Temtem

On a random whim, my wife bought me Temtem as a gift. I think the person in the store when she was looking for a surprise gift sold her on it and I am glad that they did. Look, we all know what the inspiration for this game is! However, this is a game that I have enjoyed immensely, and think that it more than stands on its own. I am kind of surprised that it has not become a bigger deal, especially as it is available on PC and the non Nintendo consoles!

The Sincerest Form Of Flattery

Look, comparing Temtem to Pokémon is pretty much always going to be something that is addressed no matter who is talking about it. There is no freaking way that the Pokémon series was not the main inspiration for this game. However, as someone that loves Pokémon and has done since the 90s, I am more than ok with this. Many games have tried to copy what Pokémon does and I would put this right up there near the top of those that have come the closes, but the difference is, this is also trying to do its own thing.

Yeah, About The Plot

Ok, so I know I just said that Temtem is trying to do its own thing, but when I tell you that your goal in this game is to be a Temtem master and your adventure starts by picking one of three creatures, you may raise your eyebrows. Another eyebrow raising thing is when you hear that you have to travel around finding new Temtem and also competing in various gyms to grow your skills and prove that you are the best. Yes, as far as the story and the premise goes, this is certainly not going to be winning any awards for originality, but the whole time I was playing the game, I did not care!

Fighting As A Team

We do need to talk about the core gameplay of Temtem as this is more often than not given the MMORPG tag which is certainly something that Pokémon does not have. To be honest, I have only ever played the game on my own, but from what I have heard. Playing this game with a friend online is awesome as it is like you are a real team of trainers that travel together, train together, and most importantly work together when it comes to battles. You have to communicate with each other and the whole actually being a team thing is something that is very appealing to me. I just wish I had some friends who would be willing to give this a try!

Staying Fit For The Fight

Another way that on paper, Temtem sounds similar to Pokémon is the battles as you use your little creature to fight others. However, the twist here is that rather than being the same turn based kind of battles that Pokémon has, Temtem has a stamina system. This stamina system is a bit of a game changer. You see, your stamina depletes as you perform moves so you have to think about what you are doing, you cannot just spam the same attack over and over again here. I love the battle system as it adds a real sense of strategy to the fights, I am not saying there is no strategy in Pokémon, but this does enough so that it feels like it is doing its own thing.

Pros:

• The game has a ton of charm
• I had a ton of fun with the battles
• I have heard that playing this with a friend is even more fun!
• It is awesome that it gives those without a Nintendo system a Pokémon like experience

Cons:

• It may be a bit too similar to Pokémon for some people
• I wish that the story had a bit more pizzazz and wow factor to it