Temtem looks to be as close to a Pokémon MMO as legally possible

Temtem, an upcoming MMO about collecting and battling monsters also called Temtem, was inspired by Pokémon in the same sense that Starbound was inspired by Terraria: It's a spin on it, but nowhere near a full rotation. Temtem is less 'spiritual successor' and more 'well if you're not going to make a Pokémon MMO, we will.' 

The avid folks behind Temtem make up Spanish studio Crema, who you may know from their previous game, Immortal Redneck. Crema recently took Temtem to Kickstarter, seeking $70,000 to help bring it to life. At the time of writing, Temtem's campaign has raised $106,849 and still has 28 days to go. Here's the trailer:

Should Temtem come to fruition, it'll challenge us to become the next great Temtem tamer by discovering new species of Temtem, building the perfect roster, and defeating the eight Dojo Leaders in turn-based battles where elemental matchups are hugely important. You'll also have to deal with Clan Belsoto, "a nefarious organization that would rather use these animals for labor and war." 

That ringing any bells for ya? Because this might: "Every young tamer dreams of becoming the best," reads Temtem's Kickstarter page, barely showing restraint. Here's an even cheekier line from Crema: "Gotta catch 'em all … oh, wait, we're not allowed to say that, are we?" Temtem's Kickstarter trailer also strongly hints at rare, legendary birds. 

So yes, from its systems to its setup to several of its creatures, Temtem is unashamedly like Pokémon, but it's also got some ideas of its own. It's an MMO, for starters, and promises bustling cities packed with players to trade with and battle. It also leans toward co-op: "You will be able to join forces with a friend any time and work together towards your next goal," Crema says. 

Temtem's co-op focus ties into its battle system, which supports up to four players. Most battles are 2v2, but you'll also encounter 2v1s when fighting wild Temtem, and there are 1v1s for tournaments. "Temtem is built for tournaments and as such has a pick-ban system," Crema says. "Instead of coming into each battle with a set team, players each ban one of their opponents’ Temtem so competitors must always remain adaptable." 

Outside of training and battling, you'll be able to breed new Temtem back at your fully decoratable home, according to the pitch. "Breeding is the easiest way to create a Temtem with perfect stats, since they will inherit some of the stats of their parents," the Kickstarter reads. "Breeding will also open the door to new movesets since some of the moves will be inherited, allowing a Temtem to know moves its species might not normally learn."

"Growing up and playing Pokémon was one of the best parts of my childhood," says Crema co-founder Guillermo Andrades. “I want to give that back to players with Temtem and include all of the features I had dreamed of back then.”

Temtem integrates some unofficial but nevertheless beloved parts of Pokémon games. Its first (and long since surpassed) stretch goal, Nuzlocke mode, was inspired by the house rules hardcore mode of the same name that many Pokémon fans use to raise the stakes, and it follows the same rules: you lose your creatures if they faint in battle, and you can only catch the first one you encounter in each area. 

Temtem is scheduled to release in late 2019, with a playable alpha scheduled for late 2018.