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 absolutely 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 with a view to kickstart your journey. As you enterprise out into the Airborne Archipelago, your targets are easy: seize new Temtem species, practice up a group of six, battle different tamers, and finally turn into the perfect, like nobody ever was. This framework is tried and examined, in fact, however it works; discovering new monsters, studying which of them you want, and progressing by means of the world stays compelling right here.
Fairly rapidly, the sport distances itself from its inspiration. You may absolutely customise your character, for one factor, however it’s with the battles that you will start to note some key variations. They’re 2 vs. 2 as normal. 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 typically profit their teammate on the battlefield, or turn into stronger relying on their ally’s kind. A easy instance: one Water kind transfer offers common harm, but when the opposite Temtem in your aspect of the sector has Hearth typing, the transfer will then additionally inflict the Burn standing impact. There are all types of synergistic alternatives like this, and it means movesets could affect who you select to be in your celebration.
Battles could be surprisingly difficult, and it is not simply because you could assume more durable about which monsters you are sending out. Every transfer has a stamina price, taken from a meter under your Temtem’s well being. Stronger methods will price extra, however will clearly deplete your stamina bar quicker. Utilizing a transfer you may’t “afford” will start to make use of HP as an alternative, and this can overexert your Temtem, which suggests they will skip a flip. Managing stamina will even inform your selection of strikes along with group synergies and the typing of the opposition. In reality, some strikes really drive you to consider whether or not a Temtem is on the left or proper; the approach Chain Lightning, as an illustration, hits Temtem in flip thrice, shifting clockwise. All that plus kind benefits and Temtem traits, that are passive talents that will activate throughout battles, imply there is a truthful quantity to consider.
You may encounter loads of different tamers in the course of the sport, whether or not it is pleasant matches between cities, rival Max, or the adversarial Clan Belsoto. They often line the trail forwards by means of the world, which is kind of numerous throughout the six primary 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 principle 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 energy and abilities all through. This acquainted construction is backed up by a narrative and characters that, sadly, will not stay lengthy within the reminiscence, although some clashing tonal shifts would possibly elevate 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.
Happily, in the event you get pleasure from taking part in regardless of the sport’s flaws, there’s heaps to do. There is a pretty prolonged primary marketing campaign to get by means 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. Via the menus you may work together with them by battling, buying and selling, sending messages, and you may even be a part of them in co-op. This allows you to play the story alongside one other tamer, following the one earliest in the principle quest. It is a large sport, and that is to not point out the cosmetics you should buy with foreign money, or the Tamer Go with much more rewards.
The actual 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 large perk is that there isn’t any handbook saving to fret about; the sport charts your progress, even right down to the place you had been standing whenever you turned the sport off. Typically the sport will pause for a second whenever you enter or exit a constructing, however apart from 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, significantly throughout battles.
Conclusion
By and enormous, Temtem is a well-made, beneficiant monster-taming RPG that differentiates itself sufficient from the apparent competitors. The battle system is probably its primary energy, 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 straightforward. The creature designs could possibly be higher, and the writing and human characters aren’t significantly memorable, but when the sport clicks for you, these weaknesses will fade into the background.
