Last night, while I was scrolling through Nintendo’s eShop, I caught a glimpse of this new release called Palland. From the very beginning, the name felt almost nostalgically familiar, almost as if it was trying to jog my memory about another game. As for the cover art and design style? That game was showing heavy influences from Palworld. And the icing on the cake was the low pricing of $3.99. The whole cheap price and copying-the-look are too aligned to be a coincidence.
If you play video games, you probably know the story. Palworld has, for quite some time, been likened to the Pokémon franchise due to its creature-catching gameplay, round capture devices, and designs that feel strangely close to Nintendo’s own ideas. Here comes Palland, benefiting from a game that already finds itself in the crosshairs of copycat accusations. A ‘copy of a copy’ – this double layer of imitation makes me wonder if originality really matters that much in this day and age.
The team behind Palland, Boggy Soft, is quite familiar with this way of working. It has three titles for the Nintendo Switch: Palland, a climbing shooter reminiscent of Only Up, and a low-budget version of Thief Simulator. There isn’t much to substantiate them or any clear history or background about the team-but their games make it clear that they have an inclination towards rapid development and low budgets, promoting titles that follow trending hits. Some see this as the worst of opportunism; others see it as intelligent business. I tend to think of it simply as a way by which some developers manage to survive today.
From a technical standpoint, Palland runs perfectly well on the Nintendo Switch, and with Nintendo planning backward compatibility, it ought to run on the next Switch console too; however, if case of go through its eShop page, hardly anything about the story or gameplay is mentioned there. Quite evidently, the name and visuals are expected to sell the game straight away, with not much need for explanation behind.
I have always been fascinated with these small eShop games. They have no ambition for a big AAA until the next big indie. They are hastily developed and thrown out there to cash in on viral trends. Palland may not headline like The Legend of Zelda or Animal Crossing, but they offer a great insight into how developers manage quick attention through trending games such as Palworld.
The question really becomes if gamers will buy Palland out of jest or curiosity, or will find themselves lost in hundreds of cheap eShop games released each month. Either way, it just goes to show another instance of how the Nintendo Switch library is laden with hidden releases, and sometimes the weirdest ones say the most about the direction gaming is taking.
Of late, I have this feeling that I simply cannot shake off. That Nintendo might be watching on these. Perhaps to see how far such Palworld-style copies can go without intervention. Whatever the case, Palland’s presence is a huge statement on where we are in the gaming marketplace today. You may also be interested in: Call of Duty Says It’s Too Big To Fail Despite Battlefield 6 Hype
