Recent reviews by Asakura

I didn't want to leave a review until after finishing the main story at least so that I could experience the content most people are likely to do. I started on day 1 of the alpha test and played sporadically over that time. After 88.2 hours I finished the main story and spent maybe 2 or 3 hours of that Luma hunting at one point but otherwise stuck to the main story and just working on my team. I'll touch on the Battle Pass and being a MMO at the end.

From start to finish Temtem has been what I've wanted Pokemon to be for years. It's a challenging and somewhat grindy game that doesn't hand hold or babysit you throughout the whole game. I enjoyed the battle system more than I initially thought and that only grew on me as the game progressed. Strategy in 2v2 was fun and especially so in tougher battles like dojo leaders and main story fights. I appreciate how much type matchups matter and managing stamina, while not overly involved, did change how I approached some battles.

I love the art style and the Temtem designs. I know that will be hit or miss for people but as I progressed I kept finding myself wanting to use a lot of the new creatures that I would run in to. Early on the designs can feel a little basic and same-y but that could also just be starting zone fatigue from the number of Pokemon games I played where you also had fairly basic, normal designs at the start with battle moves that aren't particularly exciting. I do feel this changes by the time you reach the end of Deniz (the starting archipelago). By the later zones I found myself taking time to catch as many of the Temtem that I liked as possible for different stats, traits, etc because I want to level them up and use them.

Briefly on the story: Some jokes might be a little overdone and people may find some lines to make you groan but I enjoyed it more than the story lines of Pokemon games and felt like it did a good enough job being a different flavor of "big bad organization tries to take over/destroy the world".

**The controversial stuff seems to be the Battle Pass that was added, whether the game is an MMO, and future content**

Battle Pass: I think the quests not kicking in until the end of the story should be advertised front and center instead of on the quest tab only. But if someone just purchases the battle pass without looking around the menu or checking out the rewards first that's more on the consumer. i'm glad they're upping the experience earned but between the price, included cosmetics in the pass, and ways to earn experience I think most people can safely skip buying it without missing out on anything. For the price of the game you're going to get at least 50 hours of content and if you're enjoyment hinges on battle pass related things I would suggest looking elsewhere.

MMO: I know people will say that based on the number of people you can do content with (co-op, battles, and lairs) this isn't really an MMO. That doesn't bother me, personally. I like that I can see people running around the overworld, I like that I can interact with them, I like that we have the auction house, and I love that there are online battle and in-game tournaments to scratch a competitive itch. I haven't done any lairs or true end game content yet but I'm very much excited about doing them and from what I have heard they are very neat additions.

Future Content: I'm going to be a little bit of an old man and that we've been ruined by game devs promising upcoming DLC before a game even launches the past decade or so. Why would be want more content or DLC if the base of the game isn't very good to begin with? And in this case I do think the base of Temtem is outstanding and a breath of fresh air in this genre. We do still have some content in development that is not yet in the game that seems to be more end-game focused and will add to the replay ability of the game at that point. But I know for me, right now, I feel like I have SO MUCH that I can do with training up a team I like, breeding high stat Temtem, luma hunting, dojo rematches, PvP battles, side quests, etc that I could easily but another 80-100 hours in and still have more left to do. I do hope that, eventually, we might see new zones and new Temtem. It can be years between new versions of Pokemon that add new creatures and zones. However, if you're complaint is that these things should be expected as a live service game your frustration is warranted but it just doesn't bother me all that much with how much have in the game currently.

I will try to remember to update this as I do more end-game content to see how all of that feels as I move on from the story. If you took the time to read this, thank you. I just hope that is able to help at least someone in their decisions on the game and if it might be the right game for them.