Temtem Swarm
Temtem Swarm is the second game in the Temtem franchise. I played Temtem, the online creature collecting game for over 5,500 hours on Steam.
This game, Temtem Swarm, is a bullet-haven game that brings the cute Temtem into a new life.
Co-Op Action
The biggest strength point of Temtem Swarm is it's ability to team up to three players. In the past week, I've played with one of my friends throughout the five available maps, progressing and upgrading our Temtem as we go along.
Yesterday we finally beat the last stage, Saipark, with my Innki and my teammate playing the Crystle line. The co-op mode brings a well-balanced difficulty while providing unique opportunitiess, such as the Ghost Mode.
Whenever I died (yes it was always me dragging our team down), my ally was able to chase around the enemies and come back to revive me. In the meantime, I was a ghost, pushing the enemy swarms every few seconds.
Another lovely experience was that I got items which allowed my ally to upgrade their synergised skills, and vice-versa. I would imagine that playing as three would make it significantly easier to unlock the synergised skills!
The down-side of co-op is that I was overwhelmed (I'm autistic), and taking my team to choose skills made me feel like I am letting my friend down. I often ended up choosing skills or items rapidly without planning my strategy. I would recommend playing a few rounds or preparing yourself solo if you're like me.
Solo Mode
After feeling so overwhelmed with my friend being better, I decided to play a round solo. I started a new save profile (you can have up to three) and started over with Smazee in Cipanku.
Guess what? I smashed it!
Without evolving even once, I was able to complete the first map with just the three starting skills. The experience of getting used to the controls definitely helped me, and I really enjoy the ability to control the aim for some of the key techniques.
Honestly, I really enjoyed taking the time to choose my upgrades, especially because I am playing the game in Spanish, a language I am still learning. Being familiar with the Temtem franchise, it definitely helped me understand most techniques and icons, making this easier entry for me despite the language barrier.
On the other hand, it did feel easier playing solo. Potentially because Smazee is beginner friendly and tankier than most of the other available Temtem. I do think that playing in team does make the maps a little more difficult, which I enjoyed.
Final Thoughts
The game is enjoyable both as solo and co-op. In all honesty, I never play co-op games because I get overwhelmed easily and I have difficulty with social settings. Having said that, I actually really enjoyed my hours of playing co-op.
As an Early Access game, Temtem Swarm is already worth the $9.99 price point. I'm looking forward to seeing more updates to unlock new Temtem and maps. Based on the improvement between the Demo and the Early Access release, the developers have made wonderful strides in taking feedback and improving the game. Thus, the game can only get better!