Temtem is meant for adults who grew up with the Pokémon games
Source: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central
If you’re a Pokémon fan, you’ve likely seen the news about Temtem, a creature collection MMO that was heavily inspired by Game Freak’s popular franchise. Temtem is currently available on PC in early access and, at the time of writing this, has been Steam’s top-selling game since its release.
I’ve put over 20 hours into the game and have been able to see just how similar it is to the core Pokémon RPGs. However, what’s most striking is how different it actually is. The biggest difference is that while Pokémon takes place in an idealized kiddie world, Temtem gives us a world that has grown and evolved along with long-time Pokémon fans, and it does this without losing that Pokémon charm. Here are all the things that make Temtem a more mature, more challenging, and more realistic creature collection game than Pokémon.
You’re a big kid now
Source: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central
Options for personal expression, including gender expression
Source: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central
You can choose from a wide variety hair styles, face shapes, body type, or clothing options, even if some people might assume some of them are more masculine or feminine. When creating my character, I opted for an athletic run, chose outdoorsy clothes, selected non-feminine eyes, put my hair up in a ponytail, and selected a heavy duty camping backpack, which feels like what I’d be like in this world.
What’s more, Temtem allows you to choose the pronoun you want applied to you whether that be she/her, he/him, or they/them. All these options make the game more inclusive and allow players to create a character that really expresses who they are.
This freedom of gender identity is also seen with the NPCs. You’ll encounter a lot of characters with a range of clothing and hair styles that aren’t always limited to “traditional” genders. Heck, one of the female NPCs even came on to my female character before we battled.
References to nerd culture
Source: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central
Something to note is that many of these references only appear once and only become available if you answer the NPCs a certain way. So far, the references I’ve seen have alluded to things like Portal with “the cake is a lie,” The Lord of the Rings with “you shall not pass,” Frozen with “let it go,” Marie Kondo with “does this Temcard spark joy?,” and many others.
These easter eggs further solidify that Temtem was created by gaming nerds who love their nerdy culture. If nothing else, it makes me more interested to talk to every NPC in case I discover a new allusion.
Temtem aren’t idealized
Source: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central
For instance, in the image above, this NPC is complaining about the fact that his bird Temtem went to the bathroom in his bed. I love my cat and my dog, but occaisionally, they do things I don’t like: scratch my couches, throw up on the carpet, eat my remote control, or a whole bunch of other things. It’s nice to see that Temtem addresses this reality and makes Temtem ownership more relatable.
Drugs and alcohol
Source: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central
Additionally, your mentor, Professor Konstatinos, and many of the Dojo leaders talk about going to the pub or grabbing drinks at some point. It helps make the world of Temtem feel a little more mature without taking away from the fun and playful air you find in the Pokémon games.
Swearing
Source: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central
A challenging rival
Source: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central
In comparison, Max, your main rival in Temtem, hates your guts and relishes in the fact that he has stronger Temtem than you and knows the battle system better than you do. Fighting him feels a lot like playing Red and Blue where defeating your rival is a challenge throughout the game. You have to work hard to level up your Temtem and figure out which creatures to add to your team if you want to succeed.
Dojo leaders and more complex combat strategies
Source: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central
For one thing, you always fight with two Temtem on your team, which means you need to consider how well they work together. And when you fight against Dojo leaders (the equivalent of Gym leaders) you’ll find that not only do they have six Temtem at their disposal, which is much more than most of Pokémon’s Gym leaders, but they will have a variety of Temtem types instead of just having one.
So while you could blast through a Water-type gym using only your Pikachu in a Pokémon game, you’ll have to be more strategic and have a variety of Temtem types on your team in order to defeat a Dojo leader or any other tamer in Temtem.
Play like an adult
Temtem is currently available to purchase on Steam. Don’t worry, if you’re aren’t a PC gamer, Temtem is also scheduled to come to Nintendo Switch later this year.
Gotta catch Tem all!
Temtem
Capture Temtem as an adult
This Pokémon-inspired game has a more adult spin on the creature collection genre while still maintaining the charm of Game Freak’s popular franchise. Customize your character the way you want and capture as many Temtem as you can.
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