Temtem, a Pokemon-like MMO: enough to challenge Pokemon?

[hanecco]

An MMO called Temtem went into open beta recently. This MMO is heavily based on Pokemon (and advertises itself that way) - you capture, trade, and battle using various monsters. It’s gotten good reviews from players so far, with many saying it's an improvement over the core Pokemon games, and a few claiming it's a "Pokemon killer".

Right now, many fans are frustrated with the series, as shown by the Dexit controversy. Even before then, a lot of people wished Game Freak would innovate with the series, instead of rehashing the same formula with each Pokemon entry. Temtem seems to fill that gap - it uses the concepts behind Pokemon to create something new.

• Do you think Temtem is a serious competitor to Pokemon?
• Will Nintendo/Game Freak see Temtem as a serious threat...
• ... and create Pokemon games which deviate more from the usual formula?

What do you say?

 

[prog rocker]

Not sure what to think about Temtem, mostly because doubles are not my favored style of battling and it being a MMO (I'm someone that prefers playing alone). Might give it a chance once the full version comes. There's also the fact that it still follows most of the Pokémon formula (three starters that are like rock-paper-scissors, eight gym-like bosses, evil team).

It’s gotten good reviews from players so far, with many saying it's an improvement over the core Pokemon games, and a few claiming it's a "Pokemon killer".

Be careful when people say that, since that could lead to hype backlash, and that's not something an indie game needs.

Do you think Temtem is a serious competitor to Pokemon?

Depends on the end result. It could end up being the Stardew Valley to Pokémon's Harvest Moon, or it could end up the Mighty No. 9 to Pokémon's Mega Man.

Will Nintendo/Game Freak see Temtem as a serious threat...

See above.

... and create Pokemon games which deviate more from the usual formula?

Hopefully, with or without Temtem. I mean, that was what I liked about Gen VII.

I think another thing to worry about here for Temtem is that there have been other games that have tried to beat Pokémon (one coming from Nintendo, even!), and while not bad, they have not managed to surpass the original and are more cult classics than anything (except Yo-Kai Watch I think).

 

[Norzan]

Honestly, GF needs tough competition so that they step up their game. It's been feeling for years that they are just coasting on the fact that they are the only people in town that matters when it comes to this specific type of game and it led them to make games that at the very least have a lot of wasted potential. Whether or not Temtem will be the one to do it we'll just have to see, but i hope something does it.

 

[prog rocker]

Honestly, GF needs tough competition so that they step up their game. It's been feeling for years that they are just coasting on the fact that they are the only people in town that matters when it comes to this specific type of game and it led them to make games that at the very least have a lot of wasted potential. Whether or not Temtem will be the one to do it we'll just have to see, but i hope something does it.

There has been competition: Yo-Kai Watch, Keitai Denjuu Telefang, Robopon, the Digimon Story games, Fossil Fighters, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Children, Dragon Quest Monsters, Monster Rancher (to a certain point). It's what I said before, Pokémon ended up crushing them for the most part.

 

[Phosphene]

While Pokemon definitely needs some strong, long-lasting competition, it is far too early in my opinion to determine whether Temtem will be a serious competitor of Pokemon and/or whether it will force Pokemon to innovate more. I've been following the development of the game on and off since around June, and it doesn't seem to be even 50% complete. There's only around 60 Temtem out of 150+ planned Temtem and two out of six islands in the game right now if I remember correctly. And, from what I've seen, the designs are not as well-liked overall as Pokemon, which may be a sign that the game won't be able to stand up to the juggernaut.

I highly, highly doubt Temtem will kill Pokemon. Honestly I think Temtem will be more of a niche game for hardcore Pokemon fans rather than a serious rival to the franchise.

 

[prog rocker]

I highly, highly doubt Temtem will kill Pokemon. Honestly I think Temtem will be more of a niche game for hardcore Pokemon fans rather than a serious rival to the franchise.

Kinda like how Rivals of Aether is this to Smash?

 

[Phosphene]

Kinda like how Rivals of Aether is this to Smash?

I don't know much about Rivals of Aether and Smash, but if Rivals of Aether has several mechanics/ideas/whatever that hardcore Smash fans have been asking for years while still trying to differentiate itself from Smash, then yes.

 

[Daren]

There have been a lot of attempts to make similar games, and similar games that predate it, like Shin Megami Tensei.
If Dragon Quest Monsters with all the pedigree and incredibly solid design couldn't replace Pokémon I don't see an indie game doing it. Pokémon has a sort of something that none of the others quite managed to have. I can't explain it myself.

