Pokemon has had very few close competitors in recent years, despite numerous monster-catching titles popping up over time. Palworld shook up the scene quite dramatically with a game that has earned high praise, and even caused conflict and legal issues with Nintendo over shared similarities in the game.

Now it seems a new game is trying to emerge on the scene, and it has clearly taken heavy inspiration from both Pokemon and Palworld. This game is titled Pickmon. Fans have been quick to point out that the game is already heavily testing the boundaries and is basically a lawsuit waiting to happen.

New Game Pickmon Revealed, Receiving Heavy Backlash Online

Pickmon appears to be a new title set to enter the open-world monster-catcher/monster-collector genre, inspired by Palworld and Pokemon. However, the closer you look, the more this game seems to be less inspired by and more leaning into suspicious, rip-off territory. I mean, at a passing glance, I could have easily mistaken this for a genuine Palworld screenshot.

There’s a lot of rather bold choices going on in Pickmon, to say the least. Palworld’s designs originally faced some criticism for looking too similar to existing Pokemon species, or even looking like fusions of multiple Pokemon. Pickmon designs seem to take things a step further, either somehow looking even closer to specific Pokemon, or straight up taking designs from Palworld and making a minor adjustment – unfortunately, much like a cheap bootleg item, yes.

Even the main playable hero seen in the official gameplay trailer has stirred major discussion in the comments. The reason for this is that the design looks suspiciously like Link in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. It’s almost like the creators have formed an amalgamation of popular Nintendo IPs and thrown it all into a very ‘Palworld’ open-world island layout.

It doesn’t seem to end there, though! As mentioned in the trailer comments section by fans of Overwatch, it appears that Roadhog (or a very, very close relative, perhaps) has even somehow made his way into the game. What appears to be a recreation of Roadhog’s model can be seen at approximately the 1:30 mark.

“So they’re gonna be sued by Nintendo, PicketPair, AND Blizzard? Man, Lawsuit speedrun indeed.”

Take a look for yourself in the trailer below:

But no, it doesn’t end there, either! Pickmon continues the drama through an official game art – the key art for the title on Steam, to be specific. This banner depicts two monsters that look very similar to Charizard and Meganium, two final forms of various starter Pokemon from different Generations.

However, not only does the Meganium-like design take clear inspiration from this Pokemon, but it also appears to steal from a fan concept. A digital artist and fan designer on social media has pointed out that this very design is nearly an exact copy of a fan design that they posted for Mega Meganium ahead of the Pokemon Legends: Z-A release.

While Palworld most definitely had similarities to Pokemon, it also ensured that it had many mechanics and features that also make it feel original.

From a slightly differing art style to a much darker environment and freedom of your actions, Palworld found a way to stand out, even against its biggest competitor and most notable comparison. Pickmon, on the other hand, looks as if it holds no originality whatsoever.

I can’t imagine there’s any way the game actually manages to get away with this approach, and if it does, then one can only assume the quality will not meet the standards set by competitors. Regardless, this absolute fever dream of a game will certainly be an interesting one to follow along for developments in order to see what happens next.