Palia is the newest MMO on the block, coming from Singularity 6. If you haven’t heard of it, you need to. After some time in closed beta, Palia is now open to all in its open beta that began on August 10th. The game is another entry into the simulator genre, but it’s taking things to the next level, pairing the world of MMOs with farming and life simulation.
Right now, I log in and just spend my free time running around the village, making new friends (NPCs and real-life players), gathering materials, and seeing what new critters and fish I can find. I’ve been able to play the beginnings of the game multiple times through testing, and this time, I’m just enjoying myself, taking my time, and taking it all in.
Through my adventures, I realized that more people need to be talking about Palia, and who better to share with you than me? I am a long-time MMO lover turned farming sim addict. I went from raiding in WoW to taking over Grandpa’s farm, and now I’m living the best of both worlds in Palia!
Palia has a lot to offer players of both genres. I can list the basics, like it’s cozy and relaxing, but it goes deeper than that. Palia has an opportunity to bring players together in a peaceful atmosphere while still creating strong bonds and a sense of community. There is a lot beneath the surface of this quaint little town, so here are my top 10 reasons I think you should play Palia!
Dedication to doing Good
Palia gives positive vibes right from the moment you log in. You’re met with warnings about how to stay safe online, character creation that does specify gender, and inclusive character design choices to make everyone feel welcome. There are community guidelines that describe what a resident of Palia should aspire to be, a community discord aimed at keeping things pleasant (including a thread for pet pics, of course), and an all-around peaceful aura surrounding the game.
The mechanics behind foraging encourage players to work together rather than compete, as everyone gets a piece of the pie when they contribute, so to speak. The same goes for building. The game allows for material requests if you’re stuck hunting for an item or running low, and you can jump into your social tab to return the favor at any time. Palia truly feels like a neighborhood, one I definitely love being a part of.
Community is Key
I mentioned it briefly above, but the community in Palia is something I haven’t seen in a game in ages. During testing, the Palia Discord community was over 142,000. The number jumped to over 255,000 now that the game is in open beta. The Discord allows for chatting with other players and hopefuls. The conversations often surround gameplay and future updates, along with things players hope to see, and the team at Singularity 6 is always there.
The Discord server encourages fan art, game screenshots, and even Palia-related memes. What more can you ask for? There is even a chapter dedicated to Palia lore if you’re curious! The game allows you to eat, sleep and breathe in game and out, really creating a friendly atmosphere where players feel welcome.
You can also create or join smaller communities in the game, which is much more digestible than the constantly flowing Discord chat. Make a group with just your friends, family, or people you meet in the game. You can visit each other’s homesteads, help on the farm, forage, or just run by each other in town.
Play Your Way
Palia encourages you to play the way you want when you want—not feeling social today? Turn off visitation from friends or ignore chat altogether. Want to feel a real sense of accomplishment? Do some down-and-dirty farming, redecorate your home, or complete a new set of quests.
Conversely, if you want to shut your brain off, spend the night peacefully foraging or fishing while relaxing. There is no combat outside of hunting, so you never have to worry about being “on” when playing.
Palia also doesn’t punish you if you don’t enjoy a specific mechanic. You can farm, forage, or purchase anything you need to craft. If you hate how tedious hunting is, you can head over to the right merchant and buy what you need. If you are low on gold, you can run around and hunt for it. It works both ways, and what you choose is entirely up to you. Hate catching bugs? Then don’t! It’s a really flexible system.
Unique Time Cycle
Palia has taken the day cycle from most farming or life simulators and turned it on its head. Animal Crossing took place in real-time, so if you only had time to game at night, you missed out on all the shops. Only able to play during the day? Goodbye night fishing and bug catching! Other sims like Stardew Valley or Let’s Build a Zoo had an end to the day where you’d need to close your business or go to sleep to progress to the next day.
Palia has changed all of this! Instead, in Palia, you will see time constantly changing. There is no sleeping to pass the time. Everyone is on the same cycle, and each day lasts approximately one hour. So for every hour you play, you’ll see one whole day and one whole night. This guarantees players access to any time of day, meaning hunting, fishing, bug catching, and even chatting with your neighbors will change through a cycle. I love that Singularity 6 has found a good way to make sure we see and experience everything the game offers.
Fun Friendships and More
Yes, Palia encourages you to develop friendships and romances with NPCs. What would a life simulator be like without that option? Of course, they took away my option for romancing the dreamy Hodari, but I digress…
You’ll have plenty of chances to talk to each NPC in the game. I’d recommend as many as you can per day! And instead of a list of favorite gifts, you can find out what they are looking for each day and bring them a requested gift for brownie points! I will say this makes it a bit more tedious than having a basic list, but it keeps things interesting. You can go into your relationship tab to see who you’ve asked and what they are looking for, but be careful because they do reset.
The characters within Palia are filled with personality, so there will surely be a character for everyone, friend or otherwise. For instance, Badruu tells puns like there is no tomorrow, Einar is awkward but charming, and Hassian acts like he is too good for everyone, but you know he has a soft side deep down. I’ve really enjoyed building bonds with these NPCs and sometimes jump into the game just to chat!
