Palia Complaints Are Getting Out Of Hand

From the official Subreddit to news sites across the internet, there’s a flood of complaint stories about Palia and people need to step back and remember what we're getting for FREE.

Look, I'm the first to admit that I may be pretty biassed when it comes to Palia, because I've fallen in love with the world and the characters in a way that I haven't been able to in a long time while gaming. I think FFXIV was the last game that grabbed my attention like Palia has, which is not something that I say lightly. Yet every day, I have a new non-article thrust at me detailing a myriad of complaints from "fans" that leave me feeling dejected about what could have been a wonderful community. I left the official Subreddit due to the overwhelming amount of negative posts, yes the complaints and whining are still finding their way to my inbox via updates to news sites. 

I know, I know. Negative press is still good press because at least people are still talking about Palia. But is that true? From what I've seen, the players with complaints are getting the lion’s share of attention, which is only going to serve in negatively impacting the reputation of both Singularity 6 and Palia itself. A lot of time and money has gone into the development of this game, so it must be devastating to see so much bashing from within the very community that Palia was meant to serve. 

"Other games do it better"

In one particular non-article on Games Radar, one writer takes a few complaints directly from the Palia Subreddit and uses them to write what I can only assume was a last minute addition to her repertoire in order to fill her article quota for the week. One particular complaint caught my attention, so I did the math:

• Red Dead Redemption 2 costs $60 

• Animal Crossing: New Horizons costs $40 

• Valheim costs $20 

The complaint that three separate games provide separate aspects of gameplay which can all be found within Palia is baffling to me. Three separate games which would have you splitting your time, spending over a hundred dollars to get (provided you don't already own them) and are of three entirely different genres. Not to mention, these games are all fully fledged, final product games which, with the exception of Valheim, will no longer be receiving updates. As for the mention of New Worlds, I'm not sure that needed to be mentioned considering the flop that New Worlds ended up being. 

It's unfair to compare a free to play game which has just been transferred into open Beta to games which are well established, expensive to purchase and finalized. The entire point of a beta is to take feedback from the community and implement updates, which is already happening within Palia. The game has been in open beta for less than two weeks and yet players seem to be ignoring the fact that we've already received multiple updates and hotfixes, choosing instead to simply moan and whine while comparing the game to others which shouldn't be the benchmark.

"The premium shop is a slap in the face" 

Why? What is so terribly offensive about an unobtrusive cash shop which offers nothing other than purely cosmetic items? There are no quests which force a player into purchasing cash shop items, none of the clothing that you can currently buy offers buffs, new quests or additional features. People are full of complaints about the fact that Pets are locked behind premium store purchases, but I feel as though that particular complaint comes from those who don't understand what a beta, or an MMO for that matter, entails. 

Yes, for now the Pets are locked behind premium store purchases, which even I feel is a strange choice on the developers part, but we are so incredibly early into the beta that we cannot predict what other Pets may arrive within the game and how we will go about unlocking them. This particular Pet is locked behind the premium store, sure, but that is no guarantee or indication that others will be. Rather than jumping to conclusions and hopping on the "toxic gossip train" (I know, I'm disgusted too), maybe we should accept that updates are coming thick and fast with no end in sight and other Pets are likely to be introduced. Personally, I'm hoping I can adopt Tau away from Hassian. Such a good boy deserves a less miserable owner.

While we're on the topic of the premium store, I cannot move on without issuing a reminder to those complaining that no one is forcing you to make a purchase. Also, no one cares whether you make a purchase or not. As I've said, none of the premium items do anything other than change how you look. They're purely cosmetic. If you want a funky new hat for your in game character, go ahead and buy the hat. I promise you that no one will notice the change in your character except you. If you don't want it, save the money or go out and buy a fedora in real life. 

The fact of the matter is, players have spent nothing in order to play Palia. There is no cost to purchase the game and there's no subscription fee in order to maintain a place within the community. $50 million dollars¹ has gone into the development of Palia, costs which cover the use of massive servers to facilitate online play, paying staff, advertising and development itself. Players are getting $50 million dollars worth of game development for absolutely free, yet some have the audacity to complain about premium shop prices when that is the only source of income for the developers. 

¹I know $50 million sounds like a lot, but Square Enix have spent $600 million on developing FFXIV on top of the $400 million spent to develop 1.0 before Yoshida and Square Enix picked up the mantle and transformed the game into what we now know as A Realm Reborn. When you look at it that way, $50 million suddenly doesn't sound like all that much. 

"There's not enough gameplay" 

This is a complaint that is spread like the plague through all MMOs and regularly updated games and Palia, it turns out, is not free from this issue among its players. It's something that I have avoided commenting on publicly, because no matter what anyone says, some people are impossible to reason with. But with the release of Palia, I feel the need to address this. 

I'll state this very clearly. If you rush through content within the first few days, dedicate hours upon hours and days upon days to speeding through everything you can possibly do, it's fairly obvious that you'll suddenly find yourself with nothing left to enjoy. From Disney's Dreamlight Valley to FFXIV to Animal Crossing, there are always players who do as much as they can as quickly as possible and then feel the need to either spoil surprises for their fellow gamers or complain that there's nothing for them to do. The Animal Crossing time travellers can completely renovate their entire island in a week, then grow bored because there's nothing left for them to do. 

I'm not saying this to cast shade on those who bumrush content, if that's your play style then good for you, good luck, have fun. But when you've rushed through everything, that doesn't give you a right to complain because you did just that. There are players who have limited play time, or those who limit themselves, who find enjoyment in the relaxed pace which Palia offers. I'm not saying I haven't been guilty of speeding through content in the past. I'm a serial cutscene skipper on FFXIV and was a time traveller when I played Animal Crossing. But I refuse to do that in Palia. There's so much to do, so many places to explore and so many people to meet, I don't want to rush through that and run out of content. But that's the difference, isn't it? I know that if I run out of content, that will be my own doing. 

Developers aren't indebted to their players. They do not need to provide endless side content to keep rushers entertained once they've run out of content. The whole vibe of Palia is relaxed, something very much by design, meaning it's supposed to be played at a pace suited to those who take it slow. There's no award for being the first to do something, you're not going to be adored by the community for getting every achievement or having the prettiest house. If there's one thing the horrible Subreddit taught me before I left, it's that no one else really cares what anyone else is doing. 

Yet here I am, defending the game from negativity because I believe it deserves the defence. I don't care what your character looks like or how quickly you choose to play the game. It doesn't bother me if you play once and hate it before leaving it behind. What irks me is all of the complaining and negativity that surrounds Palia barely two weeks into its availability. Reporting a bug or issue is one thing, those complaints help the developers to better the game for those who continue to play and those who will come later. Complaining that you rushed everything or that you think another game is better - those are opinions and serve no purpose when it comes to improving Palia. 

But hey, opinions are like anuses. Everyone's got one, some are louder than others and some really stink.