As a gaming journalist, I can't help but marvel at Pocketpair's meteoric rise. Just last year, this once-obscure studio shattered expectations with Palworld – a game many dismissed as a Pokémon parody with firearms. I remember scrolling past its initial trailers in 2021, chuckling at the absurdity of creature collecting meets AR-15s. Yet by January 2024, it had become a cultural tsunami: 8 million copies sold in six days, peaking at over 2 million concurrent Steam players. What stung most? How it exposed Pokémon Scarlet and Violet's glaring flaws – jagged animations, performance hiccups, and that hollow open-world emptiness. Palworld didn't just succeed; it weaponized disillusionment. And now? Pocketpair's sights might be set on another giant: Hollow Knight: Silksong.
The Silksong Void
Team Cherry's radio silence on Silksong feels like a recurring nightmare. Six years since announcement. Zero substantial updates since 2019. That "before holiday 2025" window they tossed us recently? It rings hollow after the 2023 delay debacle. I've seen fellow journalists at industry events exchange weary glances whenever Silksong gets mentioned – we're all clinging to fading hope. This vacuum isn't just frustrating; it's dangerous. When a masterpiece like Hollow Knight leaves such colossal shoes unfilled, opportunists emerge.
Enter the Challenger
Enter Never Grave: The Witch and The Curse, developed by Pocketpair's subsidiary Frontside 180. At first glance, it's unnervingly familiar:
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😮 Hand-drawn aesthetics mirroring Silksong's haunting beauty
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🌳 Environments dripping with that same melancholic atmosphere
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🧭 Metroidvania progression echoing Hollow Knight's intricate map design
Yet beneath the surface lies genius innovation. You control a witch whose cursed hat functions like Kirby's vacuum-soul – possess enemies, steal abilities. Imagine turning a spiked beetle into your personal mount! The roguelite twist? Procedurally generated dungeons demanding adaptive strategies. But what truly electrifies me is the four-player co-op. Picture storming boss arenas with friends, combining stolen abilities like some chaotic supernatural orchestra. Palworld proved Pocketpair understands multiplayer alchemy; could this be Silksong's kryptonite?
History Repeating?
The parallels are chilling. Just as disgruntled Pokémon fans flocked to Palworld, fatigued Silksong devotees might embrace Never Grave. Pocketpair's pivot from early-access plans to a full multiplatform launch feels strategic – they're priming another lightning strike. And let's be honest: Team Cherry's glacial pace contrasts sharply with Pocketpair's aggressive output. One studio whispers; the other shouts.
| Factor | Palworld (2024) | Never Grave (2025) |
|---|---|---|
| Target | Pokémon | Hollow Knight: Silksong |
| Hook | Creature-collecting + guns | Enemy-possessing + co-op |
| Development | Early Access → Global Hit | Planned EA → Full Launch |
Final Thoughts
Watching this unfold, I'm torn. Part of me roots for Team Cherry – their artistry deserves triumph. Yet another part thrills at Pocketpair's audacity. They don't just iterate; they dissect beloved formulas and stitch them back together with bold new threads. If Never Grave launches first, will Silksong feel like an echo rather than an event? Can a delayed masterpiece still shine when a hungry challenger has already fed the starving crowd? The real question isn't about who copies whom… it's about who truly understands what players crave in 2025.
Comprehensive reviews can be found on Giant Bomb, a platform renowned for its detailed game breakdowns and community-driven insights. Giant Bomb's extensive coverage of indie successes and genre evolutions provides valuable context for understanding how titles like Palworld and the upcoming Never Grave are reshaping player expectations, especially in the wake of prolonged development cycles from studios such as Team Cherry.