I’ve been spending a lot of my free time lately on early-access life sim PaliaSince early access, I’ve returned to the comfort of my owner’s home to garden, hunt, and spend time with friends. Palia has become mine Stardew Valley-relaxing game of your choice.
The idea of a casual MMO was a bit sparse at the start of the game — but developer Singularity 6 has been supporting the title with regular updates, so the concept is much clearer now. I’ve started encouraging not just my friends to play Palia I made new friends in the game.
I usually play most games solo unless I have my friends around to join me. After playing a whole smorgasbord of online titles, I’ve learned that most communities are full of rude guys who will insult you for the smallest infraction. Paliahas a nice community on the other hand.
Over the past few days, I’ve seen a few encounters that warmed my tired, pessimistic heart. A group of players were in Kilima Village, jumping in a circle and complimenting each other’s outfits. People were calling out resource drops and putting on fireworks while waiting for people to show up and get the special ore or wood. Players were chatting casually about romances and sharing their favorite villagers in chat. Chefs were planning cooking parties and inviting people without well-equipped kitchens or dozens of supplies to come over and make some delicious dishes.
Image: Singularity 6
At launch and for most of the game’s lifespan to date, Palia worked best as a solo player – with only a few exceptions. Cooking, for example, has always been a social mechanic that worked well. Flowgroves – magical trees that spawn in Bahari Bay at night and require multiple players to chop down – were added later, forcing people to work together. But most of the day I was alone – it just worked best that way. When I had friends online, we’d chat on Discord while doing our own in-game stuff, occasionally connecting.
Over the past few months, Singularity 6 has added a number of additional features to encourage group play, and they’ve done an excellent job of Palia feels like a proper MMO. The first is a party bonus; now if I’m floating around with someone, it gives us both a chance at double the loot. Playing in a party also earns you special furniture, so I have plenty of reasons to gather a few friends before I go hunting.
The second recent addition is the hotpot tables in the Grimalkin underground. In the evenings, I retreat from the fields and head to the underbelly of Kilima Village, a black market where the capitalist cat Zeki sells paintings, rugs, and other luxury goods. The underground has tables where players can compete in a simple tile-matching game called hotpot in groups of four. Playing hotpot earns me coins, which I can exchange on a prize wheel for furniture, luxury ingredients, gold, and more.
Palia has always excelled in being a fun game, similar to Stardew Valleybut the multiplayer aspect felt a little shallow and unnecessary. Now it’s worth it to find some friends. In other games I might find this annoying – why do I have to play with Randy Rando? But in PaliaI was shocked at how pleasant the experience is. Everyone is incredibly nice. The most aggressive interaction I’ve ever seen in the game was someone complaining that people were running past and scaring the bugs he was trying to catch — hardly a toxic interaction.
Image: Singularity 6
The writing in Palia is also surprisingly good. I recently delved into the Temple of Roots with my robot friend, only to find him in danger from an old caretaker we found in the facility. With the power of friendship, I was able to free him and learn more about the mysterious world of Palia in the process. These story chapters are a big reason why I enjoy the game, but they don’t get released very often. The social aspects of Paliaare, however, more easily accessible.
As a seasoned gamer who has played quite a few multiplayer environments, I’ve learned to keep to myself. PaliaAt the beginning of its Early Access journey, it felt less like an MMO than a solo game that just happened to have other people around. As Singularity 6 updates the game, the developer has done a great job of making it feel more social. The game has had a rocky development with rounds of layoffs, but I have hope that the continued updates and polite player base will eventually bring it to fruition.
For now I’m enjoying the relaxed vibes of Paliaand it’s nice to have a new place to make friends. The villagers of Kilima are great, but they can’t match the joys of playing with other people.