The MMO Temtem is receiving some negative reviews on Steam for the character editor. There, players can choose the neutral pronoun “They” for their character. Some users don’t like this. They say: “There are only 2 genders.”
How is the editor structured? The editor of Temtem allows you to create a character according to your wishes. You first determine the appearance and clothing and then set the gender.
In addition to the options He/Him and She/Her, the game also offers the option “They/Them”, at least in English. This neutral designation means that a person does not necessarily have to be assigned to a gender.
However, the order of character creation and the neutral gender have led to criticism on Steam.
What is being criticized? Regarding the character editor, users mainly criticize two things:
- The characters are never male enough, regardless of the settings.
- The third pronoun would negatively influence the game. Some even describe it as politically motivated or as an imposition for transgender.
Since Temtem has otherwise received many positive reviews and even the technical errors have been taken humorously, these criticisms on Steam stand out particularly.
Pokémon for Social Justice Warriors?
What do the reviews specifically say? On Twitter, user @nitefangmain has compiled some of the critical reviews in an image. The reviews also mention that some users have returned the MMO simply because it offers the “They/Them” option.
— Bun Mom☮️❤️?️? (@nitefangmain) January 24, 2020
Another user even describes the game as a Pokémon, Social Justice Warrior version. New reviews of this kind are continuously being published.
It is striking that the gameplay content of Temtem apparently plays no role in the negative Steam reviews. Instead, they fixate on a point at the start of the game, which they can bypass since the options male and female are still available.
What does the vast majority say about Temtem? The overwhelming majority of Steam users, however, find Temtem good. Out of 8,200 reviews, 89% are positive.
For many, Temtem is the Pokémon. Right at release, the MMO shot to the top of the sales charts on Steam.
The combat system is particularly praised, in which two Temtems fight simultaneously and can even execute combos together. This is said to make it significantly more complex than the popular Pokémon.
