Temtem
Setting: Fantasy | Developer: Crema | Platform: PC, Xbox Series, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch | Release Date: January 21, 2020 | Model: Buy2Play
What kind of game is this? Temtem is Crema’s answer to Pokémon, but as an MMORPG. The game fully relies on you collecting, breeding, and improving creatures in the open fantasy world and ultimately battling with them.
Graphically, Temtem follows a visual style similar to its spiritual predecessor, but is even more colorful. However, the MMORPG also draws a clear line to Pokémon in many areas. Battles only occur in pairs, so you don’t have the classic solo encounters.
The battles score with a lower random factor and a higher difficulty than one is used to from the template. Outside of the battles, you follow a storyline in Temtem and explore the world of the MMO and the Temtem living within it.
The main focus is clearly on collecting the capable monsters.
What makes it special? The special thing about Temtem is the entire premise itself. An MMORPG as a Pokémon clone has not been seen before and is definitely something that sets the game apart from other titles.
It can have its own appeal to roam the world searching for the best and highest Temtems instead of leveling a gear score or farming materials.
Additionally, the game features a hard and adult storyline that deals with themes of war, betrayal, and human failure. The characters remain relatable, and you want to know how their stories progress.
Our colleague Maik Schneider even calls the game the “crowning achievement of classic monster-collecting games”, so it’s definitely worth a look.
How has it been since the release? For this title as well, it is difficult to assess exactly how many people are playing Temtem. However, the numbers on Steam have clearly fallen since the release. While almost 40,000 people were simultaneously hunting monsters at the start of early access, there are currently only 359 on average (via steamcharts).
Other than that, it seems that Temtem is not doing too well. On Steam, the ratings for the last 30 days have plummeted from “mostly positive” to “balanced.” Only 53% of the last 145 ratings are positive.
According to fans, it’s because the developers are apparently monetizing Temtem more aggressively than initially planned. Especially a battle pass is causing a negative uproar.
Who is it interesting for? With a relatively high price of almost €45, one should think twice about whether to check out Temtem. The game offers a lot of different monsters, challenging battles, and an exciting story.
But there isn’t much else. That’s less content than is usual for most MMORPGs. If you have no interest in the style and collecting monsters, you won’t find fun with Temtem either.
However, if you are looking for a Pokémon-like game that you can comfortably play on PC and don’t want to wait for Palworld to finally be released, the game can indeed be exciting.
Is starting in 2023 worthwhile? As Temtem does not rely on things like gear score or long grind, you can also start in the MMORPG today and have no problems catching up. This is pleasant and makes it easier for new players to start in the world of Temtem.
If you are only interested in Temtem’s battles, there is now the free Temtem: Showdown. Here you have access to a massive pool of Temtem and can just fight. While you miss the rest of the game, you can at least get a free impression.
New World
Setting: Fantasy | Developer: Amazon Games | Platform: PC | Release Date: September 28, 2021 | Model: Buy2Play
What kind of game is this? New World is the big MMORPG from Internet giant Amazon. Although the game had a difficult start, especially regarding technical problems, it managed to attract a lot of people. At launch, nearly a million users were simultaneously exploring the New World.
This New World is actually the island of Aeternum, where you land as a shipwrecked person and must find out why pretty much everything on this island, including you, is immortal. A key part of this is the magical Azoth, which is also an important resource.
In gameplay, New World focuses on exploration with a compass instead of a minimap, PvE with dungeons and crafting, and PvP in the open world. This works with three different factions, whose various guilds regularly fight over who gets to control which city.
If you aren’t interested in that, you can opt out of PvP at any time; you’ll get a bit less experience while sneaking around the island, but you also don’t have to live in constant fear.
What makes it special? New World completely dispenses with classes and follows a system where only your equipment matters. There are heavy, medium, and light types, which weigh differently. The heavier they are, the more you can endure, but you will also become less agile.
You can choose two different weapons between which you can switch at any time. These improve the longer you use them. In theory, you can become a master of all weapons. However, each weapon has only 3 different skills. In combat, dodging, actively aiming, and managing your stamina are therefore important.
What is also special is the extremely good sound design of New World, which can enhance the game with many small mechanics. For instance, you can hear whether someone is currently mining iron or gold, a real auditory delight. Our author Mark Sellner even turned on the sound for the first time in 15 years in MMORPGs.
How has it been since the release? After the grand start of the MMORPG, at least regarding player numbers, it quickly went downhill. Amazon was always eager to quickly address problems, but they did not always succeed. Thus, important content updates and features were often postponed.
However, a few months after release, the MMORPG seems to have turned a corner. With steadily new content and features, as well as the initiation of Fresh-Start servers, the MMORPG managed to gain players again.
