A brand-new game has recently surfaced on Steam called Pickmon, and it is naturally already turning heads for how closely it resembles some of the most recognizable ideas in gaming. The Steam survival game combines creature collecting with open-world exploration and crafting, immediately calling Nintendo’s Pokemon to mind, as well as Pocketpair’s viral hit Palworld. However, Pickmon attempts to put its own twist on the formula by replacing Poke Balls with a card-based system, allowing players to collect monsters using cards instead.
Despite its attempts to distinguish itself, though, Pickmon‘s arrival on Steam comes at a particularly interesting moment for the monster-collecting genre. Palworld itself has spent much of the past year at the center of controversy due to comparisons with Pokemon, eventually leading to a patent infringement lawsuit filed by Nintendo and The Pokemon Company in 2024. The legal dispute has already forced Pocketpair to alter certain gameplay features, including mechanics tied to capturing and summoning creatures. With that context in mind, Pickmon‘s similarities to both Pokemon and Palworld make it feel like it’s playing a game of chicken with both Nintendo and Pocketpair.
New Creature Collector on Steam Might Be the Dark Horse Successor to Palworld
Palworld has grown to become one of the best monster-collecting games on Steam, and another one releasing this year may be a worthy successor.
Pickmon Puts a Card-Based Spin on the Pokemon/Palworld Formula
Pickmon is an upcoming open-world survival game that combines creature collecting with exploration, crafting, and the base-building systems most commonly associated with the survival-crafting genre. Set on a vast continent filled with diverse biomes and remnants of ancient civilizations, the game has players venturing across jungles, deserts, tundras, and volcanic regions while uncovering the mysteries of the world and confronting a shadowy organization operating in the area. Along the way, players encounter creatures known as Pickmon, which can be captured using special cards and then recruited to help with combat, exploration, and survival tasks across the environment.
Who’s That Character?
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Easy (7.5s)Medium (5.0s)Hard (2.5s)Permadeath (2.5s)
Pickmon’s Core Features
- OPEN-WORLD SURVIVAL EXPLORATION – The game takes place on a large continent filled with unique biomes like jungles, deserts, tundras, and volcanic regions.
- CARD-BASED CREATURE CAPTURE – Players collect creatures called Pickmon using specialized cards instead of Poke Ball-style capture devices.
- CREATURE COMPANIONS AND COMBAT – Captured Pickmon can accompany players, assist in battles, and help with exploration and survival activities.
- CRAFTING, FARMING, AND BASE BUILDING – Players gather resources, grow food, construct homes, and establish farms to survive in the world.
- INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION SYSTEMS – Bases can expand into factories that automatically produce gear, tools, and weapons needed for survival.
- CO-OP AND MULTIPLAYER SUPPORT – The game supports solo play as well as online co-op where players explore and build together.
- MYSTERY-DRIVEN STORYLINE – Players explore ruins of ancient civilizations while uncovering the plans of a shadowy organization operating in the region.
Beyond creature collecting, Pickmon also features traditional survival-crafting gameplay. Players gather resources, build homes and farms, and eventually construct automated factories that produce tools, weapons, and other equipment. Similarly to Palworld, the creatures themselves play an important role in these features as well, helping out with farming, exploration, and base management while players enlarge their footprint on the world and explore it either solo or with friends in online co-op.
Pickmon Feels Like It’s Flirting With Controversy
What makes Pickmon feel so risky is how blatantly it seems to be copying Palworld and Pokemon‘s homework—and really, Nintendo in general. The game’s creature-collecting mechanics and survival gameplay already draw obvious comparisons to both Pokemon and Palworld, but early footage shows the similarities don’t stop there. In its trailer and screenshots, the player character strongly resembles Link from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, sporting a similar hairstyle and outfit that closely mirrors the iconic hero’s look. If the creature collecting and survival-crafting loop weren’t already enough to grab Nintendo and Pocketpair’s attention, surely a mock Link will.
It’s the timing that makes Pickmon‘s debut particularly hard to ignore, though. Palworld has already spent the past year facing criticism and legal scrutiny over its similarities to Pokemon, with Nintendo and The Pokemon Company investigating potential intellectual property issues in the game. All in all, it feels like a bold move for Pickmon to make, as it’s likely to attract the same level of scrutiny—and it may not make it out alive.
Pickmon is currently available to wishlist on Steam.
