Palia’s cash shop is out of control, and it kills the cozy vibes
Palia is a bucolic life simulator that focuses on players hanging out with their neighbors, growing crops, and building the perfect home. Most of the time, Palia offers up good vibes and a cozy atmosphere. But there’s one part of the game that leaves me cold and strips away the illusion of a community: the cash shop.
Cash shops are increasingly prevalent in online games, especially ones that are free-to-play like Palia. Palia’s store isn’t too intrusive or demanding at first; I don’t have to pay to grow my crops faster, talk to villagers, or build a beautiful house. I can get everything I need with gold, which I can easily earn by fishing, catching bugs, and selling crops. But the more I play, the more Palia’s microtransactions rankle me — and that’s partially because they’re not that micro.
The Soothsayer and Sky Captain bundles are the most expensive in the game, with elaborate accessories and stylish flare. Each bundle has three slight variations, like a different pattern on the vest, and each variation comes in three color palettes. The full bundle for Soothsayer or Sky Captain sells for 5,100 Palia Coins. That’s $69.99 Canadian dollars (roughly $51.90 USD), which is nearly enough to buy a copy of Baldur’s Gate 3, or enough to get Stardew Valley, My Time at Portia, and a cheeseburger from McDonalds.
I can buy just one of the variations within the bundle for 2,550 each, but that requires me to buy the 3,650 Palia Coin bundle for just under $50. The $30 bundle of coins isn’t enough to cover the cost, and the smaller bundles simply don’t have enough coins to buy anything good. The most inexpensive outfit bundles are 1,700, which is just under $30. That’s a lot of money to spend on dolly dress-up, even if the rest of
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