Temtem: A Well-Done Homage to Pokémon Games of Old

There are many monster collecting games out there, each with a spin of their own, but not a lot of them are great. Temtem, on the other hand, recreates the nostalgic feeling of the original Pokémon games with only a few frustrations. Along with a few features of its own, it becomes a great game in its own right and not a rip off.

The big thing is the ability to play online and co-op with friends. Another big difference is the usage of double battles, a stamina gauge that refills, and some unique typings of the creatures like crystal or digital. The story is pretty decent with a properly menacing evil group that has some kind of plot you got to figure out while dojo training. Though there are 8 dojos, like the eight gyms, the main story does not revolve all around them and they instead take a complimentary position to the main plot. People act more like regular people with some mild cursing or getting mad at you for just barging into their house. There’s also quite a few easter eggs in the dialogue to other videogame series.

The cel-shaded art style is well done, and the game, for the most part, runs smoothly. Temtem designs are pretty good and don’t directly rip any Pokémon designs off. Evolution here is different as well, going by how long you’ve trained your temtem, instead of them just reaching an arbitrary number. That helps keep the monster collecting exciting and fresh, as you don’t really know when something will evolve. This is a lot like the Pokémon game people have wanted but have not yet gotten.

Now onto the frustrations. The biggest issue is a lack of fast travel, which can make back tracking and such very tedious. Another problem is at times excessive random encounters. Combine a lot of random encounters with lack of fast travel, and enjoyment of completing quests goes down. Parts of the game also have big difficulty spikes where the pacing comes to a dead halt waiting for you to grind and figure out team configuration. None of these are deal breakers, but they do bring the game down a bit. Despite its faults, anyone who’s a fan of Pokémon or monster collectors in general will enjoy this game.

Overall, I’d rate this an 8.5/10