Initially known as Pokemon with guns, Palworld has set the gaming world on fire by selling millions of copies in a matter of days and fueling internet discourse with AI art accusations. It’s even led to Arkane Lyon studio director Dinga Bakaba creating a fascinating thread on X (formerly known as Twitter) about the survival game, touching on its mechanics and lightning-rod aspects.

Bakaba, who was game director on Deathloop, notes upfront that Palworld isn’t actually a Pokemon-like and feels more mechanically inspired by Rust and Ark: Survival Evolved. He adds, though, that the title does obviously have similarities to Pokemon, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Fortnite, and more.