expensive fast, but your ways of making money not so much. I was basically farming mainly to make money. Trying to optimize my rice harvest so I could sell as much as possible, netting about 7k each harvest (3 ingame days). But the next unlock would cost me 50k or 100k. So yeah, have fun grinding out that kind of dosh...
Great vid as always! You might be delighted to hear that Riot Forge has a game cooking called Bandle Tale which is akin to Stardew Valley, but yordle themed. Would be fun to see you play that when it releases
![The Prime Suspect | Let's Play Paradise Killer [Part 5]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Q1SC2HBI7To/mqdefault.jpg)
not being restricted by an annoying stamina bar is the highlight of this game. I was so happy. you can be cozy and enjoy things at your own pace with no limitations.
Sounds like you're the target player for this game! Happy for ya :)
@@Spuzie yes a 100%. I could never get into stardew valley so I was worried when I started Palia, but I got hooked hard.
and its still very early in development, so Im excited for the future!
Nice review. I don't completely agree, but I'm not here to debate.
Thanks for doing us a favor for sure 😂
@@fwennythis is the way
@@fwenny This exactly, I think people forget this is Beta... They already mentioned a lot of content was removed so they can test them out first. Also, all the games he compared it to were fully released, Palia isn't completed yet. I've been excited for this game and can't wait to see what's in store for it.
I never had any intention to play this game. However, I wanted to say the format and quality of this video was great. I love the analysis and your perspective. I think I would watch more reviews like this.
i feel exactly the same
The missing social dimension of the game is the biggest letdown for me too. I hope they will find a way to integrate it somehow!
Same!
That's .... kinda how MMOs are though..
@@happyhippo1043 That usually depends you know? I think a good MMO will always give you the tools to give you a great social experience, people just might choose not to engage much in it and maybe that´s what happens with the games you play. Usually rule of thumb, if a MMO doesn´t give you that, something might not be right xD
@@GGamerGeneralista I've never played Palia myself but judging purely from this video the social aspect is about the same as BDO or ESO, the two MMOs I played.
Normal MMOs give you plenty of ways to interact with other players, from events, to raids and chat trade to even just lounging around hubworlds. Hell FFXIV, is how I met some of my friends, by stumbling upon them playing an instrument in the middle of a town and me just sitting there enjoying it. MMOs are one of the most social games I've played, if done correctly, and if you have the proper ability to interact with other people.@@happyhippo1043 And Palia. Gives you nothing, but a chat window. No Events, no social interactions of any kind. Hell even the "trade" system is automatic. You just put in a request and someone accepts it. It's truly saddening.
I see Palia's current state as a promising foundation, but it still requires some refinement. As you mentioned, there's a missing element that would foster a stronger sense of community. Right now, everyone seems to be pursuing their individual activities, with the exception of occasional cake parties and flow trees.
Overall I agree- though the stuff you mentioned in the frictionless section is exactly why I've put more time in Palia already than I ever managed to in stardew 😂 the day/night/exhaustion cycle just felt AWFUL and stressful to manage in stardew, but Palia making it functionally optional helps that a lot. It feels like failing forward, instead of just failing- it doesn't kill momentum.
As for the social aspect, I honestly have had a completely different experience. Early game, yes, it's basically singleplayer- but once you get all your skills beyond level 10, EVERYTHING requires teamwork. I've spent more time socializing in bahari bay while hunting for flow trees/palium than I think I've spent doing anything else, and my lowest level skill is bug catching at 21. The high level cooking, fishing, mining, gathering, etc. all require LOTS of teamwork. Cooking especially, you need at least 3 people to make a cake working in a kitchen on like 11 different workstations, it's basically Overcooked levels of chaos!
All that said, if you need friction/possible failure then Palia will be a slog getting to the collaborative parts, so it makes sense that you didn't get that far lol
I LOVE this type of videos! I think you are meant to make this review-style content.
Can't wait to see more stuff like this for all the games you love and play on stream and offline.
So glad you liked it
Haven't tested the game, but you clearly and efficiently stated your thoughts and opinions, both the good and the bad. A wonderful little review. Great job!
