Positives
- pals fulfill multiple roles, which include combat companion and at least one base-related function, such as watering or harvesting
- an impressive amount of options for customizing bases
- every level increase feels impactful, due to the technology tree granting access to recipes for new weapons, equipment or base structures at each level
- custom difficulty options are expansive, allowing various aspects of the game to be adjusted, including stamina and hunger reduction rates
- exploration is encouraged and rewarding
- catching multiple copies of a pal provides numerous benefits; mainly bonus experience and potential access to powerful traits
- partner skills assist in keeping several pals relevant; particularly those that amplify the damage output of specific elemental attacks
- breeding allows for incredibly potent combat or work-focused pals
- legendary pals and tower bosses provide a decent challenge


Negatives
- occasional crashes and bugs
- noticeable performance issues during auto-saves and while flying on certain mounts
- pathing issues for larger pals severely limit base-building options
- the realistic aspect of the world clashes with the design of the pals
- randomly generated dungeons are too similar in appearance and layout for all regions
- forgettable soundtrack, with a complete lack of music outside of combat
- the overall story is currently incomplete
- castaway journals are too vague and fail to answer many questions regarding the Palpagos Islands
- neutral-type pals are mostly ineffective for combat purposes compared to other elemental types
- encumbrance is a constant issue, even after assigning several skill points to weight
- increasing the partner skill level for pals is unnecessarily time-consuming


Since Palworld is in early access, a score will not be given until version 1.0 is released.
The current review is for version 0.1.5.1.