The world is currently in a frenzy over Palworld. Some people love it. Some people hate it. And just about everyone has a take (or a take of all takes), creating one of the worst verbal storms I've ever experienced digitally. But I'm not here to argue about that. Instead, I'm here to admit that I'm done with survival games and the now honorable mechanics of punching trees for wood.
The history of survival games isn't as clear-cut as I'm about to say, but in my mind it all more or less starts with Minecraft in 2009. And I'll admit that the first time I booted it up. I spent a ton of time on this game when it was in its unfinished alpha version. At the time, Minecraft's crafting, survival, and building mechanics were appealing and fresh. They seduced me (and many others) into spending too many late nights playing until the sun came up. The idea of spawning into a fresh, randomly generated world, finding supplies, and using those resources to build a new life in this strange pixel block world is unlike any game you've played before. Ta. And even now, I'm still going to play a little bit of Minecraft. Because it almost feels nostalgic at this point.
Minecraft was (and still is) so popular that many copycats, clones, and games partially inspired by Mojang's blockbuster were released in the years following its release. Some of these were good! Some of them were bad. And almost all of them forced you to punch trees or collect stones to get started. That's why I call these games “Tree Punchers”.
Palworld, like many other tree punchers in recent years, has tried to hide this fact or build on it with new ideas such as adding guns and creatures like Pokemon. However, that doesn't matter because the problem with tree punchers isn't actually punching trees.
No matter how much Tree Puncher tries to disguise itself or add new ideas to the formula, it all ultimately starts with you (perhaps naked) punching trees, collecting stones, and foraging to survive. Masu. Years ago in Minecraft, this was fun and exciting. I just feel like I'm busy with work today. I know what will happen. I know I have to slowly gather resources using my fists and some awful wooden tools that break easily. That way, in the end, you'll be so happy to know that you'll never hit another tree or rock again once you unlock a better, faster way to farm materials.
And I'm not interested in this loop anymore. Feels like a bad job.
I don't have a problem with animals like Pikachu making silly noises nearby while I punch trees. It doesn't matter that I'm a Viking warrior. I can't completely distract from the fact that the main reason for collecting resources and crafting items in Tree Puncher is so that it becomes something that mostly avoids the boring, slow, and tedious parts of Tree Puncher. I'm punching all the trees and building shitty buildings so I don't have to do that in a few hours from now.
The thing is, you don't have to play these games anymore to free yourself from spending hours collecting resources and grabbing rocks. And with one exception (Lego Fortnite), I found myself burnt out and tired of tree punchers. So these days, when a new game is talked about and you check it out as part of your job, you can stop playing if the first thing you have to do is punch a tree. I already know this song and dance, so I'm not interested. (Unless, of course, that game is one I'm going to review or play for work. But that's another weird situation that most people don't have to deal with.)
For those of you who still enjoy these games, keep playing and loving them. But for me, yeah, I'm done punching trees. You can do better mindless grinds in other games.
This article was first published on January 25, 2024 and has since been republished.
