Life sim Palia feels right at home on Nintendo Switch
In Palia, humans have suddenly reappeared in the middle of a serene fantasy world after generations of extinction. Our new elf, robot, and cat-man neighbors, surprised to see humanity running around again, help get us set up with our own cozy farm plot, a circle of friends, and a few handy professions. The game has been in open beta on PC since August, and today marks its arrival on Nintendo Switch.
In Palia, the player is an amnesiac human who has stumbled into this new world. The locals, elflike people known as Majiri, quickly set you up with a homestead. From there, the player picks up the professions of fishing, hunting, cooking, furniture building, farming, bug catching, and foraging. The villagers, who help you set up your new home and teach you how to use your new tools, can also be befriended (or romanced) and have surprisingly deep personalities.
Unsurprisingly, the Switch’s portable nature is a big plus for a game like Palia. This is a game designed to be easygoing and low-stress; it’s perfect to play sprawled out on the couch or nestled up under the covers in bed. Even better, Palia has cross-progression; if I log in on my PC to go hunting and gather pelts, I can jump over to the Switch later in the day for some gardening. It’s a seamless transfer; I can jump back and forth without feeling punished or obstructed.
By and large, the controls transfer over to Nintendo’s console nicely, as well. The game’s control scheme is simple enough that, despite being used to months of playing on a keyboard and mouse, I could immediately jump into the game and puzzle out all of the important mechanics. The one thing I had to hunt was the command to swap ammo types, and I figured it out after about five minutes of
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