Temtem, A Pokemon-Like MMO, Announced For Steam Early Access

If you're into creature-collecting, sending adorable monsters into battle, and trading beasts with your friends then we have good news: Temtem packs all this into one aesthetically pleasing package. What, you thought we were talking about Pokemon?

Temtem is an MMO (something Game Freak has yet to get around to making) that started out on Kickstarter, wherein players collect and capture creatures that they then use to battle. Yes, this sounds an awful lot like a Pokemon clone. Even some of the UI takes heavy inspiration from Nintendo's long-running series.

A new gameplay trailer for Temtem, however, shows off where this new game takes significant departures from the Pokemon formula. Namely, the multiplayer aspects of Temtem are wholly original: character customization allows for players to get incredibly creative, and tamers (as opposed to trainers) can emote at each other, chat, and team up to take on baddies. 

It also looks like players will be able to decorate houses and complete quests and side quests as they explore the Airborne Archipelago. The design of this world is reminiscent of games like My Time at Portia and, of course, Pokemon. We're pretty sure we spotted some Temtem designs that started out as fake Pokemon designs gone viral. 

Okay, the folks at CremaGames are probably well-aware of how reminiscent this game is of Pokemon, the most lucrative franchise of all time. But hey, Game Freak doesn't have a copyright on the monster catching formula; it just perfected it. For players disenchanted by the divisive Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield, Temtem might serve as a welcome alternative. Prospective players can sign up for beta stress tests right now, or wait around until Jan. 21 for early access. 

The trailer assured us that this is just the beginning – Temtem is going to be around for a while, prolonged by updates, new quests, and new Temtem. It doesn't look like there are 150 Temtem to start with, but maybe there will be in the future. We'll have to wait to catch — er, tame 'em all.