Temtem was technically available on PS5 for the better part of two years, but now that the game is out of the Early Access phase, it’s time to make the right adjustments. RPG is now fully functional. Pokemonthe game is enough to stand on its own feet.
Basically, it’s teeth got used to seeing. As a young aspiring Temtem Trainer, you are given one of his famous monsters and Tempedia to begin your adventure. When you step into the Airborne Archipelago, your goal is simple. Capture new Temtem species, train teams of six, battle other trainers, and ultimately become the best ever. Of course this framework has been tried and tested, but it works. Finding new monsters, learning what you like, and progressing through the world is fascinating here as well.
Soon, the game veers away from that inspiration. For example, you can fully customize your character, but it’s in combat that you start to notice some key differences. It’s not a new idea, but having all battles in this format means that strategic play is more important. The moves your creature learns often benefit teammates on the battlefield or become stronger depending on the ally type. A simple example: One Water-type move does normal damage, but if another Temtem on your side of the field has a Fire-type, the move also inflicts the Burn status effect. There are all sorts of synergy opportunities, meaning your moveset can influence who you choose for your party.
Battles are surprisingly difficult, and not just because you have to think about which monsters to send. Each move has a stamina consumption, taken from a Temtem’s health 1 meter below him. More powerful techniques cost more, but obviously deplete the stamina bar faster. This overuses Temtem and skips turns. Managing stamina helps with team synergy and enemy typing, as well as move selection. In fact, there are also moves where you have to consider whether the Temtem is left or right. For example, Chain Lightning’s technique attacks Temtem three times his turn, moving clockwise. All of this, along with their type advantages and Temtem traits, which are passive abilities that can be activated during combat, means there’s quite a bit to consider.
You’ll encounter many other Tamers during the game, including town-to-town friendly matches, rival Max, and rival Clan Bersoto. They usually line their way forward through a very diverse world with six main islands. Progression is fairly linear, but feel free to explore however you like. I enjoy the almost Metroidvania nature of the game. Throughout the main quest, you collect equipment that allows you to reach new areas by surfing, climbing, skating on specific surfaces, etc. It’s a well-designed setting.
The main purpose of the adventure is to go through 8 dojos that work as expected and test your strength and skill throughout. This familiar structure is underpinned by stories and characters that sadly don’t live long in memory, though some conflicting tonal shifts may raise eyebrows. Due to their similar facial features, hair, and clothing, they blend in with all the other NPCs and are not memorable. Temtem itself is a little better, with some neat designs, but I found most to be pretty bland.
Luckily, if you enjoy playing the game despite its flaws, a lot do. A fairly long main campaign, dozens of side quests, competitive battles and tournaments, and even more once you get to the endgame. Additionally, Temtem is always online and there are other players in the world doing business. Through the menu, you can interact with them by fighting, trading, sending messages, and even participate in cooperation. can play It’s a big game, with cosmetics that can be purchased with currency and tamers with even more rewards, not to mention his pass.
Being online-only means there will be occasional server dropouts and other technical failures, but they are less frequent. One big advantage is that you don’t have to manually save is. The game graphs your progress to where you were standing when you turned off the game. The game occasionally pauses when entering and exiting buildings, but other than that, performance is very smooth at 60 frames per second. I should also briefly mention the DualSense haptic feedback, which is very well implemented, especially during combat.
Conclusion
All in all, Temtem is a well-made and generous monster-taming RPG that differentiates itself well from its obvious competitors. The combat system is probably its main strength, making his 2v2 fights extremely challenging even for wild encounters. It’s jam-packed with things to do, and online integration makes it easy to connect with other players.The creature designs could be improved, and the writing and human characters aren’t particularly memorable, but the game If you like , those weaknesses fade into the background.
