With Pokémon Sword and Shield feeling disappointingly bland and linear for the series’ debut on Switch, and overshadowed by the controversy surrounding the Dexit scandal, I was left searching for an alternative fix.
Temtem, with its MMO-inspired structure and player housing systems, felt like a natural progression for the genre, and exploring its seven islands while filling out my Tempedia quickly became an obsession that lasted for the next couple of years.
Admittedly, the appeal had faded for me by the time the 1.0 version rolled around, and I completely missed the fact that a Survivors-like spin-off, Temtem: Swarm, had launched into Early Access. With Swarm now making its full release on PC and PlayStation, I decided to take a trip down memory lane to see whether it could capture that same level of magic for me once again.
What is Temtem: Swarm?
Originally conceived as a fun “what if” concept after the team played Vampire Survivors together, Temtem: Swarm is a fast-paced bullet heaven that adapts core elements from the series, including its locales, music, and creatures.
Playable either solo or in co-op, players select their starting Temtem before facing off against endless waves of wild creatures. During each run, they can evolve their partner for powerful stat boosts, unlock new upgrades and moves as they level up, and complete mini-challenges for additional rewards.
These little challenges include defeating bosses or mini-games, such as destroying as many boxes as possible in a limited time.
Surviving the swarm
To successfully complete a run, you need to survive for 20 minutes and then face off against the stage’s final boss. They are giant versions of Temtem, and they can be very tricky to take down on first encounter.
Due to this, death is inevitable, and you’ll find yourself repeating runs while using your harvested Pansun to upgrade your characters. In Swarm, each monster has its own giant branching skill tree, allowing you to permanently unlock upgrades to key stats such as base damage, critical hit chance, and special abilities. Having a separate skill tree for each Temtem allows you to experiment with different builds and tailor upgrades to suit each character’s strengths and weaknesses.
Gotta unlock em’ all
One potential disappointment for players is that only 13 Temtem are playable, though that number increases slightly if you count their evolutions. Only two of these are available from the get-go, and you unlock more by beating bosses and then completing egg hatching events. Still, the selection is solid, with fan-favourites outside of the starter trio such as Nessla, Oree, and Yowlar.
While I’m still not far into my journey with Swarm, I found the egg-hatching events to be a bit of a slog. To unlock a new Temtem, you have to defend an egg from the approaching hordes, which can feel tedious when you’re simultaneously trying to survive and manage upgrades.
An obvious question you might be asking is whether Swarm is accessible for players who haven’t experienced the original. My answer is: absolutely!
While many of the Easter eggs and callbacks won’t resonate with newcomers, the game stands on its own as a charming Survivors-like that’s genuinely approachable for beginners and younger players. Your Tems are surprisingly tanky, forgiving mistakes, and battling alongside friends online makes for an even more relaxed learning curve.
The Verdict
As somebody returning to the series after a lengthy hiatus, I found Swarm to be a fun nostalgia trip that manages to bring some fun new ideas to the genre, rather than being a simple reskin.
The transition from turn-based MMO to chaotic bullet heaven has been handled masterfully, and I love how some of the series’ defining features, such as its online focus and creature collecting, have stayed intact.
Unlocking new playable Tems can be a bit of a slog, but the roster is solid, and giving each Temtem its own skill tree was a smart move, letting you tailor your creatures to their individual strengths.
Looking to the future, I’m even more excited to see what’s next for the series with the next instalment, Project Downbelow, set to appear at next week’s Triple-i Initiative, on April 9th.
Temtem: Swarm is out now on PC (Win) and PlayStation, and I played on PS5 via access kindly provided by Crema.