Temtem might do pretty well and I wish it good luck (I don't play MMO's anymore so I'm not interested myself) but the chance of it being a Pokémon Killer is very, very low.

 

[prog rocker]

I don't know much about Rivals of Aether and Smash, but if Rivals of Aether has several mechanics/ideas/whatever that hardcore Smash fans have been asking for years while still trying to differentiate itself from Smash, then yes.

Then I think I should find a better example, since it appears it appeals more to the guys that played Melee (I think the creator was even a pro player), but I don't know how much it differentiates from it.

 

[techitisJ]

I think if it really steps up on what it's doing by double at least, and if the designs yet to be released are solid enough to hold their own, then they might prove some possible rivalry to Pokemon, but honestly, there's only a small chance I feel.

From what I have seen, the game has solid gameplay, though it did have a shaky start with the servers. The designs, while mainly cute, don't seem to stick out to people as much. The only one I see getting a lot of love is the Platypus Fakemon someone created for a Concept art rumor a couple of years ago, that ended up being scooped up by Temtem after the artist revealed they were fake. So basically the one that was intended to look like a Pokemon is the one that gets a lot of love. There are some other cute Temtem for sure, but none of them that get more attention than the fakemon.

I agree with @SpinyShell that it seems like a more niche pick for people who really like the style of battling, while not offering too much competition for Pokemon.

 

[Deleted member 114691]

i think these sort of games satiate fans who wish for GF to improve and those who are tired of GF's old formula. like prog rocker listed some. however most of these fans who indulged in those have returned to pokemon... for some reason!? nostalgia, hope, the unexplainable charm(as Daren said), big community = easily revivable interest ... also i think pokemon is waay too big to be overcome by a competitor but i think i can be wrong too

 

[Silktree]

If the sales end up being even 10% of SwSh's, that's quite respectable for an indie game with little to no advertising other than word of mouth. But it's unlikely that this will ever become a cross-media project aimed at kids. That said, I can certainly see the game appealing to disillusioned veteran Pokemon fans if they get used to the designs.

 

[Nitro Indigo]

Pokémon isn't successful just because of the games, but because of the tie-in adaptations, which is why Yo-Kai Watch was so popular for a while. I don't think a literal indie company could afford tie-ins.

A minor thing about TemTem that bothers me is the name; it doesn't mean anything.

 

[RileyXY1]

The only way I an see TemTem being a threat to Pokemon is if it sucks away enough veteran Pokemon fans who have grown disillusioned with Game Freak's recent business decisions.

 

[PinkIceFox]

The fact its an MMO was enough to turn me off wanting to play Temtem immediately. Considering how much not-fun I have with meta-game things, an entire monster raising game where the main draw is interacting with other trainers sounds like my kind of nightmare.

Some people also thought Yokai Watch would dethrone pokemon, and yet here we are. Even Digimon hasn't been able to reach the same heights pokemon has and they've been duking it out near since the beginning.

 

[Esserise]

Right now, many fans are frustrated with the series, as shown by the Dexit controversy. Even before then, a lot of people wished Game Freak would innovate with the series, instead of rehashing the same formula with each Pokemon entry. Temtem seems to fill that gap - it uses the concepts behind Pokemon to create something new.

Does it, though? Other than the MMO format (which I think is interesting, but from what I've seen has been the aspect with the most mixed reception among Pokémon fans), what exactly has it innovated, what new inventive ideas has it brought to the Mons genre? It literally uses the exact same formula as the main Pokémon games; everything is just reskinned with a more fantastical, tropical look. What is its bold new revolutionary take on how a Mons game is supposed to work?

Of course, formulaism is part of the key to Pokémon's success. It has survived this long without ever really changing on a fundamental level because its basic engine is so approachable and easy to get into. The mechanics get a little more complex, and then a little more accessible, but it still operates on the exact same principles it did in 1996. Which is to say that for all that innovation can be exciting and healthy -- and believe me, I'm all for a hypothetical Pokémon game that completely smashes all the preexisting rules and ideas and does something genuinely new in the way that, say, BOTW reimagined what a Zelda game could be -- in Pokémon's case, it hasn't been a necessity in order for the games to remain popular. And yet despite that, recent entries have still tried, nevertheless, to push the envelope a little more than older games did (such as with Sun & Moon's more story-driven narrative and disposal of all the typical Pokémon iconography, as well as radical new designs styles with the Ultra Beasts; Let's Go completely rethinking how catching Pokémon can work and be more immersive on new hardware (even if it was unfortunately just for that one entry), and then Sword & Shield experimenting with open-world elements in the Wild Area and in the DLC expansions, which are themselves something new for the series).

