"Palworld's April Fools' Dating Sim: A Nightmare Flood of Joke Visual Novels"

Palworld, a survival game known as "Pokémon with Guns," released a fake dating sim trailer for April Fools’ Day, featuring tropey genre concepts and datable characters including both Pals and humans. The trailer plays on some of the seedier sides of animal-taming game fandom and the game's general edgy leanings, but also raises questions about the gaming industry's tendency to use dating sims as a joke rather than creating them seriously. The article suggests that using April Fools’ Day to pitch actual playable projects, rather than just mock-ups, could be a more respectful and effective approach for passionate developers.