Pickmon Feels Like the Kid in a Divorce Acting Out to Get Attention From Its Parents, Pokemon and Palworld

When Palworld was first revealed, the internet immediately deemed it “Pokemon with guns.” Granted, there are noticeable similarities when it comes to the creature collection and art style, but Palworld has a lot going for it that helps craft its own identity. This didn’t stop The Pokemon Company and Nintendo from suing Palworld developer Pocketpair Inc., though. The Pokemon and Palworld lawsuit is still going, but there’s a new game that is bound to grab the attention of both The Pokemon Company and Pocketpair Inc. Pickmon is a newly-revealed indie title coming in the future, and it could potentially ignite another lawsuit.

Pickmon’s Similarities to Pokemon and Palworld Feel a Little Too Intentional

Pickmon has only been circulating around the internet for a little over a day at this point, but it’s already found itself in hot water. Being a Pokemon clone or a Palworld-like is one thing, but the game simply looks straight up copied and pasted from the two franchises. That isn’t the only controversy Pickmon has found itself in, though. There are already accusations that Pickmon has stolen fan art concept designs from Pokemon players.

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Palworld is More Like an Homage, While Pickmon Looks Like Plagiarism

When comparing Palworld and Pokemon, it’s easy to understand why The Pokemon Company accused Pocketpair Inc. of plagiarism, but Palworld‘s focus on survival and crafting, gun mechanics, base building, and more mature tone keep it from feeling like a Pokemon rip-off. Pickmon looks like it’s trying to copy both, though, and that’s going to make things really hard for the developer ahead of launch. Pickmon‘s title is already a little too obvious of a name, but the use of cards to capture creatures instead of Poke Balls is something that Pokemon fans will immediately recognize.

Palworld had Pal Spheres, but the game eventually had to get rid of the sphere summons in order to help with legal troubles. Pickmon‘s card-based capture methods might help it avoid having to do the same, but Pocketpair Inc. may actually have more grounds to sue than The Pokemon Company does. In the Pickmon reveal trailer, there is one specific creature that looks nearly identical to Mammorest. It’s one of the most shocking moments in the trailer, and the creature’s design makes it hard to defend any accusations of Pickmon plagiarizing Palworld. Other creatures look eerily similar to Pokemon like Moltres and Rayquaza, too. Between the Mammorest clone and Pokemon fans calling out the game for possibly stealing fan art, Pickmon is off to a really rough start. It ultimately feels like the game is purposefully dancing with plagiarism in order to generate hype, but this is just me speculating.

Other Features That Pickmon Shares With Palworld

• Creature taming
• Open-world map
• Base building
• Survival-heavy gameplay
• Automated factories and farms

Pokemon and Palworld Aren’t the Only Games That Pickmon Has Apparently Drawn Inspiration From

Just from the trailer, Nintendo fans will be quick to see the strong Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild vibes that are present. There are several playable characters shown throughout the game’s trailer, so Pickmon probably has character customization similar to Palworld. However, one of the characters shown looks just like an off-brand version of Link. There are already games like Breath of the Wild out there, but the world design and character choice feel a little too close in appearance.

The character design in general feels one part Breath of the Wild and one part Palworld. Of course, there are several Palworld mechanics that feel inspired by Breath of the Wild, but Pickmon doesn’t even seem like it’s trying to remix these concepts in a fresh way. That’s the ultimate problem. Pickmon could prove players wrong when it launches, but so many similarities may keep the game from crossing the finish line at all.

Whether Pickmon Will Actually Launch or Not Remains to Be Seen

According to the Pickmon Steam page, there isn’t any confirmed release date. The developers haven’t even revealed a target window. Right now, the hype that Pickmon has generated is definitely leaning more negative than positive. There have already been several games like Palworld that are clearly inspired by the survival hit, but they have at least featured their own spins gameplay and artwork. It may be too soon to say for certain, but it’s really possible that Pocketpair Inc. could find itself in the same shoes that Nintendo and The Pokemon Company have been in.

So far, neither Pocketpair Inc. nor The Pokemon Company have commented on Pickmon. It’s natural for popular games to inspire others to make similar projects, but Pickmon is teetering on a fine line with how closely it resembles three huge franchises. Creature-collection games will almost always run into comparisons to Pokemon, and for good reason. The latter is the blueprint of what makes the genre so much fun for a lot of people, and it’s going to be controversial if it resembles that franchise too closely. Right now, what Pocketpair Inc. and The Pokemon Company decide to do about Pickmon‘s potential plagiarism is a mystery. It’s going to be a wild twist if the two companies find themselves both suing the same game in a similar kind of lawsuit that the two are currently embroiled in, though.