Steam just announced the Creature Collector Fest, discounting a slew of games that scratch that Pokémon itch, all without giving Nintendo a dime or resorting to emulating a Nintendo Switch. One such game is Temtem, which is discounted by 70% during the Steam Creature Collector Fest until May 19.
Temtem gameplay and highlights
Temtem is, at its core, a game that riffs on the Pokémon formula. The game takes place on a floating archipelago consisting of seven unique islands, each with its own aesthetic and monsters. The graphics are far more modern than the pixelated graphics of the Pokémon franchise, but Temtem still features a highly stylised, cartoonish aesthetic.
In terms of gameplay, Temtem features the same turn-based combat as the Pokémon franchise, and there are also eight Dojo leaders players can battle as they play through the story. The biggest difference compare to Pokémon, however, is that battles take place with a 2v2 formula by default. This theoretically opens the door to more tactical gameplay than most of the battles in Nintendo's creature collector. There is also a co-op session mode available, wherein players join up with another player to work towards in-game challenges or simply adventure around the archipelago collecting Temtem.
Reviews, like the one from Rock Paper Shotgun, praise Temtem for its tough battles and the difficulty ramp in the game's story mode, as well as its PvP duel mode, which serves to spice things up in the MMO.
Temtem also features cute character customisation and basic cosy game features, like buying and decorating a house to your liking and breeding your favourite Tems. Of course, Tems can also evolve to become stronger and learn new move sets.
Temtem is discounted from $44.99 to $13.49 during the Steam Creature Collector Fest, which will last until May 19. The game is also Platinum-rated by ProtonDB, meaning it will run nearly flawlessly on the Valve Steam Deck. Its moderate system requirements also mean that gaming handhelds like the Asus ROG Ally (curr. $649.99 at Best Buy) and Lenovo Legion Go (curr. $649.99 at Best Buy) should be able to deliver smooth frame rates without issue.
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