Palia’s second swing at the Maji Market is much more successful

polygon.com:

I’ve been having a good time during Palia’s new Luna New Year event, often just logging on to wander down to the fairgrounds and check something out at the festival. Players can gather around massive hot pot tables to play cards, chase down mischievous chapaas, and make wishes at a massive tree with lanterns hanging off its boughs.

This is the second iteration of the game’s Maji Market event, and developer Singularity 6 has beefed up the content on offer. The result is a world that feels like it’s moving forward, which adds a sense of history and progression not often found in games like this. The ability to buy more adorable plushies and cosmetics at the market to put in my home is just the cherry on top.

Palia is a Stardew Valley-style life simulator that takes place in a calm and relaxing magical world. Humanity has recently reemerged after an ancient magical cataclysm and has been integrated into the society of Majiri, purple elf-like folk who live alongside the cattish Grimalkin and the golem-inspired Galdur. The villagers of Kilima Valley and Bahari Bay teach the player skills like hunting, fishing, gardening, and mining. It’s a relaxing game, and its chill nature has earned it a regular spot in my gaming rotation.

What makes Palia so interesting is that it’s a work in progress; Singularity 6 is adding new content regularly, like the elemental temples scattered around Bahari Bay and, of course, the Maji Market. The original Maji Market launched last year in a fairly rough state. There was a handful of vendors that offered goods for the new event currency, the only regular activity you could repeat was the chapaa chase, and the early rewards for it were rough. Singularity 6 tweaked rewards and made the experience much less of a punishing grind, but it was still a little threadbare.

The Luna New Year event hosts the return of the Maji Market, and there are way more activities this time around. This is narratively framed as an expansion of the Valley, and it