Struggles in Temtem offered

It’s the exceptional way Temtem Pansun approaches storytelling and its world that really helps the game establish its own individuality. You’ll be exploring exotic islands full of lush greens and crystals which make the 3 islands you can now explore every feel like paradises. It was a modest off-putting, however, to observe the characters in these surroundings sporting tribal JRPG-ish equipment and times wearing cardigans and easy t-shirts.

That dash of culture plays to the story also, with Temtem trainers such as yourself having to attend courses at Accademia until they can go away and explore the world or conquer the Dojos of each island. I was excited by the natural sense of construction that excitement was immediately dashed when I arrived in the Accademia building and was told to simply go to the next town, although that tamers appeared to have in this world. No NPCs, no classes, not a single combat experience.

You will spend ages wading cliffs along and walking paths that are littered with daunting trainer battles that constantly slow your progress, but once you arrive in a town, there is rarely much for you to see or do. Some story beats and minutes of dialog choice offered appeal, but in the grand scheme of things, Temtem is more focused on guiding one to the next battle experience than they are with providing you a fantastic reason to care about the experience.

Luckily, struggles in Temtem offered. Every experience in the game is really a battle, and your Temtem will not be able to only spam their most powerful move until the enemies are all down. Every Temtem includes a Stamina pub, and every attack drains this. Should you use an attack to buy Temtem Pansun when you don’t have enough stamina, your Temtem will overexert themselves and deliver the blow at the cost of taking damage themselves and being unable to act the turn. The stamina system ended up presenting a unique challenge that forced me to consider my conclusions in battle more than I’ve in almost any Pokémon game while it put me off at first.