Glad you enjoyed the video
It's one of my favourite game in a long time and I made a lot of friends through it so far
Awesome, I am happy for ya! Cool that you met people through it too! :D
Here you goose
Agreed, I was very hyped for Palia as a social game to play with my girlfriend. But all the time we were playing with might as well have been playing separate games.
Maybe the community that you can create in game could have a shared building plot or something to bring in more cooperation?
Yeah something like that would be nice! But then again, might not be what they wanna go for!
It's a beta.. They are still adding stuff, and also new mechanics. Plot for the Community would be cool, and everyone could add resources so you could build together ( would also facilitate trading between Communities and friends )
But again.. It's an open beta, game is far from being finished
You can cook together ( actually it's way better )
Ive noticed that this has become an increasing issue over the years of gaming. Single player seems to be the focus unless its a cash grab MMO. You can find quality Co-Op, but the selection for quality multiplayer releases with actual cooperation tend to be few and far between. The greatest mentions are many many many years old by now and yet current releases simply do the same ideas mashed together and done worse, instead of taking time to consider what made it good in the first place. Even many of the ACTUAL mmo releases in recent years have been glorified single player games in openly populated world, like Black Desert. It seems so strange to me, that in the age of everyone going long distance, and people being on their internet calls more than ever, that we're not seeing more people cater to that audience except for the occasional indie dev gem.
@@ohdaesu9395 As far as I see they're focusing more in adding cosmetics rather than content 😅
@@oliverdevega Three new outfits were only added..?
I absolutely adore the Red Dwarf callbacks.
As a game developer I find this video informative and interesting. Your analysis is very clear and I agree with the points you are making. Will look out for oppertinuties to FISH in upcoming games.
Great video and great points! I heard of Palia back when they first released the announcement trailer 2 years ago and I was so excited! And as someone who then followed development during those 2 years I gotta say, the game is EXAKTLY what I expected it to be and I really like it for what it is. I do hope they will make it more social cause that's the only point that I feel it doesn't really live up to what I hoped for, but it's a live service game so I'm sure it'll continue to improve over time.
100% agree with your analysis of what is wrong with palia.
I'll add, that the way they have it so it's basically single player but online would be ok for me if they removed the crop limit, so I had farming to do.
Instead I have... nothing I really feel like doing.
I feel like you didnt play chappa chase or go flow hunting, cause those are the two most social things you can do in this game. definitely one of my favorite games to date because it got me to create some new spreadsheets.
You managed to put my thoughts into the game perfectly, even that whole "make a schedule for yourself" thing. I did in and i decided to get every harvesting tool (aside from farming because its slow) to highest tier. I did and now there is almost no reason for me to use them. there is just nothing left to do that isnt just mindless collection.
I had very high hopes for this game too, also assumed it will be Stardew valley but in MMO :( As far as i know they plan to implement shared housing plots or even community plots where you work together towards something you share, although hard to tell when this will come to the game. I feel like it has some basic stuff in place and some things are done really well, but there is still a loooong way for this game to become REALLY fun in a long run. I love housing and decorating and currently this is the biggest motivation to do anything in the game (you need tons of gold for that). To the point it sometimes feels grindy lol. The only social aspect of "we need to come together to cut this tree" becomes more of a nuisance the more you play, rather than a way to interact with people...
I agree with your points, but personally i will play it here and there, since my house is still not as pretty as I want it to be ;)
And i keep my fingers crossed for devs to actually make this game as awesome as everyone hoped for it to be ♥
I don't care about interaction with people, so that's why I really liked this game. i can do what i want and still see people running around. i wish it has a larger world tho
I appreciate this video, Spuz! I've been enjoying palia an okay amount, and it's still in beta so I'm hopeful there'll be improvements. Definitely agree with you for what's lacking at the moment.
It's because they lied about what it was. This is not an MMORPG. This is a single player game where you see 20 - 30 other players running around.
Palia is mid.
The missing social elements is a critical flaw in my opinion, but to me what reaaaally discouraged me from sticking around was the barebone character customization. I need to be able to decide how I look like, and really, the few options were just not doing it for me.
Great video Mr. Sp4zie! Really like that review style and some great comparisons in here!