At any rate, I don't really get the sense that the sort of fans Temtem is trying to appeal to are the sorts who, like me, would be pleased to see the series communicate an entirely new vision from the ground-up. To me, it seems that the game is made by and for people who wish the core games would just be more like they were in Gen 4. Which is not innovation - it's reversion and stagnation.

As far as its ability to stand as a meaningful competitor to Pokémon, I feel like the more adult tone of Temtem (such as the use of swear words in dialogue) kinda kneecaps from the start any chance it might have of rivaling a thoroughly established, cultural cornerstone of a multimedia franchise that has made a point to remain accessible to all ages. Beyond that, for as much as some fans do not like the current state of Pokémon games, sales continue to suggest that they're a minority. Dexit is one thing, because it actually affects the availability of hundreds of beloved Pokémon in every game to come. That is something that people can easily relate to and say "This is not a good thing for the games." But things like difficulty (which is always extremely relative) and how much side-content the games should have? Those are niche concerns. Things cared about only by certain subsets of the fandom, and not really the general audience at large.

 

[Nitro Indigo]

disposal of all the typical Pokémon iconography

Such as...?

I agree with you, though. Temtem feels too search-and-replace, like it was originally going to be a fan-game. Pokémon Trainers Temtem Tamers capture monsters using balls cards like it's Power Rangers SPD and have to stop an evil team clan from taking over the world. Spectrobes was a cash-in, but at least it had its own identity and a unique setting.

 

[Esserise]

Such as...?

Nothing so extreme as like, a Pokémon game without Poké Balls and such would be; saying "all" the iconography there was admittedly an overstatement on my part. But Sun & Moon did try to reimagine the aesthetic "feel" of the games and invert a lot of the series's usual tricks while exploring new narrative avenues - they're more of a colorful island-hopping adventure (in some ways closer to Ranger: Guardian Signs than to Red & Blue or X & Y) with an emphasis on nature and a more quasi-spiritual society that exists in harmony with it, whereas older regions were more, with a couple of exceptions, a contiguous series of developed settlements hosting more typically modern human lifestyles, with gaps of untouched nature just existing in between those. The shift from formal Gym battles in a manmade institution that prioritizes competitive skill, toward ritualistic, local tradition-based forays into the exclusive natural domains of wild Pokémon against which you have to prove yourself in a 2-on-1 battle. The first-ever instance in the game series of the regional crime gang being a secondary concern to a larger sort of legitimate organization (which shies away from the Team Whatever naming convention), in this case one that is corrupted by a more intimate family drama than a cult leader with a grand utopian vision for the world at large. And then with the Legendary Pokémon of the story being woven throughout as a kind of evolving character in their own right, as opposed to being just a fetishized demigod spoken of only in myth that has to be dug up from under the ground or called down from the sky. All pretty new takes on what the series can do that I think are trying quite hard to proclaim their difference from what came before.

 

[Phosphene]

an entire monster raising game where the main draw is interacting with other trainers sounds like my kind of nightmare.

I wouldn't say the main draw of Temtem is the MMO aspect. It's definitely a draw, but there seems to be more emphasis on the single player aspect from the playthrough and information I've seen. It's similar to the multiplayer aspect in the Wild Area.

Does it, though? Other than the MMO format (which I think is interesting, but from what I've seen has been the aspect with the most mixed reception among Pokémon fans), what exactly has it innovated, what new inventive ideas has it brought to the Mons genre? It literally uses the exact same formula as the main Pokémon games; everything is just reskinned with a more fantastical, tropical look. What is its bold new revolutionary take on how a Mons game is supposed to work?

I haven't been keeping up with Temtem recently, but from what I've seen it does have some innovative aspects such as the breeding system. And, of course, the game is still in early access so they might have more innovative features that they haven't gotten to yet.

To me, it seems that the game is made by and for people who wish the core games would just be more like they were in Gen 4. Which is not innovation - it's reversion and stagnation

This seems a bit dismissive to me. It's not as though Temtem cannot build off of its starting point nor is reverting to the style of past games completely stifling in terms of innovation. Temtem is certainly not the most innovative of games, but it isn't a stagnant either. Only time will tell how innovative this game will be.

 

[prog rocker]

As far as its ability to stand as a meaningful competitor to Pokémon, I feel like the more adult tone of Temtem (such as the use of swear words in dialogue)

Please tell me it is not like those ROM hacks that think they are mature, but are in fact childish. I'm asking because I'm still having flashbacks about Pokémon Quartz.