Summer is in full swing and nowhere is exempt from the summer vibes, even Kilima. Palia is getting another free update on July 3??0 and it will introduce new free items, premium store items, and interface update?s.

Although we have little information to go on, the teaser trailer does show a lot of new features and items to look forward to, such as customizable name plates complete with game relevant emojis. It’s unclear whether players will be able to choose their own name plate, or if they’ll be able ??to choose a design for friends. 

Also included in the Summer Serenade update is a whole new set of beach-fit furniture items, such as a tiki hut, loungers, and parasols to?? shade you from the relentless sun on the coast of Bahari Bay. 

Perhaps most excitingly, there appears to be a new standalone building that can be added to the plot. This greenhouse-type building does not appear to be attached to anything e??lse in the teaser trailer, so hopefully, it can act as a self-contained building on plots when it goes live. 

Of course, this wouldn’t be a Palia update without copious amounts of items added to the premium?? store. In the trailer, we’re shown a small steampunk style pet, which I’m assum??ing is supposed to be a dog, and a new outfit which appears to be very much inspired by a Sailor Moon aesthetic. 

To back this?? ?up, there’s also a hint of a new tool skin which will presumably be available to purchase from the premium store once the Summer Serenade patch goes live on July 30. 

According to social media posts, the following things are also coming to Palia but were not shown in the trailer:

• Home Tour Visiting
• Lofi Jukeboxes
• Style on the Go

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As spotted by VGC, Daybreak Games has released a press statement saying that it has acquired Palia studio, Singularity 6.

Palia launched in August 2023 followed by a Switch port in December. It still exists in a pre-release state. It’s billed as a cozy MMO with farming and house decorating. While the press release boasts that Palia has seen 4 million players log in to try it out (note: it is free-to-play) and sees 100,000 daily players, the developer laid off a significant number of its employees followi??ng the release of its beta.

For Daybreak Games�part, they currently keep the lights on in MMOs like Everquest, Planetside 2, Lord of the Rings Online, and DC Universe Online. Daybr??eak Games ??also confirmed layoffs this year with �a href="//www.gamesindustry.biz/daybreak-confirms-less-than-15-layoffs" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">less than 15�roles affected.

Layoffs have sort of become the central theme in the industry these past couple of years, but beyond that, Daybreak Games seems lik??e a relatively decent fit for Singluarity 6. Many of the MMOs it maintains are well past their prime but still receive steady updates.

The acquisition is being framed as a way to get Palia onto more platforms. CEO Ji Ham is quoted on the release as saying, “We eagerly anticipate collaborating with the S6 team to make Palia the best online experience possible across all major gaming platforms and to help continue to expand their community of players for years to come.�/p>

Palia is currently available for PC and Switch. It sounds like it will soon be avai?lable on “all the major platforms,�but nothing has been officially announced.

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Starting today at 10 a.m. PST, players in Palia have a chance to band together and "bug out" as they strive to catch 25 million collective insects. If the goal is re?ached, all players will receive some special? rewards.

Apparently, Tish bet Auni that he couldn’t catch 25 million insects before June 20, which seems a little unfai??r coming from a grown woman aimed at a child boasting just a net and some Smoke Bombs. However, that’s where we come in. 

Thankfully, in return for our help, Auni is willing to share the l??????????????????????????oot and if he wins the bet, we’ll get the following rewards:

• Leafy Flutterfox Plush, a brand new plush designed with the Spring season in mind
• 3 Mixed Hydrangea flower seedlings

In order to get these reward??s, you’ll need to log in between 11 a.m. PST on June 20 and 7 a.m. on June 25. If you do, you can expect to have some mail waiting for you from Auni, including the loot. 

Now I know, 25 million seems like a gargantuan amount of insects (I hope we’re releasing them afterwards, or there’s going to be a bit of an infestation going on somewhere), but the dev team at Singularity 6 have some advice to o?ffer. 

They recommend joining the official Palia Discord server, where there is a dedicated Bug Hunting channel where people can organize groups to head out in search of bugs to catch. I can attest to this, as the channel is currently ?the most active on the whole s??erver. 