Glad you enjoyed it :)
Gonna be honest I agree with you on the last on a social game with no social
For the amount of money they have raised, and the amount of time it took them to create this open beta, I was sorely disappointed. I agree with everything you have said and I feel like everyone went through the exact same experience. All we can hope for is that much more time will be invested into the game, expanding on the mini games, the social aspect but mostly the map(s).
Whats interesting about this is that...they're adding proxy chat next patch. An event just passed/finished. Theyre adding a lot more new things.
In Genshin you can same things (housing, fishing, basic farming, ..card game vs people or nps ) , and you actually can swimming wow , in 4.0 they added underwater mechanic ...
I feel like there are plenty of other indie games that have done it properly with a energy system when adapted for multiplayer. The 2 games that come to my mind are Eco, where you lose energy by doing stuff and need to fill up your hunger when you want to continue doing stuff. And when you balance your food intake (protein etc.) you even get a higher exp multiplier, so you are encouraged to maintain it. The other game is My Time in Sandrock, where you can go to bed to regen once a day (even if it's daylight) so you are not depended on others, but if you all sleep to skip a day, then you can pass a day and get another regen. When your energy is empty in both of these games you won't be able to do anything that is like mining, fishing etc.
You say stardew valley, I say Harvest Moon
I haven't played the game, just basing my comments purely off of your review here, which I think does a fantastic job of laying out your thoughts, both positive and negative!
It's funny that the BotW opener wasn't something that BotW invented. Explore old ruins into a grand panoramic view of the world you're going to be exploring, with the title drop during the reveal? Same with the stamina bar next to the player model, or a glider. Just because BotW used these things _well_ doesn't mean that they didn't exist beforehand, even in the same game. The difference between BotW and the games that had it before is that BotW really did deliver on the implied promise of "If you see it, you can go there.". IMO this shouldn't be a negative against the game.
Do think that the whole "We're in the same game, but not actually playing together" is a valid turnoff for these type of games. Having something that people can work towards together I think would just add to the game, as long as they don't make it so that you _have_ to work towards it with someone else.
Was playing Palia with my boyfriend also hoping we could interact more in it but it just felt like we were playing two different games, hopefully they’ll add more interactions later cause we liked it otherwise!
The social aspect is absolutely what is letting the game down right now. It's more empty than a single player game because players are meant to make up the void of limited NPC interaction. Hopefully they can expand on this by making more co-operative experiences, giving reasons for random interactions, and designing things that take time and planning for a group to complete. Also, I thought a good idea might be to make a 'shared farm' for players who start the game together and want to remain together. As an opt in at character creation.
Dang Spaz you’re a great game reviewer. You should make more of these as the inspiration hits you
Enjoyed this vid. I had too many glitches on my gaming laptop, Palia got more frustrating than fun. Also, the focus was to totally rape the tiny planet of Palia as well as its NPCs - who just couldn't deliver.
I felt the same honestly. I did a lot of testing for this game in the early stages and had a lot of fun, but it honestly felt like a single player game. There wasn't much depth that kept my hooked, which was unfortunate since I really enjoyed the fishing in the game. At the end of the day, it just wasn't my game, but I'm glad for those who enjoy it.
This was 1000% on point for me, so much room for improvement :')
I have not played the game, only checked some of the streams. But honeslty from what you are explaining it felt much more like a animal crossing then stardew valley. I dont know much about animal crossing multiplayer but as far as I know it was mostly just showing of your home your clothes, showing what you caught and stuff like that. But I do agree the whole being an MMO part definitely gives it a different light.
Great vid as always Spuz ^-^
From cozy to competitive. Competing for end game resources made me really start to dislike the game.. and the community has been a nightmare. The discord was on fire and the subreddit was full of complaints. No lifers vs casual players in... well.. a supposed casual game. "its beta what are you complaining about!" Nothing its just not for me anymore. I'll check back in a year lol.
so in summary, the game really does made to be cozy and easy game for the players to just farm or do something. But the proximity voice does looks nice to have ngl. It will become something like a role-play game, as in people can actually role-play like those GTA private servers kinda vibe.
