Palia: Return to MMO's, just like old times?

Ever since the trailer for Palia released on Nintendo Direct, I've been ITCHING to hop into it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAVeOxnPzhE

Although I'm not SUPER addicted, it's the perfect game to just kick back to, cozy up, and catch snails :)

And yes, I made a snail farm:

My cozy cottage core tent <3

I've been playing MMORPG's since I was seven years old.

My first ever MMO I stumbled across was Luna Online, after reading a short article through a magazine my mom ordered for me that talks about Webkinz and other stuffed animals. I still have that clipping till this day in my scrapbook.

(Content writing at the works, working on a bored 7 year old)

I thought the character was SO CUTE, despite the provocotive child-looking elf girl in a pair of bra and panties. So I tried the game out, along with other gPotato games at the time especially Talesrunner, a fantasy-themed racing game.

These virtual worlds made me feel so free. Not to mention there's another person on the other side of those characters running around with goofy names on top of them.

And I made friends! I was part of a community. I played Luna Online with my brother, however I was more active in Talesrunner.

Talesrunner had spaces called farms; your personal map where you can decorate and invite other players to hang out and roleplay. The races were the games to rack up money to purchase furniture, and it was a lot of fun when you had a group of friends to play with.

Good times.

I think my MMORPG era ended before I was sixteen. League of Legends and Overwatch took over, still contributing to a world of community, erasing the open world concept and replacing it with matchmaking and salty gamers screaming into voice chat servers, Curse or Discord.

Overtime I got over that... as my friends and I got too toxic.

So I was on hiatus for multiplayer games for a while. Couldn't find one that felt right for me. Minecraft? World of Warcraft? Tera? I got over them fast.

Then I tried the cozy games: The Sims 4, Animal Crossing New Horizons, Skyrim / ESO and I got lost into building, adding mods, and getting lost in the world.

So yeah, back to Palia.

Palia is a Cozy sim MMO taking place in a high fantasy world.

It's an cute wholesome concept and the game I've been waiting for!

Although I didn't make friends yet, I love how I can fish with other players, make another person a co-owner of my house, trade, and gather players in the server chat to meet and chop down that one purple tree.

The soundtrack is also very darling <3 though I prefer to blast my own music... even though it may not exactly vibe with the game. Metal, dubstep, Mac Miller, but hey, its my experience I can do wtf I want.

I don't play Palia everyday. It's a perfect weekend game, a nice treat to take a break from whatever I'm doing and hunt, catch snails, mine coal, cracking open oysters...

All to pimp my house.

Common room of my Palia House.

Crafting System

The crafting system is just fantastic and the furniture is the most charming thing I've seen in a video-game that I feel like it can easily top the Sims.

I really like how I can learn a mystery recipe after each new item I make. And they're mostly easy to craft!

When I see new sets in Trish's shop, I go "I NEED to learn that set!" So I keep crafting, leveling up until I earn the new lineup.

You can even display bugs you caught or food you created if they have a little star in their icon, intensifying the coziness of your home.

My house looks pretty sweet and I have tons of fun decorating it :) One of these days I'm looking forward to invite people to hang out and make some soup!

Racking up coin.

I REALLY appreciate the newest updates of acquiring gemstones when mining. It was a challenge to rack up money, and easily I made 2,000 gold from selling a stack of garnets in one daytime cycle.

This change will probably make me play more, as I admit, I got a little impatient going on my little gathering and hunting trips not making as much from what I looted.

Overall, there are a lot of fun grindy ways to gather resources and sell them for gold, which will help you expand your house, purchase seasonal goods, and learn new recipes,

Game aesthetic thoughts

I like it a lot, personally! The characters do remind me a little of the Fortnite style but I really enjoy I can customize my character whenever I want to with no extra cost. For the defaults at least.

Plus, the hair highlights are such a unique touch!

A lot of players already started throwing IRL money to purchase new outfit sets. I wonder if they play everyday, grind hardcore and build a mansion or something. One of these days I will ask them.

And speaking of, there is a lively community.

I am currently following the Palia Twitter (or X) page where they update us with patch notes, fun screenshots, and memes.

The Discord group gathers the players together to make new friends and share screenshots of their houses and fan art.

So far, the Palia creators have done a fantastic job with implementing new events, such as the Maji Market, where I purchased adorable stuffed animals and a skateboard for my room <3

Now... they about to sell me with THIS:

Then there's the NPCS.

Reth is my husband.

Credit: Liz Bear @Lizapproved

Rethy became a reason why I got invested in the game, doing my best to simp hard for this dude giving him soup and whatever he asked for. Now we a flirty pair ;) and though I'm 100% aware its a game... I feel a little weird knowing I can be a hoe with other NPCS.

His storyline is the most interesting. The guy has an underground business AND can cook?

My kind of man.

So every time I hop onto Palia one of my first things is to kick it with Reth :) So A+ on the dating mechanics.

Then there's the fishing mechanic.

CLEVER how they made it into a little game, and I'm not just sitting there clicking one button. I feel actively engaged and a little challenged to catch fish, and always surprised when I reel in TREASURE.

One complaint I do have, and I have been Googling for a solution, I can't attach worms on my hook.

Really I don't know why it works for me I follow every thread and instruction but I got nothing, and I'm stuck on one quest to gather four ingredients for that farm guy.

I hope to solve that soon... because the quests are engaging.

I'm rewarded with not just items but with unlocking more lore and areas such as the temples, and keys to other NPC's rooms. Again, great way to get engaged with the game! Overall, Palia is a very relaxing MMO I would recommend to anyone.

There's so many things to do and once you creative objectives for yourself, you get so immersed that you lost track of time.