They also recommend crafting and using Ho??ney Lures. This item is used to attract insects to your location for three minutes. To unlock the Honey Lure recipe, you’ll need to reach at least level 7 in Bug Catching and the recipe costs 2,000 Gold. You can also purchase them for 75 Bug Catching Medals once you reach level 10.

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If you’re a fan of cozy games, there’s no doubt that you’ve at least dipped your toe into the world of Palia. Despite some hiccups, like mixed reviews on Steam when it released and layoffs happening within Singularity 6, Palia is still going. 

Singularity 6 published its latest Dev Update for Palia on May 21, detailing some things that players can expect?? in patch 0.180, although a date for this patch has yet to be detailed. This, the studio claims, will be its ‘biggest patch yet� and the Dev Updates usually prove to be merely a sneak peak of the full changes within an upcoming patch.

Hotpot is back on the menu

The biggest takeaways from Dev Update 8 were the return of the Hotpot minigame, which?? has previously only appeared as part of the Maji Market event, and the huge news that Palian economy is ab??out to undergo a huge overhaul.

Until now, earning Gold (??at least major amounts of it) has been achieved through a select few activities such as Cooking and Mining. However, this overhaul promises to improve the balance of Gold earned through all activit?ies, meaning that those who favor Insect Catching or Fishing will be rewarded equally to those who prefer Foraging and Hunting. It's a welcome change, especially for new players just finding their feet.

Crafting items will also cost less, meaning that improving skills such as Fu?rniture Making will be far easier to manage and massively reduced Smelting times for certain bars means that players won't be stuck twiddling their thumbs while they wait for their resources to be ready to use.

T??hese are the bigg?est takeaways from the Dev Update, but here's everything that we know about patch 0.180 so far:

Free to play updates

General changes

• Gold and Renown limits will be increased
• Drops for Flow-Infused Wood will be increased
• Cost to unlock Copper Storage Recipe will be reduced
• Chests found in the world will have more valuable rewards
• Over 50% of existing Workbench recipes will have reduced resource requirements
• Craft times for Gold and Silver Bars will be massively reduced
• Trees will now have a chance to drop Amber, which can be sold for a high price
• Sell value for Uncommon/Rare/Legendary items will increase for most skills

Housing and Gardening changes

• Many building add-ons will now be built in under one Palian day
• Building add-ons will now be rewarded for reaching different Furniture Making levels

  • This will apply retroactively as well, with rewards arriving through in-game mail

• Cost to purchase Gardening Plots will be reduced
• Players will receive seeds when they reach different Gardening levels

The arrival of things promised in Dev Update 6

In Dev Update 6, Singularity 6 teased some things on a ‘soft roadmap� Well, they have now confirmed that at least s?ome of these things, notab??ly just the building elements so far, will be coming in patch 0.180:

• Building Blocks which will allow players to create their own unique structures with elements like ramps, pillars, walls ‘and moreâ€?/li>

• The Grand Harvest House, a bigger and more decorative version of the current Harvest House, will be added
• Pavements and walkways of multiple different designs will be added

Premium Store updates

• Five new pets, in the shape of the FlutterFox in various colors, will be added
• Tool Skins, which allow you to change the appearance of your tools to three separate colors, will be added

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Palia, the cosy MMO from Singularity6, is now officially available o?n Steam. However, despite a myriad of updated content added in time for the latest platform addition in? Palia’s repertoire, the reviews remain firmly seated in the ‘mixed�category.

Patch 0.178 has bloomed (pun intended), and now Palia players can gather flower seeds by capturing bugs, attempt to conquer ??the Temple of the Roots, finally get their hands on? the remaining Emberborn furniture pieces, and even pretend to get married in Bride and Groom attire. 

Though the biggest news to come out of Patch 0.178 and Palia’s Steam debut is the massive �both literally and figuratively �Frogbert. This plush grew to this gargantuan size thanks to a huge number of people adding Palia to ??their wishlist on Steam prior to releas??e and will now be waiting for anyone who plays, new and veteran players alike. 

