Palworld's first new raid boss is an evil Goth girl, coming soon
Bellanoir makes its debut in first trailer
Pocketpair have popped up a trailer for Palworld's first new raid battle boss, Bellanoir, who is "coming soon" to the monster-catching survival game in a big old Palworld update that will also include some fixes and additional anti-cheating measures. First impressions: it's an evil Goth girl with a jellyfish where her legs should be.
This being a Palworld story, the (SFW) reactions I've read on social media and reddit fall into two categories. Firstly, which Pokemon is this one based on? The consensus seems to be that it's a moodier version of Gardevoir, though in Pocketpair's defence, comparisons are also being drawn with Palworld's own Lyleen Noct. And secondly, what work suitability does this one have? Because there is no Pal so magnificent and terrible that it can't be beaten up, Palsphered and demoted to chopping wood or tending a furnace.
Pocketpair announced that raid bosses would be coming to Palworld in January - at the time, Pocketpair's CEO Takuro Mizobe estimated that the survival sim was "about 60% complete". Other Palworld post-launch plans include a Pal arena where you can make your critters duel each other, new islands to build your awful Pokenot sweatshops on, and new technologies.
I'm not wholly clear on how the new raid differs from existing base raids, in which groups of Pals or rogue humans attempt to trash your settlements. From the trailer, it looks like you'll be summoning Bellanoir using crystals and special altars. The trailer also depicts meteors showering the Palpagos Islands - I'm not sure whether that's actual in-game weather or just trailer stagecraft.
Pocketpair recently announced a Palworld public testing program, giving participating players access to updates before they launch. I think it's a bit cheeky to enlist players as volunteer testers for a game that has repeatedly broken Steam records. That said, if you're keen to see Bellanoir, you might want to sign up. Alternatively, you can install a Palworld mod that unlocks certain unreleased Pals ahead of time.