Palworld Vs Pokemon Scarlet And Violet: Which Game Is Better

Summary


Even before its explosive launch, players were already drawing comparisons between Palworld and Pokemon . A common moniker thrown around Palworld is that it's just "pokemon, but with guns." While that sounds like a decent summary in a nutshell, that's not entirely the case. If you want to be the very best trainer, you'll need the leading gear on the market. Here are the best Pokemon accessories for the Nintendo Switch.


Arguably, Palworld feels more like Slime Rancher in that it's more about building a base while using pals as a means to help you build than a world that's seemingly built around Pokemon battles. But while these two games have some fundamental differences, they also share the core mechanic of catching monsters. So which is better, the longstanding king of the monster-catching genre? Or the new up-and-coming game that recently reached over 2 million concurrent players?









Combat





Pokemon Scarlet And Violet Combat




Turn-based, and more strategic




More elements




2v2 battles are fun




Palworld Combat




Freeform, action-oriented




Pals fight with you, instead of doing all the fighting.




Abilities are used automatically, with only special skills requiring the player's input.




Verdict: Mixed.




Palworld is better for fans of shooters and fans who want a little more challenge from the NPCs in the story.




Pokemon is better if you want a slower turn-based game that also has better PvP (for now).




Starting with one of the reasons both of these games are so popular - combat.


Combat in Pokemon is turn-based, with the trainer simply giving commands while the Pokemon obediently carries them out. Against NPC opponents, this can be a little monotonous because opponents won't swap Pokemon, allowing you to just repeatedly hit super effective attacks. However, against players, combat in Pokemon becomes an aggressive game of rock-paper-scissors. Swapping Pokemon allows you to tank an attack with a Pokemon that could have a super effective move against your opponent's Pokemon, but if your opponent chooses to buff themselves or set up traps, a swap becomes far less impactful. In turn, setting up an ability becomes less useful if your Pokemon loses most of their life to an attack instead.


Palworld in comparison, opts for more action-oriented combat, with the player being a more active participant in each encounter. Players are armed with weapons that help them deal damage to their enemies (both humans and pals alike). These weapons are anything from a simple club to an assault rifle, and if you choose to use a projectile weapon, headshots are automatic critical hits, so good aim is heavily rewarded here. Your own pals can be summoned to assist you in a fight. Once they're summoned, they'll run around the enemy and use their abilities automatically. Some tools allow players to wield Pals like Foxsparks like weapons (in Foxsparks case, you use them as a flamethrower).


Between the two, Pokemon and Palworld have two very different combat systems that appeal to different groups. Pokemon rewards you for more strategic planning and careful consideration of what your opponent is going to do. It currently has the better PvP, but Palworld's third-person shooting makes it the better PvE game.


Monster Catching





Pokémon Scarlet And Violet




Choose a starter to begin your journey with




Weaken the monster and then throw a pokeball to catch it.




Tera Raids and shiny Pokemon offer rare Pokemon to catch




Palworld




Catching multiples of a monster is rewarding.




Bonus catch rate for back shots




Seamless experience because you don't need to get dragged into a battle screen before you can capture a Pal




Verdict: Palworld


The monster catching in Palworld is just a smoother experience than Pokémon. In Pokémon, you have to start the battle by either walking into the wild Pokémon or throwing one of your Pokémon at it. Then, once the battle starts, you can damage it with your Pokémon and throw a Pokeball when its health is low enough. The turn-based combat makes this entire process much more clunky than it needs to be. However, beginning your journey with a starter Pokemon beautifully sets the tone for every new Pokemon adventure, and it's something that is missing with Palworld.


In comparison, Palworld breeding guide just has you damage a wild Pal with whatever weapons you have, then throw a ball at it to capture it. The only clunkiness is if you have a pal walking around with you, since your partner may kill the wild pal before your palball can leave your hand. As a result, knowing when to retreat your partner is a crucial skill to successful captures. Some players may find this more or less fun, but having this as an option without needing to move to a separate battle screen still provides a smoother experience than Pokémon.


Story





Pokémon Scarlet And Violet




Three paths to choose from that represent different aspects of the game:




Path of Legends: Hunt after legendary Pokemon




Victory Road: Battle to be the best in the Pokemon League




Operation Star Street: Stop Team Star and their nefarious deeds






Interesting characters that center around each path




Players can choose which ones they want to progress based on their actions




Palworld




Early access game, so there's no real story




Only a few hints of a story




Verdict: Pokemon Scarlet And Violet


Not many people play these kinds of games for the story, but having a good story will help push you through more of the game's content because you want to know what's going to happen. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are the perfect example of that. While the story isn't the best, it's perfect as a means to get the player to interact with the different components of the game.


Players looking for a good story from Palworld will be left disappointed. There's no story in Palworld, and the only hints of a story are in the opening cinematic where your tablet flashes with the message "the towers are the key...the tree holds the truth." While it's unknown what these cryptic phrases mean, it does point you in the direction of the boss fights to get the story started.


Monster Interaction





Pokémon Scarlet And Violet




You can keep Pokemon out of their ball to automatically battle and gather items




Set up camp to feed, pet, wash, and play with Pokemon




Palworld




Pals can be kept out of their balls to attack enemies when you do




Pals will help you manage your base.




You can pet your pal to heal their sanity.




Verdict: Palworld


This is one of Palworld strategy's greatest strengths over Pokemon. Interacting with your new friends beyond just combat makes the world feel more alive, and it lets you get a little more attached to your favorite monsters.