However, there is a dark cloud looming over the Steam release of Palia with the accompanying mixed reviews. The feedback comes from new and old players alike, but the biggest stan??d-out complaints include:

• Overpriced Premium Store items, with one bundle of purely cosmetic items costing more than major new releases and no way to earn cosmetic items in-game
• Lack of ability to link Palia and Steam accounts if you’ve already opened the game, losing any progress made on other platforms permanently
• Updates launched too quickly, many of which have rendered a previously functioning feature completely broken
• Severe lack of end-game content, despite the countless updates that have been received
• Game not advertised as beta or early access on Steam, despite this status never officially being dropped by developers
• For an MMO, there is a severe lack of multiplayer content (unless you enjoy cooking)

These are just a few of the most prominent complaints that are coming up time and again in the review section of the Palia store page on Steam, and having spent over 200 hours?? in the game myself, I have to admit that I can see where they’re? coming from.

These are the same issues that caused me to stop playing two months into the open beta. And although I rushed to download the game on Steam, hoping to try the numero??us updates and hotfixes implemented, the negative reviews coupled with my own less-than-enjoyable experience with the game mean it’s going to sit in my library unplayed for a good while yet.

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Palia developer Singularity 6 announced today that the cozy social MMO will finally head to Steam on March 25. As of now Palia is only available via a stand-alone client on PC and Nintendo Switch. The Steam version will also include c ross-progre??ssion play and cross-platform availability, allowing friends to play together across the Steam and standalone clients on PC as well as those on Nintendo Switch.

Feeling Froggy

Those who login to Palia during its first 30 on Steam will receive an exclusive snuggly Frogbert plush reward. The froggy plush will grow in size based on how many wishlists Palia gets on Steam, maxing out at 500,000 wishlists. I wonder how big the scaling can get...if we hit 500,000 do we get a massive Godzilla-sized frog o??verlooking Kilima and Bahari Bay? I doubt it, but who knows.

Overall this feels like the right move for Palia. For a game so reliant on its player base due to its social aspect?s, it only feels natural for it to be avail??able on Steam, without a doubt the biggest PC platform. Day one cross-compatibility is a big feature as well because, well, who likes losing progress or starting over in an MMO? Being able to continue your progress right where you left off on Steam is super convenient.

Palia releases on Steam on March 25. Those wanting to check it out beforehand can do so via the standalone client available on the Palia website or on Nintendo Switch. It is free on bo?th ?platforms.

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Last month we got to see gameplay for the upcoming social MMO Palia, and it left me feeling excited. The developers at Singularity 6 invited me to jump in and take a look at Palia ahead of its closed beta launch today. Excited for the opportunity to mak?e some friends and go fishing, I pounced on the offe?r.

After a few days of casually exploring and immersing myself in the world of Palia, I've come to the following conclusion: Palia is exactly what it advertises it is. A cozy experience that focuses on the social as?pects of playing a community-driven game.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYI7HGeCF_s

Palia is not your traditional MMO

If you're looking to choose a class and venture out and slay some beasts or delve into a dungeon, that is not Palia. In fact, the only type of combat you will encounter is a system to hunt creatures for meat and furs. Instead, you'll be doing a plethora?? of life skills i??ncluding chopping down trees, mining minerals, and best of all: fishing.

After agreeing to be a responsible, kind, and helpful?? neighbor, you will cr?eate your character and enter the world. The character creation offers a variety of options standard in MMO titles today.

From a lore perspective, your journey into Palia is pretty rema??rkable. Humans are considered a legendary species, having disappeared thousands of years ago. Nobody knows where they went, but you and your fellow players are the first Humans to be seen in a long time. You're not quite sure how you go??t here, but thankfully the inhabitants welcome you with open arms. From here it's your task to learn about the world, while also working to make a home in it.

You'll soon stumble upon the community in Palia: Kilima Village. If you've played games like Harvest Moon or Stardew Valley, you'll recognize the NPC interactions here. You have? a separate reputation with each NPC which you can improv?e by chatting with them and giving them gifts. Of course, every NPC has their own likes and dislikes, so it's up to you to get to know them and befriend them.

[caption id="attachment_394775" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Eight life skills to level

Once you've mingled with the denizens of Kilima Village, they will grant you your own plot of land. Like any good farming sim, your plot's overrun with debris and foliage that needs to be taken care of. This is where you are introduced to the eight different life skills in Palia: bug catching, cooking, fishing, foraging, furniture making, gardening, hunting, and mining. Each skill has its own level that you will increase as you perform the skill. In general, the skills in Palia are ?ve??ry similar to professions in a more traditional MMO.

