Temtem Review Summary

Last updated: 2026-05-04
  • Charming and beautiful graphics
  • Good and enjoyable game
  • Cooperative gameplay features
  • Unique and engaging combat mechanics
  • Weak and unoriginal story
  • Excessive grinding mechanics
Temtem header

Emotions

Archetypes

What players like:

Common complaints:

Gameplay feedback:

Performance notes:

Recommendations:

Other player notes:

Review evidence

Why players say this

What players like

Charming and beautiful graphics: The game features a charming and beautiful art style with detailed and colorful graphics. Players appreciate the creature designs and the overall visual appeal.

Good and enjoyable game: Overall, the game is considered good and enjoyable with excellent gameplay and controls. Players find it entertaining and fun to play.

Cooperative gameplay features: The game offers cooperative gameplay modes, including co-op battles and multiplayer features. Players enjoy the cooperative aspects and the ability to play with friends.

Alternative to Pokémon: The game is seen as a great alternative to Pokémon, offering a similar experience with its own unique features. Some players find it more enjoyable and challenging than Pokémon.

Unique and engaging combat mechanics: The game features fun and unique combat mechanics with two-on-two battles. The battle system is solid and engaging, offering a strategic experience.

Common complaints

Weak and unoriginal story: The game's story is criticized for being unoriginal, tedious, and lacking depth or continuity. Many players found it disappointing and not engaging enough.

Excessive grinding mechanics: Players report that the game requires too much grinding, which feels tedious and unnecessary, detracting from the overall enjoyment.

Game feels boring: The game is often described as boring, with forgettable dialogue and a world that doesn't capture interest. The repetitive nature contributes to this sentiment.

Game abandoned by developers: There is a strong sentiment that the developers have abandoned the game, with no updates or future content planned, leading to a feeling of abandonment among players.

Game is overpriced: The game is considered too expensive, with high costs for in-game items and clothing, making it feel overpriced.

Gameplay and performance

Creature collection and variety: The game is centered around collecting and training creatures, similar to Pokémon. Players can collect, evolve, and train a variety of creatures.

Similarities to Pokémon: The game shares many similarities with Pokémon, including creature collection, battling, and a similar stat system (IVs named CP and EVs named CA).

Co-op and multiplayer features: The game offers cooperative gameplay and multiplayer features, allowing players to team up and adventure together.

2 vs 2 battle system: The combat system is primarily based on 2 vs 2 battles, which are frequent and can be challenging.

Story and quests: The game includes a story-driven campaign with various quests and tasks for players to complete.

Game crashes and black screens: Players experience game crashes during battles and black screen issues, both during battles and at launch.

Server connectivity issues: Players frequently report server connectivity issues, including frequent disconnects and server accessibility problems.

Various bugs and glitches: Players report various bugs and glitches, including name registration bugs, party freezing, teleporting issues, and experience desync bugs.

Good performance on PC: The game runs well on PC, with many players reporting smooth performance and fast load times.

Compatibility issues with Linux: There are compatibility issues with Linux and Steam Deck, although some players report it runs great on Steam Deck.

Recommendations

Recommended for Pokémon fans: The game is highly recommended for fans of Pokémon and similar monster-catching games. It offers a more mature experience for those who enjoy the genre.

Buy on sale: Many reviewers suggest purchasing the game during a sale to get the best value for money. The game is often considered worth it at a discounted price.

Worth it for co-op play: The game is particularly enjoyable for co-op play, making it a great choice for those who have friends to play with. It enhances the experience significantly.

Worth the money for content: The game offers a lot of content and is considered worth the money, especially for those who enjoy monster-catching and breeding systems.

Consider other similar games: Some reviewers recommend trying other similar games like Coromon, Cassette Beasts, Palworld, and Nexomon Extinction instead.

Buying context

Community fair range: $10.00 - $25.00.

Game completion: 65.0h.

Story completion: 50.0h.

Endgame: 1200.0h.

The game's fun factor significantly improves when playing in co-op mode, which mitigates the early-game grind and repetitiveness. The initial stages can be tedious and frustrating due to grinding and lack of affordability.

Reported time to anchor: 2h.

Friction: Grindy gameplay; Items are impossible to afford in the early game; Tedious quests; Repetitive early-game tasks.

Player profiles

Completionist Grinder: Grinding, collecting, and PvP-focused gameplay. Motivation: Completing all aspects of the game and mastering PvP. Stance: buy.

Nostalgic Critic: Casual gameplay with a focus on collection and criticism of game mechanics. Motivation: Enjoying the monster-collecting genre with a critical eye on game mechanics. Stance: sale.

Co-op Enthusiast: Cooperative gameplay with a focus on social interaction. Motivation: Enjoying cooperative gameplay with friends or partners. Stance: sale.

Platform notes

Steam Deck: The analysis of user feedback reveals several critical issues affecting the Steam Deck experience. The always-online requirement and platform restrictions, particularly for Linux and Steam Deck users, are significant pain points. Additionally, game mechanics such as the stamina system and economy have been criticized. Despite these issues, some users have reported positive experiences with the game's performance on the Steam Deck.

Linux and Proton: The game has significant issues with anti-cheat measures on Linux, leading to bans for users attempting to play on this platform. This is a critical problem that severely impacts the user experience for Linux players.

Extra review signals

Monetization: The game has introduced several monetization strategies that have significantly impacted the player experience. The battle pass system, paywalls for post-game content, FOMO strategies, and currency obfuscation are the main points of contention. These elements create a sense of missing out on essential content, restrict access to fun activities, and obfuscate real-money spending, leading to a perception of the game being a cash grab.

External guides: The primary user complaints revolve around the game's reliance on external wikis for understanding complex mechanics, completing quests, and learning basic game functions. The lack of in-game explanations and guidance significantly impacts the user experience, leading to frustration and a need for constant external reference.

Other review notes

Add Pokémon-style contest system: Players have suggested incorporating a contest system similar to that found in Pokémon games. This feature would likely involve players competing in various challenges or showcasing their creatures or characters in a structured competition.