Currently, an average of 11,414 people play New World simultaneously every day, which is a solid number that has been maintained for several months (via steamcharts). Furthermore, most patches are still pending this year, as the developers announced in the roadmap to release a major update every 3 months.
Who is it interesting for? New World offers an unexploited setting and, with the three factions fighting for control, a constantly changing world. Also, the game often feels like a good single-player RPG in terms of quality, but also executes its MMO content excellently.
New World is actually interesting for anyone who can spare the around 40 € for the game. Other than a battle pass, there’s really nothing else you will need because New World’s shop is one of the fairest seen in the genre.
However, if you prefer particularly colorful MMOs with flashy skill effects and numerous abilities, then New World might not be for you. Although it opts for a fantasy setting, the skills and areas are closer to reality than in other genre representatives.
Is starting in 2023 worthwhile? Yes, probably even more than at release. Because the game runs much more smoothly today than it did back then. Additionally, the start has been significantly revised up to level 25 and now offers a much more pleasant experience with voiced cutscenes and more.
In addition, the Fresh-Start servers provide a way for everyone to start anew. However, it is currently unclear whether there will be more of these servers available. But that is not necessarily required, as the content from the battle pass gives you a quick boost to catch up without venturing into the Pay2Win segment.
Lost Ark
Setting: Fantasy | Developer: Smilegate | Platform: PC | Release Date: February 11, 2022 | Model: Free2Play
What kind of game is this? Similar to Albion, Lost Ark also features an isometric perspective. From above, you control one of the now 24 classes through the world of Arkesia while searching for the shards of the Ark.
Each continent offers its own storyline and setting, ranging from classic fantasy to steampunk, providing everything a nerd’s heart could desire.
In the gameplay loop, you chase a steadily increasing gear score and farm upgrade materials to enhance your equipment. In addition to this cycle, many side quests await you, exciting side quests, over 90 islands you can explore with your own ship, as well as PvP.
Lost Ark repeatedly impresses with its thoughtful, powerful, and fast combat system, which simply feels fantastic and doesn’t have to hide behind other isometric giants like Diablo 4 or Path of Exile.
What makes it special? Lost Ark stands out in the endgame primarily due to its raids. These rank among the best in the entire MMORPG genre and offer unique mechanics and tricky attack patterns.
You can attack the various bosses in groups of 4 or 8 and hopefully defeat them. If you succeed and are looking for that special kick, there’s also a “hard mode” for each boss that introduces new mechanics. Anyone who has experienced the breathtakingly staged battles against Phantom Queen Brelshaza or the clown Kakul-Saydon will be disappointed by raids in other games afterward.
However, raiding is also essential for progressing in the game. Behind the tricky raid bosses lies always your next armor. Thus, the MMORPG initiates a cycle of increasingly challenging raids and the grind for better equipment.
How has it been since the release? With over 1.3 million concurrent fans at launch, Lost Ark had an exceptionally good start. The MMORPG is still ranked 3rd among all Steam games regarding concurrent players.
However, this MMORPG from Korea, which is distributed here by Amazon, subsequently faced significant problems. For a long time, bots were one of them, but this issue has largely been resolved now. Nevertheless, player numbers continue to decline.
Currently, Lost Ark still has 31,489 fans online concurrently every day (via steamcharts). So, it is far from being alarming. Furthermore, the MMORPG receives monthly content updates and events and is continuously developed in close cooperation with the community.
Both the publisher and developers place great importance on the opinions of fans.
Who is it interesting for? Lost Ark is interesting for everyone who is not bothered by the colorful appearance of the game and has a high frustration tolerance. As previously mentioned, raids in the endgame are essential for making any progress.
However, you will be helplessly lost in the first raid if you haven’t at least viewed a guide beforehand. This will not get better later. So, if difficult raids are not your strength, Lost Ark might not be for you.
Additionally, fans often raise the question of whether the shop in Lost Ark is now Pay2Win or just Pay2Progress. In any case, it is controversial and offers strong comfort features for real money.
If you don’t have a problem with the mentioned aspects, Lost Ark is definitely worth a look, especially since it costs you nothing due to the Free2Play concept.
Is starting in 2023 worthwhile? Absolutely. Lost Ark currently introduces approximately every 2 months a new strong catch-up event in the game. These events allow you to obtain at least one character who can keep up with veterans with minimal effort.
Moreover, old content is constantly being revised, made easier, or streamlined to improve the experience for new players. So, if you bring a little time, catching up is easy.
You also don’t have to worry about a lack of content, as the monthly updates always bring something to do. Lost Ark is currently an even better game than it was at launch.
On the next page, we continue with two honorable mentions and a look at the coming years.
