Palworld's been coasting along nicely since its meteoric rise to internet stardom earlier this year—and while it's been getting steady updates since, they've primarily been bug fixes and nerfs to the nail economy, seldom in the way of content.
Which is reasonable, since Pocketpair quickly found itself severely understaffed for the kind of game it had suddenly become. It's also been part of its stated mission plan on the roadmap it released back in January: fix bugs first, add stuff later. Still, the studio has big plans—and the first steps start today, as Palworld's announced its very first raid boss.
Going by the name of Bellanoir, this Pal—which you'll be able to capture, as standard—looks to shore up Palworld's endgame content, offering players both a reason to join larger servers and a test dummy for their beefed up not-quite-pocket monsters. I'm sure the Palworld pros of the world will be happy. There's only so much joy you can wring out of a brutally efficient factory line, after all.
The announcement itself is light on the details, reading: "A powerful evil Pal has appeared and is laying siege to the Palapagos Islands! Only the most skilled Pal Tamers stand a chance against her." There's no specific date as to when this'll be dropping, either, but Pocketpair assures players it's "soon."
It's maybe a sign that the studio's got a smidge more money to pump into its art department, but I do actually think Bellanoir's design is kinda neat—even if it does look like what you'd get if you threw Gardevoir and Chandelure in a blender. I think the shape language is solid, and I like the chthonic eyes decorating Bellanoir's floaty dress.
Comparisons to Gardevoir fill me with fear, however. In a similar vein to Salazzle, the internet has proven it's incapable of being normal about Gardevoir in any capacity. Adding a layer of goth girl over that base feels like a chemical weapon designed in a lab, the kind that starts zombie apocalypses—but, hey. Chase your bliss. I'll be down in my bunker avoiding Google for a while.
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Harvey Randall
Staff Writer
Harvey's history with games started when he first begged his parents for a World of Warcraft subscription aged 12, though he's since been cursed with Final Fantasy 14-brain and a huge crush on G'raha Tia. He made his start as a freelancer, writing for websites like Techradar, The Escapist, Dicebreaker, The Gamer, Into the Spine—and of course, PC Gamer. He'll sink his teeth into anything that looks interesting, though he has a soft spot for RPGs, soulslikes, roguelikes, deckbuilders, MMOs, and weird indie titles. He also plays a shelf load of TTRPGs in his offline time. Don't ask him what his favourite system is, he has too many.
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