Palia enters closed beta on PC on August 2nd and open beta on August 10th. Singularity 6 held a special stream today, showing off the most in-depth look at gameplay, systems, the lore, villagers you'll encounter (including romanceable ones), and multiplayer and social options.
Today's stream covered things from the very beginning, showing off the first screen you get when you wake up as a new human in Palia. Emphasis on new, since humans haven’t been in Palia for a very long time. The opening cinematic shows the magical event that leads to your awakening. And it’s just the beginning.
The team emphasizes playing everything your way, and that starts at customization. There are a wide range of options so many players would be able to see themselves. You can also express your characters the way that you want, from a variety of skin tones, a number of hairstyles and color options, with voice options, and all clothes that fit any gender character.
You’ll learn from some of the NPCs that you meet, and get some guidance in the beginning, but once you start learning the systems and receive or craft the tools to get you started, then you'll be able to chart your course in the world.
There's even room for min-maxers in this game, but probably not as you imagined. When you farming, some of your crops will have to be replanted after you pick them, but tomatoes don't have to be replanted after each harvest. Some strategies might also lead to additional bonuses, but the game is specifically designed not to penalize you if you don't play in the most efficient way.
When it comes to housing, you'll also have a lot of options that you can unlock over time, make a small room, bigger rooms, decide if you want to add walls or an open plan, and much more. You will be able to invite friends over and you'll be able to set permissions individually. Your best friend is someone you might give edit privileges to, which means that friend will have the ability to move things around in your house, but another friend might just get to visit. You’ll even get to have more than one plot, so you can have different structures and even different permission settings for each.
Multiplayer lets you join in with others in activities, earning special bonuses if you do, and how it all goes down. Go fishing together, and you'll get more rewards faster that way, in addition to potentially catching rarer creatures. Working together will also sometimes grant even more bonuses
The Palia team also introduced us to a number of the villagers you'll meet, all of which come with a friendship meter (and some of which will be romanceable). There's a wide variety of villagers to get to know, including Zeki, one of the grimalkin species, who are cats from space who runs an underground market. Einar, pictured with Jina with this article, is a robot who has been on Palia for thousands of years and maintains a loyalty to humans.
Reth, a chef, will sell you food and you could also romance him. You can get to know everyone and build up your friendship, sometimes by giving gifts or sharing other experiences. some characters may also start telling you about what their friends might like as a gift, clueing you in on something you might want to give to that person.
They also closed with a look at one of their Adventure zones, which Designed for exploration and to make a number of discoveries that will enhance your journey.
Head over to Palia for more info.
