This feels like a weird take if you haven’t even played it. Like, how would you know?
The game is flawed, but genuinely super fun, and has a ton going for it outside of “Pokemon with guns”. In a lot of ways it’s what I always wished Pokemon could be, at least in the ways it makes its monsters feel unique and like actual partners instead of battle slaves, which is ironic considering Palworld is the one with actual slavery.
I’ve always loved this game and been surprised by the negativity most users have towards it. The writing is excellent, the world is well realized, and it’s the only game I’ve played in a long time that actually lets me kill whoever I want, and continues the story around those decisions. New Vegas did it, and Baldurs Gate 3 recently, but it’s sadly an exceedingly rare thing.
I also loved how all skills could impact dialogue, again similarly to New Vegas. It made every skill worthwhile, and made exchanges with npc’s feel more unique to your character. It’s once again one of the only games where skills like speech or barter actually feel worth it, and is the only game I’ve ever played, outside of New Vegas, where you can simply talk your way through the final boss fight.
I get that it’s not for everyone, especially not if you’re looking for a Bethesda open world game, but it’s a great linear RPG that imo is very underrated.
Probably because most devs stopped making their own proprietary engines, so the supply for solid engines is at an all time low. With less options they can crank up the price, as there aren’t really any other options for most devs.