Crema's Pokémon-inspired MMORPG TemTem had something of a rough launch, as players suffered through lag, a litany of bugs, server disconnects and lengthy queues. The game was officially made available via Steam's Early Access program on Tuesday, January 21, and while reviews indicate that players are enjoying the game, those technical issues have definitely soured its coming-out party.
The hype for TemTem has been building since May of 2018 when Crema kicked off its crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter. Initially seeking $70,000 for development, the studio saw its funding goal smashed to the tune of nearly $574,000. With Nintendo and Game Freak seemingly content to leave Pokémon fans to their own devices as relates to playing a proper MMO based on the long-running game and anime series, TemTem was able to generate massive interest as a legitimate Pokémon alternative (and developers made no secret of the fact that they drew massive inspiration from those properties).
PC Gamer's Tyler Wilde was just one of several to report on the issues the game was having on launch day, concluding that gamers "may want to wait before trying out the Pokémon-like MMO." Initially, there were player queues that had ensnared tens of thousands of would-be TemTem tamers. Those queues would eventually clear out, but only because of massive server disconnects. As of this writing, even after multiple hotfixes, problems remain. Players attempting to open items or enter into battles, for example, are encountering slowdowns and crashes. Per the TemTem Twitter account, developers are working hard to patch out remaining issues.
Technical issues aside, launch day hasn't been all bad for TemTem and Crema. The game is reportedly the best-selling game on Steam currently with over 20,000 concurrent players. Steam reviews have been mostly positive as well.
Launch day glitches, lag and server issues are nothing new in the MMORPG realm; frankly, it would be strange if everything went off without a hitch on day one. Also - early sales make it clear that Pokémon fans were buying into TemTem as a surrogate MMO. However, if Crema wants to continue capitalizing on the momentum that has been generated, the studio would be well-served to get its game stable sooner rather than later. As an Early Access title, the game is currently only 50 percent completed per Crema and its $35 price point will only go up as more content is released. The game will need to avoid the kinds of issues that have plagued its launch if the studio expects gamers to pay a premium price.
In addition to Steam, TemTem is slated for release on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Source: PC Gamer, TemTem/Twitter