New Take on Old Tools
If you’ve played one farming simulator, you’ve played them all…until now. Palia has all your standard tools and skills, like the watering can, hoe, pickaxe, and axe. It also brings a bow and smoke bombs – which are brand new to me. We have seen most of these tools repeatedly, but Palia has a new twist on most.
With the water can, you fill it at any body of water, and water your plan until its meter is full. What I like, though, is that you can move while doing so, meaning you can walk and water simultaneously. Using the hoe is new, too, as it’s not one click per plot. Instead, you take the whole area to uncover a perfect square, which, again, you can do while walking. This can also uncover artifacts you can bring to Jani for rewards.
Fishing is new as well. You still aim to keep your hook in the green marker, but now it’s moving toward you in the water as you reel in. You might lose him if your fish moves right and you don’t move with it! Smoke bombs are probably my least favorite because I find them finicky. Instead of a net to catch the bugs, you stun them with a bomb. Some need more than one bomb. Sometimes your bomb bounces and doesn’t work. It’s a learning curve, for sure.
It’s Too Cute Not to Love
Something about Palia is just so adorable. The town is littered with fun characters and bright colors, literally the perfect little town. Dialog with the NPCs is both funny and sweet, and they always have something fun to say. Even down to Sifuu worrying about whether or not her son is eating well is enough to warm the heartstrings.
Though the game is not voice acted thoroughly, while chatting up your NPCs, you will hear cute sound effects from them or see some sweet facial expressions. That alone is enough to fall in love with your neighbors. Oh, and Hassian has a dog—the best Boy.
Small touches like dandelion seeds flowing through the air give a sense of calm and peacefulness, making it an ultimate cozy game. The animals you hunt are beautiful and stoic or cute and quirky, sometimes making them hard to kill, and heck, even the fish you catch have adorable little faces on them.
Co-op Gameplay with Options
I’ve never really enjoyed co-op gameplay in my simulators. Bringing someone to my farm in Stardew Valley or my island in Animal Crossing felt more like babysitting than anything. I never really felt like players were working toward anything together, but perhaps that is because it didn’t feel seamless.
With Palia’s co-op, I find myself bringing a friend over to my server or joining theirs for no reason at all. Because the instances in Palia are so small, once you’re on a server with someone, you’re bound to run into them while running around. To me, this is like working in-office rather than remotely. The possibility a friend may pop in or run by can brighten your day. We often group up and forget about it, but we still feel like we are playing together.
In Palia, there are glowing items around down. When you pair up with a friend, you can take them down and get Flow-infused wood. It’s neat to find material that encourages teamwork! You can also help with chores, decorate and cook together! More importantly, if you want company but don’t want anyone to touch your stuff, you can turn those capabilities off and change them for each friend on your list. You can turn it off altogether too.
Peaceful Gameplay with Few Consequences
The first thing I felt was different about Palia compared to other MMOs and even life simulators is that there are almost no consequences. No level, health, or baddies are waiting for you in the wings. I never once felt the pressure of hurrying through the game to max out my level. I didn’t feel bad because I was still living in a tent. There was no shame, guilt, or feeling of being left out. It’s a journey, not a race.
I also never had to stress myself out finding the right path to a location. Between no fall damage and a pretty cool glider (very The Legend of Zelda), you can speed through towns leaping off cliffs and rolling or gliding to safety. What’s more, if you don’t want to hunt down the path to get back, you can climb any natural items (cliffs, rocks, caves, etc). You do have a stamina wheel (again, hello, Zelda), so it isn’t infinite, but if you fall, you don’t die or get hurt. It’s encouraged me to explore!
As far as peaceful goes, this is the first MMO I’ve played where I can AFK in peace without running back to a city or home. Nothing in Palia will damage, kill or steal from you, so when real life happens, you never have to worry about getting somewhere safe.
Tons of Room to Explore
Palia might be a brand-new game, but Singularity 6 didn’t scrimp on the map. There are not one but two maps, Kilima Village and Bahari Bay. Kilima Village is big on its own, and it’s where you’ll find most of the shops, homes, and villages. There is a large farm, coastline, ponds, lakes, and waterfalls, and it is just too cute not to love.
However, once you head over to Bahari Bay, it’s just stunning. Here I was, thinking I was running over to a small secondary part of the map where Hodari and his family lived. In reality, it’s double the size of Kilima Village and full of all new creatures, materials, mines, and landscapes. I genuinely thought Kilima Village was sparse regarding variety, but once you follow that long path into Bahari Bay, you can get lost for hours catching new bugs (and crabs!), foraging for new items like shells and oysters, and more.
Palia is currently available on PC in open beta and plans to come to Nintendo Switch this holiday season! This game has something special, with hundreds of thousands of people pouring into their Discord daily. If you are looking for community, relaxation, cozy vibes, and more, Palia is the MMO life sim for you!
