Ever wanted to play a clone of a clone? Palmon: Survival is the latest mobile game to rip off not just Pokémon but Palworld too, and it gets you to download it with a classic bait-and-switch. The ads show fast-paced, intense footage. The game is nothing like that. Skip it.
The ad and the game are two different products
Here is what the ads promise: action, monsters, a thrilling adventure. Here is what you get after the install: a slow-paced base-building and farming simulator. You collect resources, assign your pals to jobs like chopping wood and mining, and slowly expand your territory.
That is the whole loop. It looks nothing like what was promised, and the gap is not subtle. I kept waiting for the game from the ad to show up. It never did.
Palmon: Survival screenshots
About those pals
They are not just for fighting. You capture the creatures and put them to work on your farm and in your factories, which is the Palworld half of the pitch. The designs are the other half: a blatant mix of Pokémon’s cute look and Palworld’s more realistic style. Cute, sure. Original, no.
That is really the problem with the whole thing. Palmon: Survival is a transparent attempt to ride the wave of two massively successful games without offering a single idea of its own.
Is Palmon: Survival worth your time?
The game is functional, I will give it that. It does what a base builder does. But it is a deceptive and uninspired experience. It promises an adventure and delivers a slow, menu-heavy grind.
If you want to capture monsters and put them to work, play Palworld. If you want a real Pokémon experience on your phone, there are plenty of options. This one is best left alone. It looks fun on the surface and fails to deliver underneath.
