Temtem has technically been out there on PS5 for the perfect 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.
Basically, it is acquainted. As a younger, aspiring Temtem coach, you are given one of many titular monsters and a Tempedia with a purpose to kickstart your journey. As you enterprise out into the Airborne Archipelago, your objectives are simple: seize new Temtem species, practice up a group of six, battle different tamers, and in the end change into the perfect, like nobody ever was. This framework is tried and examined, in fact, nevertheless it works; discovering new monsters, studying which of them you want, and progressing by way of the world stays compelling right here.
Fairly shortly, the sport distances itself from its inspiration. You possibly can absolutely customise your character, for one factor, nevertheless it’s with the battles that you’re going to start to note some key variations. They’re 2 vs. 2 as customary. 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 usually profit their teammate on the battlefield, or change into stronger relying on their ally’s sort. A easy instance: one Water sort transfer offers common harm, but when the opposite Temtem in your aspect of the sphere has Fireplace typing, the transfer will then additionally inflict the Burn standing impact. There are all kinds of synergistic alternatives like this, and it means movesets could affect who you select to be in your occasion.
Battles will be surprisingly difficult, and it is not simply because you could suppose tougher about which monsters you are sending out. Every transfer has a stamina value, taken from a meter beneath your Temtem’s well being. Stronger strategies will value extra, however will clearly deplete your stamina bar quicker. Utilizing a transfer you’ll be able to’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 truth, some strikes truly drive you to consider whether or not a Temtem is on the left or proper; the method Chain Lightning, for example, hits Temtem in flip 3 times, transferring clockwise. All that plus sort benefits and Temtem traits, that are passive talents which will activate throughout battles, imply there is a honest quantity to consider.
You may encounter loads of different tamers throughout 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 way of the world, which is sort of numerous throughout the six fundamental islands. Deniz begins you off with giant 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 nearly Metroidvania nature of the sport; all through the primary quest you will collect tools that allows you to attain new areas by browsing, climbing, skating on sure surfaces, and extra. It is a properly designed setting.
The primary thrust of the journey brings you thru eight Dojos that act as you’d anticipate, testing your power and expertise 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 comparable 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, when you get pleasure from enjoying regardless of the sport’s flaws, there’s tons to do. There is a pretty prolonged fundamental marketing campaign to get by way of, dozens of aspect quests, aggressive battles and tournaments, and lots extra when you attain the endgame. Moreover, Temtem is at all times on-line, and the world is populated with different gamers going about their enterprise. By way of the menus you’ll be able to 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 primary quest. It is a massive sport, and that is to not point out the cosmetics you should purchase with forex, or the Tamer Cross with much more rewards.
The very fact it is on-line solely does imply you get the occasional server dropout or different technical hitch, nevertheless it’s not so frequent to be too annoying. One massive perk is that there is no handbook saving to fret about; the sport charts your progress, even all the way down to the place you had been standing while you turned the sport off. Generally the sport will pause for a second while you enter or exit a constructing, however other than that, efficiency is a really clean 60 frames-per-second. We should additionally give a fast shout-out to the DualSense haptic suggestions, which has been carried out very properly, notably throughout battles.
Conclusion
By and huge, Temtem is a well-made, beneficiant monster-taming RPG that differentiates itself sufficient from the apparent competitors. The battle system is probably its fundamental power, 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 simple. The creature designs could possibly be higher, and the writing and human characters aren’t notably memorable, but when the sport clicks for you, these weaknesses will fade into the background.