Lately I’ve been spending a lot of my free time on an early access life simulator Palia. Since launching in Early Access, I’ve often returned to the comfort of my human’s home to garden, hunt, and spend time with friends. Palia it became mine Star Dew Valley-a typical peaceful game for me.
The idea of a cozy MMO was a bit gritty in the early days of the game — but the creator of Singularity 6 has been supporting the title with regular updates, so the concept is much clearer now. I’ve started to not only encourage my friends to play Palia along with me I started making up-to-date friends in the game.
I tend to play most games solo unless I have friends who can join me. After playing a bunch of online games, I’ve learned that most communities are full of rude guys who will call you names for the slightest infraction. Paliaon the other hand, it has a lovely community.
Over the past few days, I’ve noticed a few encounters that have warmed my tired, bleak heart. A group of players are in Kilima Village, jumping around, complimenting each other on their outfits. People are shouting out resource drops and holding fireworks displays, waiting for people to show up and get special ore or wood. Players will casually chat about romance and trade favorite villagers in the chat. Chefs are planning cooking parties, inviting people without well-equipped kitchens or a ton of supplies to come over and make some delicious food.
Image: Singularity 6
At the time of release and for most of the game’s existence to date, Palia It worked best solo—with a few exceptions. Cooking, for example, has always been a social mechanic that worked well. The Groves of Flow—magical trees that appear at night in Bahari Bay and require multiple players to cut down—were added later and forced players to work together. But I was alone most of the day—it just worked best. If I had friends online, we’d chat on Discord, do our own things in-game, and connect every now and then.
Over the past few months, Singularity 6 has added several up-to-date features to encourage group play, and it has done a great job of doing so. Palia feel like a true MMO. The first is the group bonus; now if I roll with someone, it gives us both a chance at double the loot. Playing in a group can also yield special furniture, so I have plenty of reasons to gather a few buddies before I go hunting and gathering.
The second recent addition is the sizzling pot tables in the Grimalkin underground. In the evening, I retreat from the fields and head to the underground of Kilima Village, a black market where the capitalist cat Zeki sells paintings, rugs, and other high-quality goods. In the underground are tables where players can compete in a elementary tile-matching game called sizzling pot in groups of four. Playing sizzling pot earns coins that I can trade on the prize wheel for furniture, high-quality ingredients, gold, and more.
Palia has always stood out as a cozy game, similar to Star Dew Valleybut the multiplayer aspect seemed a bit sketchy and unnecessary. Now it’s worth finding some buddies. In other games I might complain about that – why do I have to go and play with Randy Rando? But in PaliaI was shocked at how enjoyable the experience was. Everyone is incredibly nice. In fact, the harshest interaction I’ve seen in the game was someone complaining that people were running around the bugs he was trying to catch and scaring them – that’s hardly a toxic interaction.
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Image: Singularity 6
The letter in Palia is also surprisingly good. I recently delved into the Temple of Roots with my robot boyfriend, only to discover that he was under threat from an old guardian we had found in the facility. Through the power of friendship, I was able to free him and learn more about the mysterious world of Palia. These narrative chapters are a major reason I enjoy the game, but they are rarely released. Social Aspects Paliahowever, they are more easily accessible.
As a jaded gamer who has experienced many multiplayer environments, I have learned to keep to myself. Paliaearly in its Early Access journey, it felt less like an MMO than a solo game that other people randomly join in on. As Singularity 6 updates the game, the developer has done a great job of making it more social. The game has had a rocky development with rounds of layoffs, but hopefully constant updates and a polite player base will eventually see it flourish.
For now I’m enjoying the frosty vibes Paliaand it’s nice to have a up-to-date place to make friends. The people of Kilima are wonderful, but they can’t compare to the fun of playing with other people.
