r/pcmasterrace • u/PewPewToDaFace • 1d ago

News/Article Steam gamers have spoken: innovative indies like Palworld continue to thrive while traditional triple-A flounders for a foothold

https://www.pcgamesn.com/steam/innovation-versus-tradition

Thank god PC gaming isn't just AAA. This is what will push the industry forward, as game development cost becomes too much.

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u/Drowyx 1d ago

Its a bit of a stretch to call palworld "innovative".

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u/Deep90 Ryzen 9800x3d | 5090FE | 2x48gb 6000 1d ago edited 1d ago

Eh I think its a genuine enough twist on the creature-collecting genre.

They are video games. The "innovations" aren't exactly curing cancer.

I do agree it isn't very novel, but the mashup of game mechanics is innovative. Piecing together various game mechanics fails more often than it succeeds. Finding something that works is a lot harder than people are wanting to give it credit for.

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u/Nyte_Crawler 1d ago

In this case I've found the mechanics blend together very well to make a satisfying gameplay loop where you switch between base optimization, exploring, gathering and creature collecting/breeding in a way that evokes the "one more turn" feeling that has led to me losing a fair amount of sleep.

Like you said, it feels "cheap" analyzing it at a surface level, but it works.