For Pokémon fans looking to experience their favorite series in MMORPG form, TemTem - a new game coming to Steam as an Early Access title in January of next year - may be able to fill the void. Although it may not be an official entry into the Pokémon series from Game Freak, it may just be the closest thing to a Pokémon MMO that gamers ever get.
Developed by the Madrid, Spain-based studio Crema (Immortal Redneck) and published by the controversial Humble Bundle, TemTem began as a crowdfunding project on Kickstarter with an initial goal of $70,000. The project smashed that mark in a matter of days and met a litany of stretch goals thereafter, and by the end of the campaign nearly 12,000 backers had raised $573,939 in funding. From the get-go, the game's developers haven't been shy about the fan-base they're targeting - on the Kickstarter page and the company's official site, TemTem is referred to as is a 'massively multiplayer creature-collection adventure inspired by Pokémon.' The game's ultimate goal: to be the very best (like no one ever was) tamer by catching all of the TemTem, of course.
TemTem will hit Steam Early Access on January 21, 2020 per a release date announcement on IGN. The completed game will also be ported to Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. In conjunction with the Steam announcement, a three-minute gameplay and overview trailer was made available as an update for the game's Kickstarter backers and posted to various websites. Check it out below:
The Early Access version of TemTem is said to feature a 20-plus hour campaign (which represents nearly 50 percent of the game's story content) as well as three different islands of the six that comprise TemTem's world, the Airborne Archipelago, 76 catchable TemTem, co-op play, character customization, breeding, hunting and a mechanic which diverges from the traditional Pokémon formula - two-on-two TemTem battles involving multiple players. In advance of TemTem's public release, Crema will be running server stress tests in preparation for the game's launch. As of this report, there are no firm dates on when these stress tests will be taking place, but interested players can sign up to participate on the game's official page.
For Pokémon fans who have been forced to play unofficial, fan-made games like PokeOne and PokeMMO, TemTem may finally be the legitimate title that hits the MMO sweet spot for them. Fans have clamored for an official Pokémon MMO for years and, thus far, Game Freak has been content to ignore their requests. While largely created as an homage or love letter to Pokémon, some of TemTem's more unique features could allow it to stand on its own as a gaming experience. To that end, hopefully the 2v2 tamer battle system (which is also RNG-free) will offer a level of strategy and complexity not present in standard Pokémon battles.
Source: IGN