Also, you'll find NPCs that represent each of the eight skills. As you rise in levels, you can visit the NPC that specializes in that skill to buy better tools or learn new recipes to craft pertaining to that skill. Most of these upgrades will make you more efficient at that job, like earning a better axe will lets you chop down trees in fewer hits. Furthermore, some recipes will further increase what you can craft pertaining to each skill. For example, at level 2 f??oraging you can learn to make a sawmill that will turn your chopped wood into planks. Mining has a similar recipe for a Smelter to turn your stone into bricks and metals into ingots.

It's important to note that some aspects of the game require some time to pass to complete. For example, it takes 60 seconds to turn a piece of wood into a plank, and two minutes to turn a stone into a brick. At first, I was a bit? put off by this premise, but it's not so bad. You can queue up a bunch of craft?ing orders at your sawmill and smelter then head back out and keep chopping, hunting, fishing, etc.

[caption id="attachment_394777" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Socialization is paramount

It's very important that you interact with your fellow inhabitants at Kilima Village. With my early access to Palia being limited to only the press, I admittedly did not run into many others. However, that should obvi??ously change once the? game is open to the public. It looks like by default when you are running around Kilima Village and the surrounding areas, it will randomly put other players on your instance of the game world.

However, I did find an option to create a Community that allowed me to give my specific community a name, motto, and description. From there it looked like I could invite and accept others into my comm??unity. I'm not 100% sure, but it appears this may be a way to set up your own specific instance for your friends or co??mmunity, thus making sure you are neighbors. Furthermore, it looks like you can request specific items from friends and fellow community members, which can be crucial to get some final materials required to finish a building or craft at your plot of land.

Aside from other players, it's doubly important to socialize with the NPCs of Kilima Village. Like similar games, these NPCs have their own shops that you'll want to buy and sell from. Furthermore, they each have their own quest line that starts upon first joining Palia. As you progress through the quests you'll not only learn how to play the game, but receive some pret??ty important rewards including consumables, tools, and recipes. Sometimes, they will even send you mai?l that can be collected at your mailbox in your personal land plot.

[caption id="attachment_394784" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

I am slightly worried about the Premium Shop

The only real concerns I had was with some of the pricing of the cosmetic microtransactions. As Palia is a free-to-play game, I completely underst??and the need to sell cosmetics. However, the pricing seemed pretty expensive. The prem??ium currency, Palia coins, is offered in various bundles ranging between $4.99 for 425 coins and $99.99 for 11,000 coins.

Single cosmetics ranged from 850 coins up to 2,550 coins, which is essentially $8-$25. Most items are in bundles cost anywhere from 1,700 coins all the way up to 5,100 coins, which is essentially $17-$51. There are also some questionable practices going on here. For example, you can buy 425 coins for $4.99, but there's literally nothing av?ailable for that cheap. I'm not sure if the pricing here is final, so this could certainly change during the beta periods. This is purely based on what I saw in the Premium Shop ahead of the beta testing period.

To be clear here, I understand the need for a cosmetic shop in a free-to-play MMO game like Palia. My real concern here is that the microtransactions might be overpriced, which could lead to a lack of sales, which is not good for the future of the game for obvious reasons. Of course, I'm not an expert in this regard, and this is purely? ?my opinion based on what I've seen.

[caption id="attachment_394778" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Palia feels very polished as it enters its beta stages

I had a very smooth experience during my brief time in Palia, especially for an MMO. The few bugs I had disappeared with a restar?t or even just loading into a new zone. I didn't experience any sort of lag or disconnects either, which is important for an online-centric game.

It was a very cozy experience heading out at dawn to do some fishing, bumping into several NPCs to interact with along the way, before heading back to my plot to tidy it up further and check how things were faring. Once I have the opportunity to also intermingle with other players I imagine the experience will only be even better, as community is a big aspect of Palia.

