Pokémon May Have New Competition, and That's a Good Thing

After almost a quarter of a century, Pokémon is still going strong. Between the announcement of new DLC and the number of times Pokémon Home has been downloaded since its release last month, the Pokémon franchise shows no signs of slowing down.

But that doesn't means it's all been Roselia and Sweet Scent. Pokémon Sword and Shield has been wrapped up in controversy since it was first announced that the National Pokédex wouldn't be included, meaning many beloved creatures would not be included in the games. Fan resentment only grew when it was revealed that some animations were being reused, undermining one of the reasons given for the change. Pokémon fans have been fervent in both their support and disapproval, and with the Internet as pervasive as it is now, this has created the perfect opportunity for competition in the monster-collecting genre.

Related: REVIEW: Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX is a Lovely Return to Form

This is actually not a new thing -- Pokémon has had competition in the monster-capture genre since its inception. Its most well-known competitor, Digimon, even has a new title coming to the Nintendo Switch later this year. But Pokémon itself has had little to fear over the years, relying on brand power and customer loyalty to continue to be the very best. But with that loyalty shaken, two new competitors have been able to take the stage.

Pokémon is a very sturdy brand, with reliance on a stable formula: go out, catch Pokémon, challenge gyms, defeat the evil team. There has been some variation on the formula, which makes it accessible to new players, but frustrating to veteran players who want more of a challenge. This is where Temtem has its chance. Developed by Crema and published by Humble Bundle, Temtem was fully funded on Kickstarter in 2018 and released in Early Access on Steam in January 2020. The game follows the same basic formula as Pokémon: go out, catch Temtem, challenge dojos, defeat the evil team.

However, where Temtem differs is in the challenge involved. Recent Pokémon games have been careful to ensure that the player is not frustrated by full-party wipes or sprawling dungeons. Temtem forgoes that, anticipating that players are already accustomed to its game mechanics. Instead, it replicates the challenge of older Pokémon games, and players should expect to get wiped out and lost.

Related: Temtem: What To Do After You've Done Everything In Early Access

Despite the different terms, monsters, and locations, Temtem is unapologetically inspired by Pokémon to the point that it's part of its sales pitch on Steam. The gameplay will be familiar to longtime Pokémon fans, and most of the basic mechanics, like capturing monsters, are very similar to Pokémon. These similarities are enough to split players on Temtem: some love it for being a Pokémon clone, while others hate it for the same reason. Regardless, when Temtem first launched, the servers were flooded with people who wanted to play. After last year's Pokémon-related drama, Temtem being Pokémon-esque and available to PC players gave disgruntled fans an alternative path.

Still, Temtem follows the somewhat linear and dungeon-style crawl of Pokémon, and some fans have been asking for an open-world Pokémon game for years now. This is where the next game comes in: Kindred Fates, which is currently being developed by Skymill Studios. The upcoming game has quite a bit of hype surrounding it after it was funded on Kickstarter in just five days. Kindred Fates bills itself as a monster capture game in the same vein as Pokémon, but in an open world environment with real-time combat. Also unique to Kindred Fates is the permadeath mechanic, which Pokémon fans have been toying with for years with the Nuzlocke challenge. Both Kindred Fates and Temtem are planned to be available on Steam and the Nintendo Switch, with Temtem already slated for a full platform release in the future.

Games like Temtem and Kindred Fates are important, and they speak to a larger trend that are Game Freak should pay attention to. These indie titles show that consumers, who are the ones paying for games, have become more critical of the products they invest in, and that the Internet gives them the change to be more vocal with their concerns.

We have already seen the effect of the consumer voice with the Sonic the Hedgehog movie: originally slated to release in November 2019, Sony listened to the backlash to Sonic's original design and delayed the film's release until February 2020 in order to make the necessary changes. When the movie finally released, it was a smash hit that shattered both the February slump and the video game curse. In short, the company listened to the consumer and was rewarded for it.

Related: Pokémon Should Keep Remaking Mystery Dungeon Games

Compare and contrast Pokémon, which can stick to its formula without fear due to brand power and consumer loyalty. But consumers have been asking for more for years now, and after years of the same, some are dissatisfied enough to move on. Unofficial Pokémon fan games have been a way for fans with game design talents to create a game with the improvements they'd like to see, but we are moving even further into an era where Pokémon fans who know what they want are in a position to make it happen. Many fans have wanted a challenging game or an open-world MMO, and these indie studios have answered the call.

It's not clear if games like Temtem and Kindred Fates will actually challenge Game Freak enough to have to adapt in order to compete. In fact, history suggests that won't be the case. Pokémon has already survived challengers like Yo-Kai Watch, Digimon, and Monster Rancher with hardly a waver, and their brand power may be insurmountable. Pokémon may have little to fear from its competition, but consumers have shown how vocal they can be.

In any case, these games give consumers the option to take a different path that better suits their needs. While Pokémon may not lose the throne, with Temtem and Kindred Fates entering the fray, it might have to work to keep its title as the monster-capture king.

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About The Author

Dr. Kelsey Dickson is a writer and artist from Delaware. When she's not actively engaged in creative media, she's catering to the whims of her pets, who most likely run the house. Her degrees include a Bachelor's in Game Art, a Master's in Creative Writing, and a Doctorate in Online Education. She also spends a lot of time writing fanfiction, but we won't hold that against her.

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