Can't recall how many of this style of videos you've done but keep them coming when you play new games. Really enjoy listening to your perspective. The video has some clear subjectivity to it that other reviews are missing. It's nice listening to what someone THINKS of something instead of them telling you what it IS.
That being said, I definitely agree with some of your points, especially the proximity voice chat. And I think your summary nailed it. It is a great game for the folks that like the things it has or doesn't have, but that it's just not YOUR game, also due to some of those things. Props.
Do you think you will come back to this game at some point in the future, maybe 3-6 months just to see how it's changed? I mean, it's an open beta so far, so maybe, just maybe, they will add stuff that you'll enjoy and it will be the game you hoped it to be in the end.
I also dropped Palia after a few weeks of playing.
My reason was that i REALLY wanted this to be something i did with friends, but the game just did not have anything to do together.
It markets itself as an MMO, yet doesn't have any MMO features pretty much.
I played it for some days but at some point I was just logging in, watering crops, logging out and played something else to log back in to harvest and re-plant crops and at some point I was like "this isn't even fun I'm not interacting with anyone because there's no reason to do it" and then I stopped playing... It's a shame because I waited for it a lot and I was really enthusiastic about it 😢
i think the most important thing to state here is the fact its still in beta. things are bound to change and videos and comments like these are what help make the game better.
Yeah, watching the streams of Palia, I was digging it at first but after you get a bit further in to the gameplay? It sort of falls flat. There's no real depth to the game and the social aspect falls kinda flat because there's not much to do with other players. As an example, I got into Final Fantasy XIV with my boyfriend (we're on a bit of a break from it at the moment but planning to get back in) and the social aspects of that game are so much more expansive because the game actively has you play with other people in dungeons and the city hubs are massively populated and there's important things in those cities like stores, market boards etc. so you see people doing all sorts of fun stuff-there's people regularly in one of the cities doing concerts with the various instruments you can get in the game which is nuts! Palia feels like it could be so much more but the lack of content in the game and how the social aspect feels totally flat really holds the game back from being something great. Hopefully they're listening to all the feedback because this kind of game definitely has an audience but you need to know what to have in the game for that audience. A big part of Stardew Valley's success comes from just how much there is to do, even in the earlier releases of the game. Palia feels like it went into open beta too soon and needs more time in development.
Like... If they wanted a social aspect, maybe they should have something like Final Fantasy XIV where there's just a community neighbourhood for player houses where anyone who owns a plot can build a house and other players can just visit the plot whenever they want to see what you've built. It's obviously a bit unfair comparing a game with a huge budget to Palia but the game has promise. Even just like a friends only neighbourhood thing could be good where there's 4-5 plots so you can build together and help each other out.
Palia shows promise despite all the flaws so hopefully they'll be able to keep the game going and get it to a better spot where it'll be worth revisiting to see if your opinion changed on it.
I really like this style of review video. It is super respectful of the dev(s) and their work while still having something meaningful to say about the content.
Always kind and quality thoughts, I would be down for more of these in the future.
As someone who loves Palia and has completed nearly all achievements so far. I agree with everything said. I also continue to play in hopes of more community-esque content is coming. Would be nice to have a community plot where you can build it up and donate resources to it, or some sort of community museum where players can donate fish+bugs and towards the end of a cycle, maybe a 1-3 month period reward players trophies based on what they donated and over time it gets more and more full with everything the community has provided to it.
The game is in open beta, and for the first time in 20 years I'm defending a game in open beta. It truly feels like a beta, and I can't wait to see what they bring in the future.
Here's to hoping.
They should reframe the energy thing into what WoW did with their rested XP - when you have eaten you get a "well fed" buff(or even cooler if there would be more different food buffs on top) that doubles your XP until you "get tired", i.e. run out of energy.
Fair review, agree on many things. The game is really heavily in beta stage, but there is great potential. Just few pointers and opinions:
The more social aspects come to play in events like the Maji market, the palium hunt and flow tree grind, people tend to work together on those, though sadly you have to rely on people's generosity to get trough that (which let's face it, it's not the best idea). You can also let your friend have "admin" rights on your plot and they can alter your house and farm too, so in that way you can build together.