Those interested in experiencing Palia can sign up on the website for a chance to join the closed beta. On August 10, Palia will enter its open beta phase for all to join. There are no more wipes moving forward, so despite being in a beta state, this is essentially a soft launch. Palia will also come to Switch later this year.

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Palia gameplay first look shows off fishing, hunting, gardening, and more

The term "social MMO" is always a scary one for me. Don't get me wrong, I love the idea. But in practicality, many games have tried but none have quite succeeded in creating a fun social MMO. I've been following Palia since it got announced a couple of years ago. The developer, Singularity 6, is made up of industry veterans from companies like Blizzard, Riot, Zynga, and Sony. With th??at sort of track record, it seems like thi??s team is well-set to pull off their goal.

Earlier today Singularity 6 gave the world an official first look at the gameplay in Palia. And while I certainly still have some questions, I can at least say I'm excited to move into Kilima Village and explore the world of Palia.

[caption id="attachment_392344" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot via Singularity 6/YouTube[/caption]

Did you say fishing?

There's an old saying, that an MMO is only as good as its fishing system. Not really, but there's clearly something really fun about a well-done fishing mechanic in an MMO. Even Destiny 2 recently added fishing with their Season of the Deep. The fishing in Palia looks very c??hill and relaxing, especially when you add the socia??l component.

You see, fishing with friends isn't just for the camaraderie in Palia. Fishing near friends causes you both to receive a buff to angling over time. Furthermore, if you spot someone struggling to reel in a tough catch, you can literally cheer them on, helping them successfully bag the fish. Apparently, more than one person can offer encouragement. I can't wait to have a crowd around me cheering me on as I wipe the sweat from my brow and ho?ist a small sunfish over my head.

[caption id="attachment_392353" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot via Singularity 6/YouTube[/caption]

It's not all about the fish

As excited as I am to get the friends together and go fishing, that's not all Palia showed off in its first gameplay reveal. Palia isn't your tr??aditional MMO where you slay ??monsters for experience while leveling up and acquiring loot. Instead, you will enhance a variety of life skills like fishing, hunting, gardening, cooking, crafting, and more. All of this, while in a social setting where you can play in a world of up to 25 total players.

The gameplay reminds me a lot of games like Animal Crossing and even Stardew Valley, with the player tackling mini-games to successfully complete tasks like cooking up a new recipe or crafting a new piece of furniture. As you continue to practice your craft you will level up and unloc??k new things to do as well as more efficient methods of completing such?? tasks.

Look, I know Palia isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea. It's certainly not the next World of Warcraft or Final Fantasy XIV. But is that really such a bad thing? If World of Warcraft Classic or FF14 has taught me anything, it's that the social aspects of an MMO are often what ??makes the experience so great. And in a game focused on that exact thing? All I can say is sign me up??. I'll meet you on the pier with a rod in hand.

If you're interested in checking out Palia, PC players can sign up to join their closed beta test?? on August 2. An open beta takes place on ??August 10.

The post Social MMO Palia’s gameplay reveal left me excited to fish appeared first on Destructoid.

It's hitting pre-alpha soon, too

Singularity 6, a new studio made up of developers from companies like Blizzard, Riot, Epic, Zynga, and Sony, has announced their first game: an MMO with a bit of town life called Palia.

As shown in the short trailer released today, Palia sees players awaking as a human in a world and venturing out towards a quiet town. Humanity was once a legendary race, but in Palia it disappeared thousands of years prior.

Given a plot of land to build their home in, they'll have the chance to establish themselves in this village, while al??so uncovering the greater narrative mysteries.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=lP009fvbt8c

In this "community sim," players can create their ow?n character, decorate their home, and participate in activities with others. Fishing, cooking, and other ventures look to be available, and according to a press relea?se, players can "meet, befriend, and romance" a compelling cast of characters.

It gives me major Stardew Valley MMO vibes with a fantasy twist, and the idea of creating a Neighborhood (Palia's version of guilds) with my friends and building our community together sounds like a great way to burn hours upon hours together. The mixture of massively multiplayer adventures and community with the town life of an Animal Crossing or Harvest Moon could be pretty rad.

Currently, Palia is looking to launch into pre-alpha this summer on PC. You can sign up for that pre-alpha on the Palia site here.

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