Initially I adored this game, it's easy to get in to, the story itself is fun, and there are so many adorable things to collect . The community was super friendly, and the core game-play has a little something for everyone (cooking, mining, fishing, npc friendships, ect).

However, at some point the people developing the game lost their passion for the project, sold it off, and now it has become nothing but a lifeless money grab. The regular updates have continued, but every single update for the last year has been "Look at all these wonderful shiny things you can buy!" Bugs continue to go unfixed, to the point that entire areas of the map have become no-touch zones unless you want to randomly venture outside the realm of existence. The few free updates that have been released where centered around things that had already been in the game before, such as time-limited events being stripped bare and turned into monthly occurrences.

I gladly spent money on this game once upon a time to support it's development, but as the game continues to stagnate I can't help but wonder where, exactly, that money is going. $25 for a singular outfit is astronomical on it's own, but when you have thousands of players throwing $20-$50 into the game each month, and all you can bother to do is push out more cosmetics/decor, it becomes nothing more than insulting.

If you're looking for something to occupy you for a weekend or a few days until you can buy a better game, this isn't a bad choice. It's still wonderful and fun to play with your friends. Just don't expect a story-line, as the mainline story is short, empty, and has gone untouched since it's release. Don't expect this to be a game you hang on to and enjoy for months or even years. Most of all, don't throw your money at it in support believing that they'll be able to use it to improve the core game, they abandoned that long ago.

I will leave the cat here, so that everybody who passes by can pet it and give it a thumbs up.
　　　 　　／＞　　フ
　　　 　　| 　_　 _ l
　 　　 　／` ミ＿xノ
　　 　 /　　　 　 |
　　　 /　 ヽ　　 ﾉ
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　／￣|　　 |　|　|
　| (￣ヽ＿_ヽ_)__)
　＼二つ

Playing this for the first time as a new player in 2025, I'm thoroughly enjoying this game. They've added SO much since initial launch, that I highly recommend checking Palia out as a new or returning player! EU servers being added have been a huge win as well