TemTem preview: The Pokémon MMO we've been waiting for?
I've been playing Pokémon for over half of my life, and over the years, I've seen countless fans clamour for a MMO Pokémon game. So, when TemTem, an MMO inspired by Pokémon is scheduled to release on January 21, you would expect some hype around it. Despite this, I hadn't really heard of it until recently.
TemTem is one of those rare Kickstarter projects that actually seems to have pulled through. First launched in May 2018, the project managed to reach its goal in under a week—perhaps a testament to how popular the idea is. In fact, the project eventually reached almost $600,000, over 7 times the initial goal. This ensured a release not only on PC, but also on the PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
That's enough of TemTem's history, though. We've kindly been given access to the alpha, and I'm happy to share my feelings on this 'unique' title. This is not the final version, but given that the game is scheduled to release in a few weeks time, it should be a pretty good representation of the final
TemTem's Gameplay
I'd describe TemTem as 'Pokémon, but not'. That should be enough to give you the gist of the game. Where TemTem distinguishes itself is in the online functionality, improved interaction with NPCs, and slightly tougher battles.
You pick a starter TemTem at the Professor's lab early in the game. This is where the more obvious differences start to become apparent, with the starters being 'Crystal', 'Melee', or 'Mental' type. Afterwards, you are sent free into the world of TemTem, to capture wild creatures, battle tamers, and defeat Dojos across the land. Stop me if I'm going too fast for you.
Battling works similarly to the traditional Pokémon style, with a few key differences. Firstly, instead of having PP for each move, your TemTem have stamina bars. Different moves use up different amounts of stamina, which is slightly restored between turns, or by letting them rest. If you don't have enough stamina for an attack, your TemTem will overexert itself and take damage. Status effects also work differently, with poison wearing off, for example. The most interesting change is probably that most battles are fought 2v2, with both you and your opponent sending out 2 creatures each. This also applies to wild battles, where many encounters result in a 2v2 situation. Even if you only have 1 enemy TemTem, you will still send out two.
A neat mechanic is the ability for TemTem to complement each other in battle. Certain moves can do additional damage or apply certain effects if you use the right two creatures. For example, my 'Crystle' TemTem knows a move called 'Crystal Dust', which does additional damage if the TemTem besides her is Crystal type.
Unfortunately, the type match-ups don't seem intuitive. There's the traditional Fire, Water, and 'Nature' types, which makes sense, but other types are more confusing. Maybe with more play you could get used to it, but it's definitely a barrier when you're starting out. The biggest issue I've found is working out what type my enemy TemTem are.
This leads into the designs for the creatures, which I'm not really enthralled by. They're not bad, but for the most part, they seem generic and uninspired. There are a few that I like, but even they don't resonate with me all that much. The designs aren't so similar to Pokémon, which makes the game stand on its own, but there's not really any charm to them.
Whilst playing TemTem, I kept forgetting that it's an MMO. If it was a single-player game, I don't think you'd be missing out on much. I haven't interacted with any other players, and whilst it is nice to be able to see them, it feels like a single-player game with multiplayer tacked on. Keep in mind, though, that this was my experience during the alpha, and not many players are around to interact with just yet.
Story
How about the graphics?
Y'know, there's something to be said about simple, cell-shaded graphics. I can only assume that this art-style is much easier to put together than something more realistic, and yet it still looks fantastic. As a game that is heavily inspired by a Nintendo franchise, I'm sure this works in its favour, especially since it is also releasing on the Switch.
On PC, it doesn't run so well. On a PC that is above the games 'recommended requirements' for 1080p/60fps, it's extremely disappointing. It runs at a solid 120fps during battles, but in the overworld, the framerate fluctuates wildly between 120fps and 45fps. The graphics menu also seems bugged, with only 'Ultra' settings available for the textures. I'm sure this will be fixed by release, since it's a pretty obvious mistake.
This is one of the few games where I think I'd take the Switch port over the PC version. I'd take a wild guess and say it will run at 30fps, but the portability is a huge bonus. Its saving grace here is the simple graphics, which are sure to scale down well, even at lower resolutions. We will, of course, have to see how the console ports turn out.
Final Thoughts
Overall, TemTem does its best to differentiate itself from Pokémon, succeeding in some areas, and failing in others. It's shaping up to be a fun game, which I may pick up myself in the future. It's almost like Pokémon from an alternate universe. That said, there are some issues with performance, and I dearly hope the online functionality is more exciting when there's more players around.