Cooking together is something you didn't really touch in your video at all, it's best done with friends. It is so much easier and cheaper to do with friends, and people do lots of cake parties with randoms. Yes this needs more absolutely, but in the friend menu they also have WIP of a social system in place with communities and specialties. You can also help other players by sending them items they need, and the game actually requires you to do so.
There are more maps too at the moment, limited to few dungeons and temples you can enter as you process trough the story. The NPC's also tease you with something called "elderwood" and on the second map there is a barred entrance i think would be the opening to a new map in the future, which is exciting, the map actually sounds pretty fun with monsters and dark threats (follow the story, the NPc's tease it quite a lot)
The "no punishment" gameplay is a preference. I tend to like that because after a hard day of work or then big grind in another game i need to relax and not have to worry about missing things, failing quests and being on timelimit. After failing at work, getting my ass beat in other games, i need to relax and just mindlessly farm and fish for a moment.
Great video & I agree with everything said.
I think outside the lack of friction & social connection the game currently also lacks in content & a proper feeling of progression.
Right now there are like 3 stages of progression, and the only thing that really blocks you is lack of money that you need for recipes.
After you have your tools upgraded, you just get money to buy furniture or walk around the village nonstop, talking to the villagers once per day & finding out what gifts they want for the week.
There's also some small stuff you can do like gather 'star' bugs/fishes for your house, but it doesn't feel fun for a more progression oriented player like me.
Progressing in story isn't really a reward by itself for me either.
I played alot of it, and I know it is in Open Beta. But reputation with the villagers take so long, and I got stuck on a quest where I needed to know the person and ask them to basicly be my caretaker in the village. And I can't be bothered to be on this quest forever.
oh wow, please do more videos like this, loved it so much !
Wonderfully said, every point I've had about this game echoed here. Very glad I never asked my friends to play with me with how the "co-op" ended up
Cheers!
Definitely agree with pretty much all the points you mentioned.
Had the same expectations, its almost what they were trying to sell, an mmo that feels like stardew, but even from the time i was on their discord it already felt like its gonna be a game not suited for majority of players or casuals, but for those that just want to live in a peaceful stressless world and... Perhaps do something? Concept felt nice, execution probably good from what the devs wanted, but man, did it feel empty.
Would've loved Trove style houses so that you can see / visit randoms at any time, or just get inspired casually when farming materials because someone just built their house close...
Would've loved making preparations for a team wide gathering session or materials, or even better minerals from the mines where there is at least some form of threat (lets say not even hp bar and damage to keep within the stress free idea, but some debuffs such as temporary blind, slow, dizziness etc.)...
Would've loved community goals, for let's say multiple nations (just some flag differentiated groups of people) that need to gather resources to unlock something server wide, or community storage similar to Alta in VR (actually a game they could learn a lot from)...
Would've loved to... Well, actually feel like playing an mmo.
Played for 2 hours, havent felt the urge or meaning to come back to it, at least not now.
It's still in beta *sobs* calm down
I totaly agree, I have been playing for weeks and haven't interacted with any other players yet, also I miss being able to interact more with the world like furniture, maybe more poses and the climbing is pretty disapointg. I hope isnce it's still in beta It'll get better soon!
Palia barely started the beta and already had alot of issues, from the contast nerfing of money making recipies which without a player market only serves to bloat game time, some upgrades cost more than 100k gold and by the end of a week you barely make 2k to 3k grinding daily for hours, and theres the problem you have to grind in a "cozy" game.
I really like how you explained what type of gamer you think would like the game rather than exclusively using yourself as a reference point.
In my opinion, that elevates your review to a critique. I believe a critique is the more refined version of a review.
Very well done, this is a production you can be proud of.
I agree with most points Mister Sp4zie Streamer is saying and i hope they add more social stuff !! i like palia after a long day at work i just put on some good music play a few hours and relax haha great video btw ^^
This video was so informative, thanks for giving us a rundown on your opinions of the game
very good analysis of the game - sums up a lot of its flaws in the current version in a very constructive non-toxic tone!
