Temtem's first look: The Pokémon formula finds a home worthy of the MMO

I didn't expect to get this food, at the beginning of this time, when I was playing Temtem, i Pokémon-Office MMO.

There I was, in the middle of a mountain range, standing on tall grass. I wanted to go before I came to the next town, but I was in my last palace – the life of the poor runner was red.

“Shit,” I thought. "Will I actually resign?" The horror in the game of collecting monsters is a lot of fun, but another change from the pocket of Pokémon is just as interesting: In the city, and in my travels, we are often surrounded by other human players.

This is an online game

Temtem is a great multiplayer online game, and Pokémon has limited features online. And that change means that almost everything feels very different if you've ever used Pokémon games, even though the mechanics are similar in some ways.

You can see people all over, and it's great to see a bunch of people chasing the match-up of Pallet Town. It is very exciting to see people filled with NPC houses, or to have a model of twelve characters separated from each other as we all try to fulfill the request.

It helps Temtem feel alive and full of possibility. You are not alone in wrecking. It's so fun to see trainers around with creatures I've never seen, doing things I haven't opened yet, or wearing new clothes to myself. It makes me want to explore more, so that I can have all those things, too.

Photo: Crema

Unfortunately the combination of server constraints and long login queues has made it difficult to play at all, how much testing all the game has to offer.

However Temtem creative director, Guillermo Andrades, tells Polygon that the online features are seamless. You should be able to, for example, trade with anyone and everyone you see with a few clicks. You should also be able to raise a battle with anyone you see, or play with a friend in a co-op. But most of these interactions have been as comprehensively possible as a result of the large number of technical issues the team has problems with when it is presented.

I spend more time with these things in the days to come, but so far, I've had a lot of fun catching up with and following strangers when I was able to get in, and when everything was working out.

Currently? I have more pressing issues than interacting with other players. I run out of money, which means I can't buy enough medical supplies. I am far from the third city; which means I haven't tried to challenge the dojo gym yet.

But you know? After building decades of excessive knowledge of collecting monsters, it's really fun to feel a little scared by the game that scans the same fix for the Pokémon base.

Temtem is not an easy game, it's also not easy

I'm not very far away Temtem, but the red cel adventure is already testing my mettle. It's a far cry from my experience with wild beasts, where taking the time to measure my critics is often enough to investigate turn based battles without really thinking about them. The last time I was knocked out of Pokémon was about one time in middle school.

Temtem, on the other hand, it starts by forcing me to lose my rival jerk in my first battle. This sets the tone for the entire first access title. Sometimes, Temtem suggesting, I will not get a chance to fight creatures that have certain advantages against me. I need to use a strategy and be realistic about my decisions, even if I am a little over the top of Temtem rivals.

Another tweak to the traditional Pokémon formula comes with the introduction of stamina games. Each movement costs a certain amount of energy and, if I lower my bar, my Temem will be damaged.

This means I will not be able to spam my most powerful moves against my enemies, as I used to do against a computer controlled Pokémon. I have to analyze my opponents, determine when and where my most powerful attack will be. And I should plan to let my Temtem rest during the war to regain its power. It is surprising enough that reducing the speed of combat leads to more pressure on the player.

“We've been Pokémon players ever since Red and Blue but, over time, as big fans, we wanted to see the game unfold in some way, ”said Andrades. “Pokémon is an amazing franchise and it means a lot to us, so Temtem we aim to create the game collecting creature we've always wanted to play. ”

One of the biggest criticisms against the lonely Japanese Frontise is that it has not grown by its followers. Newsletters are always simple, and wars are not a problem for most of us. It is unlikely that some of the early adopters of each new Pokémon game are trying to create a more complex feel than the one given by the basic game.

In fact, one of the best-known ways to play Pokémon requires a user-limited setup where the death of a monster is treated as an end. While some of the fandom is still young, while others are simply made for the best of animals, others who are obviously dedicated are hungry for more challenge. Also Temtem can provide exactly what they want.

You wouldn't know about watching, either. Temtem introduces a world full of pastel colors that combine with the weaknesses of story styles. Monsters you can collect are interesting. The first Temtem at your party follows you around in full, a nice touch that helps you create a connection with your startup.

I started by picking a Houchic, the inventor of a genre that looks like a devil. The other two starters are crystals and melees, which already sound more complex than the standard Pokémon grass, fire, and water blade offered at the beginning of each game.

Like its inspiration, each Temtem type has its strengths and weaknesses that will affect the damage done and captured during combat, as well as calculations that determine factors such as attack power and speed.

Instead of Pokémon IVs, Tememes have SVs, but they seem to do the same job by cutting the base and roof of your monster's growth. The Temtem also builds on features – my calculator, for example, will not wake up enemies when they sleep when I attack them. All of the battles, even those against the wild Temtem, are double that – meaning you have two monsters playing at the same time. You may also encounter two Temtem composites at the same time.

The use of Multimedia is more than just a show. You will be building a team that will work collaboratively in ways a little deeper than I used to from Pokémon games.

It all requires teamwork

Navigation, types, and icons in Temtem can create "interactions" between your duos. For example, if you use the Tsunami movement while encountering the wind in the field, the attack gains priority and will damage the strength of your team.

And you can better believe that AI will use this function – so you should too. That is not a mistake TemtemThe central elements are a show that heals and inspires your entire team. You can re-install it whenever you enter the Pokémon Center space for this game, but even so, it didn't save me time and time and again in battle.

Photo: Crema

Like Pokémon, you collect Temtem by reducing their health – instead of throwing a Poké Ball, using Temcard. Temcard offers Temtem some kind of Digimon kind of vibe, creatures that disappear and pretend that their bodies are like medicines of knowledge.

The design of some of the characters is a little disappointing compared to the Pokémon games, but the conversations I've had myself do. Many exchanges give you options for conversation, and while they may not seem to change the outcome of the conversation, they do allow you to have fun with it.

One model, for example, allowed me to introduce myself as Guybrush Threepwood, while another allowed me to succeed with the victory of the human face. Better yet, not all conversations focus on Temem, which make the world feel more real by acknowledging the existence of things that are not directly responsible for the animals.

But whatever the conversations there is with Temtem, you are very good. One of my favorite exchanges so far is to find a fighting couple who were worried that their partner had an inconsistent, intelligent Temtem.

Photo: Crema

These characters often throw a variety of demands on the player, such as recovering lost items or capturing a particular Temtem. These goals are tracked to the right of your screen, where they are temporarily in place – you can't quickly solve the problems in front of you. For now, I have some requirements that seem to require a surfboard. I'll have to go back to the old places later if I want to fill them.

I also found a few inaccessible buildings and buildings with “WIP” signs in front of them. Temtem is still in active development, and things are being added to, or amended, daily.

Which is good news, because I like being able to play more, without having to wait in line long or wondering if the online features will work perfectly. This is my first Temtem the journey, not the end.

Temtem is now available for Windows PC via Steam Early Access. The game was played using the download code provided by Crema. You can find more details about Polygon's ethics policy here.