Temtem has technically been accessible on PS5 for the very best a part of two years, however with the sport now out of its early entry section, it is time we gave it a correct shake. The RPG is now totally featured, and whereas some would possibly hand-wave it off as some unholy imitation of Pokémon, the sport does sufficient to face by itself two toes.
Essentially, it is acquainted. As a younger, aspiring Temtem coach, you are given one of many titular monsters and a Tempedia in an effort to kickstart your journey. As you enterprise out into the Airborne Archipelago, your objectives are easy: seize new Temtem species, practice up a crew of six, battle different tamers, and finally turn out to be the perfect, like nobody ever was. This framework is tried and examined, after all, however it works; discovering new monsters, studying which of them you want, and progressing by way of the world stays compelling right here.
Fairly rapidly, the sport distances itself from its inspiration. You’ll be able to totally customise your character, for one factor, however it’s with the battles that you’re going to start to note some key variations. They’re 2 vs. 2 as commonplace. This is not a brand new concept, however having all of the fights on this format means a tighter emphasis on strategic play. The strikes your creatures be taught will usually profit their teammate on the battlefield, or turn out to be stronger relying on their ally’s kind. A easy instance: one Water kind transfer offers common injury, but when the opposite Temtem in your aspect of the sector has Fireplace typing, the transfer will then additionally inflict the Burn standing impact. There are all kinds of synergistic alternatives like this, and it means movesets could affect who you select to be in your celebration.
Battles will be surprisingly difficult, and it is not simply because it is advisable to suppose tougher about which monsters you are sending out. Every transfer has a stamina value, taken from a meter under your Temtem’s well being. Stronger strategies will value extra, however will clearly deplete your stamina bar sooner. Utilizing a transfer you’ll be able to’t “afford” will start to make use of HP as a substitute, and this may overexert your Temtem, which implies they’re going to skip a flip. Managing stamina can even inform your selection of strikes along with crew synergies and the typing of the opposition. In actual fact, some strikes truly drive you to consider whether or not a Temtem is on the left or proper; the method Chain Lightning, as an illustration, hits Temtem in flip 3 times, transferring clockwise. All that plus kind benefits and Temtem traits, that are passive skills that will activate throughout battles, imply there is a honest quantity to consider.
You may encounter loads of different tamers throughout the recreation, whether or not it is pleasant matches between cities, rival Max, or the adversarial Clan Belsoto. They often line the trail forwards by way of the world, which is kind of numerous throughout the six predominant islands. Deniz begins you off with massive our bodies of water and easy grassy plains, whereas Omninesia introduces autumnal woodlands and a big volcano, and so forth. Progress is fairly linear, although you are free to discover as you want. We benefit from the virtually Metroidvania nature of the sport; all through the primary quest you may collect gear that permits you to attain new areas by browsing, climbing, skating on sure surfaces, and extra. It is a properly designed setting.
The principle thrust of the journey brings you thru eight Dojos that act as you’d count on, testing your power and expertise all through. This acquainted construction is backed up by a narrative and characters that, sadly, will not dwell lengthy within the reminiscence, although some clashing tonal shifts would possibly increase an eyebrow. Human NPCs aren’t memorable, actually, mixing in with everybody else resulting from related facial options, hair, and clothes. The Temtem themselves are a bit higher, with a handful of neat designs, although we discovered most to even be pretty bland.
Fortuitously, in case you take pleasure in taking part in regardless of the sport’s flaws, there’s tons to do. There is a pretty prolonged predominant marketing campaign to get by way of, dozens of aspect quests, aggressive battles and tournaments, and many extra when you attain the endgame. Moreover, Temtem is all the time on-line, and the world is populated with different gamers going about their enterprise. By the menus you’ll be able to work together with them by battling, buying and selling, sending messages, and you’ll even be part of them in co-op. This allows you to play the story alongside one other tamer, following the one earliest in the primary quest. It is a huge recreation, and that is to not point out the cosmetics you should purchase with forex, or the Tamer Move with much more rewards.
The very fact it is on-line solely does imply you get the occasional server dropout or different technical hitch, however it’s not so frequent to be too annoying. One huge perk is that there isn’t any guide saving to fret about; the sport charts your progress, even right down to the place you had been standing if you turned the sport off. Generally the sport will pause for a second if you enter or exit a constructing, however except for that, efficiency is a really easy 60 frames-per-second. We should additionally give a fast shout-out to the DualSense haptic suggestions, which has been carried out very properly, notably throughout battles.
Conclusion
By and huge, Temtem is a well-made, beneficiant monster-taming RPG that differentiates itself sufficient from the plain competitors. The battle system is probably its predominant power, providing fairly difficult 2-on-2 fights even towards wild encounters. It is jam-packed with stuff to do, and its on-line integration means connecting with different gamers is simple. The creature designs may very well be higher, and the writing and human characters aren’t notably memorable, but when the sport clicks for you, these weaknesses will fade into the background.
