Temtem Alpha Preview: The Pokémon MMORPG We’ve Always Wanted

Temtem aims to make the impossible real – a Pokémon MMO. While the alpha still has a lot to expand upon, it does add some great new features.

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Category : Pokemon

The Pokémon franchise hasn’t had much competition since it first launched 14 years ago. Digimon tried its hardest to dethrone the classic monster catching franchise yet was only able to lure away a tiny subsection of fans. Yo-Kai Watch is currently putting up a good fight, but the recent success of Sword & Shield have proven the staying power of the iconic series. However, Pokémon has a new competitor in the form of Temtem — a monster catching MMORPG.

Temtem is currently in the testing phase, with a closed Alpha finishing up this week. And while the game certainly needs some polishing, it’s already shaping up to be one of the best monster collecting games around. If fact, you’d be forgiven if you took one look at Temtem and though it was an HD remake of an old Pokémon game. Everything from the monster designs to the hallway-like environments scream “Pokémon.” But Temtem is more than just a PokéClone.

Small Combat Tweaks Make A Big Difference

The first big change you’ll notice in Temtem pertains to how combat is handled. In Pokémon titles, your monsters have a set number of times they can perform each move (PP), whereas Temtem uses a Stamina system. Every attack slowly drains this bar — if it runs out, your attacks start to siphon off your health. Temtem who start running out of the resource can chose to skip an attack and replenish a chunk of Stamina, allowing them to get back in the battle for the next turn.

It’s a fun — although basic — system that adds more strategy to the game than expected. Instead of spamming the strongest attack over and over (like many players do in Pokémon), you must keep a close eye on how much Stamina it will drain, otherwise you might end up causing your Temtem to faint.

The early battles you’ll encounter while adventuring to the seaside town of Brical de Mar are mostly Duo battles, and they occur much more frequently than they did in Sword & Shield. Thankfully, the 2v2 setup works extremely well in Temtem. Perhaps it’s the speed at which the battles play out, but the Duo battles are much more enjoyable than they were in Sword & Shield.

I’m sure the excellent animations help, but moreso it’s about the joy of learning a new battle system. Figuring out which Temtem allows for the best Type Advantage gives players a feeling similar to that of the original Pokémon games. Many games have tried to copy this feeling over the years and have failed. But somehow, Temtem manages to succeed.

Another unique aspect of Temtem is that RNG has been removed from all the battles. That means attacks always land and there are no critical hits. When you select an attack, you’re guaranteed it’ll land — unless, of course, the enemy knocks you out first. The developers want the battles to be based completely around skill and strategy.

By removing RNG, the battles certainly feel more predictable. Stamina helps to ensure players aren’t always spamming their strongest skill, and the best attacks actually require several turns to go by before you can even use them. It’s a fun system, but it’s hard to gauge how successful it will feel in the long run. I can say that from my short time with the game the battle system felt great and never felt like a burden. However, that could change after hundreds of PvP matches.

No, That’s Not A Pokémon

Of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention all the aspects that are blatant copy/pastes from Pokémon. TemCards replace PokéBalls, the TemPedia replaces the PokéDex, Professors aren’t replaced at all (they’re still Professors), you choose between three starter Temtem, and you still have a terribly annoying rival who claims to be better than you. In all honesty, the majority of Temtem feels like it’s been pulled straight out of the Pokémon playbook. But you know what? That’s fine. Sure, every now and again I have to shake my head at how similar it is, but Temtem is such a well-executed title it’s hard to get angry. Plus, it adds one huge new feature — other players.

It’s A Party!

By pressing the “Tab” key, you’ll open up a list of other players in the area. From here, you can challenge them to a Casual or Competitive battle, or even team up in a Co-op party. I only had a chance to try this out a few times during my playthrough (there simply weren’t many players at this point in time, and they were usually busy trying out other features), but it’s easily one of the best parts of Temtem. Having the ability to see other tamers run around adds life to the world and bouncing between adventuring and PvP on a whim is a godsend.

Other common MMO features are present such as housing, player customization, PvE content (by way of Co-op battles), and a campaign that takes around 30 hours to complete. So far, the end game is very similar to Pokémon — acquiring and leveling the best Temtem you can, then taking them into the PvP content. While the PvP combat is fun, it might not be enough to keep casual fans coming back for more after the credits have rolled. Then again, this is only an Alpha — perhaps more will be added prior to a public release.

Temtem is a wonderfully ambitious title. Yes, it’s a bit derivative, but the incremental changes made to the game make it a breath of fresh air in a genre that has been dominated by one franchise. Developer Crema Games plans to launch Temtem on PC, Switch, PS4, and Xbox One sometime in 2021. PC users can get their hands on it a bit sooner, as Early Access will begin on January 21st.

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