Palworld’s best Pals, ranked by cuteness

Palworld is a wild ride. The hit game from the Japanese indie developer Pocketpair blends monster catching with survival game elements. The game is still in early access, but it’s already become a giant hit and sold 8 million copies in under a week.

A huge draw of the game is its cast of eclectic and cartoony creatures. At the onset, many compared the game to Pokémon, and while I can see the influence of Pokémon in certain Pal designs, the game has plenty of unique and adorable creatures.

It’s not the biggest roster in the video game world — my Paldeck shows I can catch 111 different Pals — but I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how charming the designs are as I’ve been playing the game. Because of this, I decided to round up some of my favorite Pals. So here they are, ranked by cuteness.

7. Daedream

For the final Pal to make the “cutest” cut, I thought about going for a more traditionally cute character like Ribbuny or an unconventional option like Greg, but I wanted to pick a creature whose design stuck with me. Daedream was the first Pal I ran into, and it’s honestly still one of my favorites. It looks a little ethereal, but also a little feral. I love its cheeky little smile with its little snaggletooth. Also, it has a gorgeous cosmic mane that glows in the dark.

6. Gumoss

Image: Pocketpair via Polygon

At first glance, Gumoss isn’t a natural fit for this list. It’s not immediately cute, since it’s just a pile of goo. However, spending time with this Pal in the early game turned me into a full Gumoss believer. That’s mainly because when you hug it, your character will stick their entire head into Gumoss’ giant gooey head. I would let Gumoss lick me!

5. Swee

Image: Pocketpair via Polygon

Swee is just a literal pile of fur — or is it hair? — and has dots for eyes. I think a lot of games underestimate the power of making a little guy; some of my favorite video game designs include little creatures like Mr. Saturn and Kirby. Swee barely looked like a living creature the first time I saw it, but then I saw its tiny little eyes and knew I had to catch it immediately.

4. Elphidran

Image: Pocketpair

Sometimes the best dragons don’t look like scaly monsters. Oftentimes, my favorite dragon creature designs just look like nice little guys who would help you run your errands. Elphidran’s round belly and adorable smile is enough to brighten any Pal base.

3. Depresso

Image: Pocketpair

Where Depresso might lack in the looks department, it makes up for in personality. This depressed cat is maybe the most relatable Pal. Every couple minutes or so, it needs a caffeine shot to keep working. Better yet, it will even take a spot working at a station, but then move so slowly that it effectively contributes nothing. Depresso is an anti-work legend and I’m here for it!

2. Chillet

Image: Pocketpair

Chillet is the definition of looooooooong. You can catch this little ice ferret pretty early on in the game, which made it one of the first truly adorable and big Pals I could catch. With its short, stubby legs and goofy, wiggly walk, it’s secured a direct ticket to my heart.

1. Relaxaurus

Image: Pocketpair

Relaxaurus seems to be the unofficial mascot of Palworld — Pocketpair uses its image as an avatar for the official Palworld Discord server and X account — and for good reason. Out of all the Pals we got in early access, Relaxaurus is by far my favorite. To me, it looks like if you combined a rubber duck with a dinosaur, and then you took away whatever brain it might have had. Its mindless, beady-eyed stare is perfect, and better yet, you can ride this bad boy!