I am glad you think so! Thanks :D
I'd love to see more videos like this one! The way you explained why you didnt like the game was super insightful, it really shows how much you know about games / game design. I feel like this kind of content suits you really well, I'd love to see a review like this one on other games you play!
Oh thanks! It was a first attempt at something like this so I am glad you thought it was insightfull! We'll see how it's recieved and if it's something I'll do more :)
Sp4zie you are Good at explaining things
I did play a bit of Palia and like you said it does feel empty there are players but there is no need to group up or a reason for them to be there apart from some high lvl nodes that you need more ppl to harvest a shared goal would be nice like if we build a house with the whole server or something to feal social
I mean, i never played BotW and i had a different reaction to the Intro of Palia.
The World really doesn´t look that big, it´s just a relatively small valley, surroudned by Mountains, not really the exact same as BotW. The Scale is vastly different.
I think i´ll actually give it a try some time.
A youtuber giving some actual constructive feedback instead of an emotional response, gj spooz
I tri I tri!
For me, the need to plan the whole day and not be able to get everything done that I wanted to get done in Stardew Valley made the Game super un-cozy and unfun. I enjoy it so much that I don't have to be at my housing spot at a certain time or that there's punishment for being late or something. Stuff like that really stresses me out. I get that most gamers want that friction, want that action, want that limit but for me it would destroy the whole sense of the game. Chillin', vibin', doing my stuff in the amount of time that I need, meeting some friends, showing them my house (or the chaotic evil my house had become), that's what I love and need from this game.
I'll just say it'll be interesting to see what they plan on doing to address these concerns. That being said, I don't totally agree with your critiques, but I see you points. The only thing that I have a problem with the game so far is the instance housing and lack of player interaction.
Hey Spuz, if you want proximity chat, give Holdfast a shot. It's a goofy old timey war game. You've got muskets, so it takes like 10-20 seconds to reload your rifle before you can shoot again. I think you'd enjoy it.
That's fair. I've been loving Palia, but I have a good group of friends to play with, so we've been having a lot of fun together. Ironically, what you said at the end is how I feel about Stardew. I loved the harvest moon games, so I was excited for SDV. It was the first game I ever bought on steam back in like, 2016. Since then I've got.... 6.6 hours played. I have TRIED to love this game. I WANT to love this game. Everyone else loves this game. This is the exact kind of game I love, I SHOULD love this game. But I can't. I've never even made it long enough to harvest my first turnips. I just can't get interested. I have zero care for any of the townies, the fishing minigame is just PPPPTTTTTHHH, and after clearing a little piece of land on my farm, I find myself wandering off to do anything more interesting, like folding laundry or unloading the dishwasher. It's disappointing, but not every game can be for everyone, I guess.
honestly the fact the only reason you might need to interact with others is to Gather the higher tier mats or do a cooking party, You have no other need to party up...no mini bosses, no trading, no player run shops. Its just missing that muliplayer factor. I've been saying for months that a "boss" type events need to take place....like a giant flow tree that stops the spawn of the others until cut...but you need at least 10-15 people to cut it down, with a reward of 5-10 flow logs to each person & an achivement reward of a flow tree decor you can put in your plot, same with a animal boss...say like a Giant Bear that chases off all the other animals until its killed (bows), and again you need 10-15 ppl to shoot it down, with an achivement reward of a stuffed bear for your home. and each boss event you complete the mayor will give you a few hundred gold as a daily reward.
If i saw and heard whatever was going on when you two where fishing, i wouls slowly but surely walk backwards until suddenly sprinting off towards the horizon.
I've been grinding palia for about 4 weeks now... at first it was fun since you had goals to reach but now days I'm just logging in to harvest my garden, replant, go out and socialize ( WITH THE NPCs ! ) and log off. ... but my hunting is level 65 tho .... the only combat-like aspect of the no combat game is the most fun imo
The biggest issue i had with the game is there are no enemies, nothing fights you. And once you reach high lvl tools theres nothing to do. Literally last few times ive got on was just to slowly grow apple trees, talking to npcs is cute but i lost interest once i maxed everything. It was a "talk to them while im doing other things" but when its the only thing left to do its... just not interesting.
