Palworld makes the most familiar April Fools joke of them all with a cursed dating sim announcement: "Pals take off their clothes"

Palworld borrowed heavily from other games to become the monster-taming giant that it is today, and now, the studio is ripping off the oldest corporate April Fools Day joke in the video game world: pretending to make a dating simulator.

April Fools came a day early for Palworld enjoyers, as developer Pocketpair jumped onto social media for an announcement of the (probably fake) spin-off with a very real trailer. "Palworld ~ More Than Just Pals," is the name of said dating sim fantasy, the studio tweets. "Will you remain friends or fall in love? Or dismantle and eat them…"

The trailer below introduces us to a bright anime-style high school that reimagines a select few Pals as students. Pink lizard Lovander is now a "flirty senpai who wants all the boys," for example. If the idea of romancing creatures makes your eyes roll, no worries. Human romance options are also in the trailer, such as the, err, Black Marketeer who tries to bribe the player for a date.

Even before its early access ascent, Palworld gained a reputation for being a slightly edgier take on Pokemon thanks to the guns, the human organ black market, and the forced Pal labor. So, really, is an "adult version" of the game where "Pals take off their clothes" too outrageous?

Announcing fake spin-offs, usually in the form of dating sims or visual novels, is an annual tradition for video game studios on April fools Day. But to put respect where respect is due, Overwatch received a very real dating simulator featuring some of our heroes just last year. Sega also went one step further and turned their joke into a real crime mystery game with The Murder Of Sonic The Hedgehog, which became the company's best-rated Steam release at the time.

Why not wind down with the other (real) best visual novel games out there?