Pokemon limits this to just setting up a camp and then letting you feed them some food for buffs, wash them to increase the effect, or just kick around a ball with them. It's a fun way to pass the time with your favorite Pokemon, but parts of it also just feel empty. Fans of the Pokemon show have always seen trainers just living their lives with their Pokemon helping them out, and the interactions in Scarlet and Violet feel like a lackluster far cry from that. However, since pals never change forms, it is nice to evolve Pokemon since it feels like a reward for sticking with a weak Pokemon and watching them grow into their full power.


Palworld in comparison, lets pals help you build and maintain your in-game home. You could assign fire pals to help cook food, ice pals to refrigerate uneaten food, and electric pals to power your base, to name a few options. You could create a happy little bakery filled with fire-type pals, so you can supply pastries for your friends to help them on their adventures. But more realistically, you'll have your favorite 5 pals to keep with you for battles and field exploration, and then a small army of pals back at your base to keep yourself continually stocked up on supplies. But this level of interaction with your pals, and each pal having their purpose to help your base is what makes Palworld much better than Scarlet and Violet in this category.


Exploration





Pokémon Scarlet And Violet




Most exploration is built around Miraidon/Koraidon




Long gliding and other additional skills are unlocked through the Path of Legends story.




Hidden items, random shiny Pokemon, and Tera Raid spawns encourage exploration even after you finish the game.




Palworld




Exploration is handled by catching more Pals to use as different kinds of mounts




Stamina-based flight instead of just gliding




The map is packed with more things to see and interact with than Scarlet/Violet.




Verdict: Palworld


Exploring Scarlet and Violet involves just traveling around on Miraidon's back. It's relaxing because of its simplicity - just summon Miraidon even if it's not in your party, and ride your monster motorcycle around the landscape of Paldea. However, having a limit to how far and how long you can glide puts a damper on some of the exploration, and parts of the map are also locked away from the player cause of upgrades you'll get from completing steps in the Path of Legends story. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, since these upgrades give you something to unlock as you progress through the game, but it also limits how much exploration you can do before you have to finish another step in the story.


Palworld, in comparison, limits your exploration based on your level, materials, and what pals you find. The map is just as, if not, larger than Scarlet and Violet's map and the space between fast travel points can be fairly large, so traveling around on foot isn't a realistic option. Having a mount will let you cover more ground more efficiently, and there are several pals that can work as a good mount like Vanwyrm in the midgame and Jetragon in the late game.


Once you've found those pals, you'll have to have a high enough level to unlock their saddles, and the material to do so. But once that happens, the world is open to you. While high-level pals can be problematic, if the gap isn't too drastic, you can still find a way to capture pals who are at a higher level than you.


Multiplayer





Pokémon Scarlet And Violet




Up to 4 players




Can split up and cover more ground on the Paldean map




Best for just relaxing with friends or hunting shinies as a group




Fun coop play in Tera Raids though




palworld money guide




You can invite up to 3 other players to play with you, have 20 people in your guild, and servers have a maximum of 32 players per server.




Players in your guild share a base together, can build a farm, catch Pals, and work together to take down bosses.




Players can split up or stick together. Both activities are equally rewarding.




Verdict: Palworld


The multiplayer of Palworld is just a much better experience than Scarlet and Violet. In Pokemon, you can hang out with three of your friends and catch Pokemon together, but since gyms and story missions can only be completed in single player, deciding who gets to keep which Pokemon becomes a concern when only a single rare Pokemon spawns. As a result, you're encouraged to travel away from your friends when it comes to Pokemon hunting. This is made up for how fun Tera Raids can be with an organized group, but even that doesn't feel like you're sharing a journey with people.


Palworld allows you to do everything with friends as long as you're all part of the same guild. You can fight bosses together, hunt pals together, and if one of you is KO-ed, your friends can run over and revive you. Palworld still suffers from the same problem of deciding who gets to keep which rare pal spawn, but since you can do everything together as a team, and you're most likely going to use that pal on the farm you and your guildmates share together, it's less of a big deal who gets to keep the pal.


Graphics





Pokémon Scarlet And Violet




Choppy at times




Some background animations look like they turn into a slideshow at times, while the other animations are definitely 'alright'




Plain and repeated textures




Palworld




Pals themselves look and are animated beautifully.




The terrain looks more lively because there are just more objects and more pals living in the scenery.




A distinct pop in attacks and particle effects that looks good




Verdict: Palworld


Palworld has gorgeous graphics behind it. There are more textures to the terrain and more objects, and the pals themselves are rendered in the Unreal Engine beautifully. While some effects may be too flashy at times, it's usually during boss fights where it becomes really problematic.


Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, in comparison, are plagued with graphical performance issues. Some animations for people and Pokemon look like they slow down when they're off in the distance, or if it's a dialogue option where a character isn't the focus of the conversation. While the DLC aims to fix many of these issues, some sections of the game still look plain and empty.


Price





Pokémon Scarlet and Violet




$60 for the base game




$35 for the DLC




Palworld


$30 on Steam and Xbox


Palworld is half the cost of just Pokemon Scarlet or Violet. Because of how much content there is and how many people you can play this game with, $30 is a bargain.


Conclusion: Palworld Is The Winner





While Palworld still struggles with its own stability problems and with pals clipping themselves out of bounds, there is still plenty of fun to be had in this new game. Having a dedicated server also means you can share an adventure with up to 20+ friends.


Comparatively, Scarlet and Violet is still a fun, classic Pokemon adventure, but it's starting to show what happens when you don't innovate an old formula enough. As a solo adventure, you'll most likely enjoy Scarlet and Violet more, but for half the cost of buying a Pokemon game, you could get a fun coop adventure with similar exploration to Breath of the Wild and base-building that's similar to Valheim .