I agree with everything you said. I'm sad it wasn't the game for me, but I hope everyone else has lots of fun with it !
Lot of great points, and on the optimistic side, I think all of your points can be resolved with future updates and content. Lets hope they take the critique to heart!
This Channel is not often a review channel but i appreciate it when it is
Thanks :D
Great video. I love the idea of a game review series like this if it has crossed your mind. Regarding Palia, I'd say the biggest negative is the non-interaction you have with other players. Like you mentioned, farms are fully solo (you can help with some stuff, but placing buildings is impossible). It's fun for a while, but then it becomes kinda not interesting to play. Yes it is open beta and there's plenty more to come in the future, but everybody has certain expectations that aren't really met or only partially. I really hope the devs listen to the community on these aspects. If they do, this game can become such a gem.
Thanks! We'll see if it is received well I might :)
its Vinland from Vinlandsaga, the promise lands where Thorfinn can farm in peace 😂
As an auDHDer, for me this was awesome. I do agree with some of your points, but I like it as it is as it's an amazing game to play to recover from meltdowns or if I'm generally feeling overwhelmed. It's an incredibly therapeutic game and has so little to do that it has you playing a healthy amount instead of getting addicted.
The proximity chat would be a really cool toggleable feature though!
Hello Mr. Spuzey! Really enjoyed this review-style video, you should do it more often, talking about stuff while you show funny gameplay to strenghten your ideas! Reminds me of the "Story Times" with the Tibia stories and the problems with Roguelikes, it´s some of my favorite videos!
Palia is reduced to time gating and how much gold you can get to buy stuff for your house, which you can’t entirely use.
It’s social aspect is nonexistent, other players around you when it’s not fishing or cooking feels like they’re taking away from you (hunting, mining, gathering, bug catching, etc), can’t even build a house with your friends. I played it for a month, got all I wanted for my house and then was left with nothing else to do, hence they nerf all kinds of gold generation systems, they want to keep people grinding for longer for no reason.
I absolutely agree. Played about 3h now and came to YT to search for information on what else can I do. Well I guess uninstalling is the next step😅
I really wanted to like this game I tried so hard to like it, but I had too high expectations so the game felt like a giant disappointment.
Haven’t played Palia but I wasn’t super interested initially. At this point, I might try it for myself (since it’s free) to see what I think. I already agree with a lot of your statements, though (even if I haven’t played BOTW lol). Thanks for the review, Spuzay! It’s always super helpful to hear your insights.
The social aspect of this game is lacking - I know I avoid other people, and most people I walk near avoid other people, though you do see some people running around together. One thing you missed about working together, though (probably skipped the tutorial on it), is that it's not just faster to do things together, but there's other buffs (like XP) for doing the same thing in proximity.
bonus unpopular opinion: Stardew is a fairly stressful game (1 million things to do, but every aspect of your life on a short ass timer. I'm ADHD, fuck off with that! Any argument you think you have against this is wrong =P)
Such a cool video, thanks for this analysis !
Ever since I've heard about the Ultima series where there is 0 npc, and everything is player-run, I've always wondered, why does no game do this today ?
From what you say, Palia would be perfect for that ! Make the merchants, the mayors, everyone, make them players ! What better interaction between players than a merchant restocking fish from a fisher, or tools from a blacksmith ?
They had it were you could make food together, but ppl found out Cake is where the money was to get rich and then Palia nerfed it....Twice but alao after the quest are done and npc's are maxed out the game gets kinda boring. 😢 i wanted it to be my game too. Hoping for more content and lessin game cosmetics in the future
I liked the idea , played it for 3 Weeks lost the fun in it. No real interaction no fun or longtime Goal , i find myself farmin Deer all day to get money. after getting all my top tier equipments for farming i see myself farming for house materials. While i reaylly love the gardenning system, i see no use in the houseing list only decocration. Even i like the design of the world , its starts to get boring.
the constant Downtimes and Glicthig Patches are als debby downers. I 'n not the only one who calling this Buglia.
The Community is very nice, but building a Community only on Discord wont create real Friend intercations. Esp. not to be able to trade or sell stuff. I'ne already seen China Bot spammers in Chat who sell gold.
I’d probably see where the game goes I remember when minecraft came out it was mostly about mining but now you can order a pizza with minecraft mods
I fell the same way, when i first saw this game i install told my GF, expecting to have a game that both of us could enjoy together just like, like you said Stardew Valley, in the end it feels like a chore/grind and we end up not doing anything together.
That was a very pertinent analysis of what's wrong with the game in its current state!
However, I still have good hope for Palia, here's why:
With all the current big games launching bugged and raw, as you said, Palia is a breath of fresh air as it is smooth and polished (still need a bit of work on 3C but it's good) and it's refreshing to see company putting extra care in the quality of the game. Yes it is empty but it's a live game in beta developped by 60 people, and what I see is a very strong fundation for what could become an amazing game in the next few months/years.
Anyhow, great content, great video, luv it as usual! See you on stream
For me, this game feels more like a single player game, with people arround. I don't mind it and I have been playing once in a while. Feels nice.
Great analisus! Would love more videos with reviews like this one.
Noted! Thanks
Honestly, I've been treating Palia like a single player game. I hear whispers of "cake parties" and bickering over Pallium in Bahari, but if I'm being honest, none of that really dampens my enjoyment of the game. I can set my own goals and just have a nice, relaxing time doing whatever I like! Palia's my unwinding game, especially after a rough day. It's great for that, and the social aspects that come later will be something to look forward to. If I'm comfortable with the game before the social aspect is introduced, then it's that much easier for me to get into the community.
There is one major gripe I have with the game, though. The lack of earnable cosmetics is tragic! I don't want to have to shell out 15 bucks for a neat outfit, I want something to feel earned when I'm playing a game. Have I been tempted? Absolutely, I won't deny that, but I haven't purchased anything out of pure spite. F2P players are getting the short end of the stick! We can't even get a pet -at all-.
Still, I can live without cosmetics if that means I get to play a silly little cozy game and catch some fish and learn the Lore(tm) of the world, which honestly has me engaged. I hope the stuff that's rough around the edges stems from the game being in beta rather than intentional design choices, especially in regards to the cash shop. Seriously, no idea why we can't just have a pet wander into our housing plot at some point and just have them follow us around.
You have a lot of great points and things they do need to add. From my understand a lot of the stuff you talked about wanting in this game is going to come in time. The proximity voice chat is something I think they will have to add into the game as a must have, especially once this comes out on nintendo switch. IDK about you but if you are trying to play Palia on nintendo switch without a in game voice chat options its not going to go well.
After this video i now know how i am fishing from here on
Well, to me Palia's housing was so much promissing, because I miss my favorite game with this kind of stuff. But, you know, it's such a shame! You can't even interract with it! And you know what? Wildstar Online from 2014 (yea, there was such MMO), had housing so much better! 2014, Carl! Anyway, love you Spuz, best warm emotions as always ♥
Thanks friend! Never played Wildstar myself but yeah I remember it!
I agree with the criticisms, but I also have faith in the devs, they've already said they're working on implementing some of these things, and some of the big complaints from launch have already been fixed. The game has only been in open beta for a couple of months. I think it'll just take a little more time. But I for one am going to enjoy continuing to play it with friends as is!
To be fair, they did market as an MMO, which it isn't. You will only ever find 25 people in a map, max. The only co-op thing really is cooking. They market gathering together and stuff, but it just doesn't work. If you're in a party out hunting, you just kill everything in one shot, which means only you get the loot, because fuck your partymembers.
For me the thing that made me just stop was the fact that money became such a massive grind. Shit get expensive fast, but your ways of making money not so much. I was basically farming mainly to make money. Trying to optimize my rice harvest so I could sell as much as possible, netting about 7k each harvest (3 ingame days). But the next unlock would cost me 50k or 100k. So yeah, have fun grinding out that kind of dosh...
Great vid as always! You might be delighted to hear that Riot Forge has a game cooking called Bandle Tale which is akin to Stardew Valley, but yordle themed. Would be fun to see you play that when it releases
I had not kept tabs on that! Thanks!