Temtem: Swarm News

We're so close to that coveted green checkmark! While we haven't quite reached the full "Verified" status yet, we're thrilled to share that Temtem: Swarm is officially "Playable" on Steam Deck!



That means you can dive into the chaotic world of Temtem: Swarm on your Steam Deck and have a blast on launch day! While there might be a few minor hiccups, like some tiny text or the occasional keyboard glyphs, the core gameplay experience is fantastic. Beyond those hiccups, we did get the green check for these super important pieces during the review:

• All functionality is accessible when using the default controller configurations
  
• This game’s default graphics configuration performs well on Steam Deck
  

That being said, we’re fully committed to making the Deck experience as perfect as possible. We're already hard at work to address the feedback from Valve and make Temtem: Swarm fully Verified in no time. We're aiming to have these fixes ready soon, and we'll be resubmitting for review as quickly as possible.

If there’s anyone on the fence because of the ‘Playable’ rating, we totally understand! We’re certain we will soon have it. In the meantime, there were many Tamers who played on the Steam Deck during our Playtests and Steam Next Fest and gave a lot of positive feedback.

If you’re one of those, help your fellow Steam Deckers out and share your experiences in the comments to help them decide!

We’ll be back to let you all know when we reach that coveted green check mark, but in the meantime…get ready to Swarm and...remember that you can wishlist Temtem: Swarm today!

Temtem: Swarm is launching in just 2 days, and we wanted to commemorate every step along the way.
The fearsome and awesome bosses and minibosses of Temtem: Swarm finally get their spotlight!



[h2]Dangerous acolytes[/h2]
Before you can face the big dudes in each map, you'll have to prove yourself against their minions! Two mini bosses await you in each arena, each one of them carefully elected to match that arena's typings and lore. The first mini boss will spawn at minute 5, and the second will spawn at minute 10.

They will spawn regardless of where you are and what you're doing, and they don't care how swarmed you are at the time! Most mini bosses have two or three special attacks, every one different from the others, that they'll try to punish you with, so take a second to observe their patterns before launching in! One fun fact? You don't have to defeat the mini bosses as long as you defeat the boss, but the level of challenge goes through the roof with these three beasts on screen plus the swarm. Don't say we didn't warn you!



Defeating mini bosses will grant you a chest with delicious perks, but might also give you Kudos progression and eggs!

[h2]Regents of the isles[/h2]
So you've defeated the mini bosses and the clock is inching towards minute 15, are you ready, Tamer? At minute 15, the boss of the map will spawn. Like with mini bosses, it'll show no regard for you, where you are or how chaotic your situation is.

Bosses have a fuller kit, with 4 to 5 special techniques and attacks. Also, bosses will charge at you, and they swerve!



Defeating the boss is the victory condition in Temtem: Swarm, so give it your best! It'll also reward you in Kudos, eggs, and progression towards unlocking more content.

Bosses were chosen with a "they have to be special" approach, while leaving room to design a cool kit for them. They had to feel more unique and rare than the playable character, so most are final stage evolutions, which emphasizes their perceived strength. Many are Tems that are hard to find in the original Temtem game. We also, of course, kept in mind the arena they were going to appear in, and made sure their types and appearances aligned!

Here are the two bosses you should be already familiar with from our Playtesting and Demo period, Oceara and Nessla:



Oceara is a pure water powerhouse, strong against Fire types, but weak against Nature and Electric type attacks. She'll show off with long-range attacks like Water Blade and Flood, charge at you with Water Charge and heal herself with the Sanative Rain. And if you hear Oceara's battle cry, prepare for Serbatiyo's Wrath!



Nessla is a slithering bundle of water and electricity that will put your speed to the test! She pairs her Electric Charge with menacing, projected attacks like Electric Storm, Electrowhip or Aqua Helix. Oh, but her most unique attack is Nessla's Horn, a homing projectile that will hunt you down. Keep running, Tamer!

We didn't want to spoiler the bosses for the new arenas, but rest assured they're just as cool, formidable and impressive as these two!

We hope you're as excited for Temtem: Swarm's launch as we are. Launch week has started, and we're melting in excitement and pressure over here!

Have fun and Temtem up, and until then remember you can

Temtem: Swarm is launching in just 3 days, and we wanted to commemorate every step along the way.
It’s time to talk about Temtem: Swarm’s bread and butter, Techniques!



[h2]Pow, pew, flash![/h2]
We’re here to defeat Swarms, and how can we do that? With our Temtem’s Techniques!
Techniques in Temtem: Swarm can be divided into 3 categories: Passive Techniques, Ultimates (or Active Techniques) and Synergies. Let’s dive into each one!
Passive Techniques are the ones you’ll see the most, the Techniques your Temtem launches at certain time intervals without your interference. These are the ones you select from the pool, level up, and synergize with Gears. You can upgrade these Techniques up to level 5, which is the maximum level available.
These Techs are each very different from one another, but lucky for us they each have a little info card that tells us all we need to know about a technique! Here’s a nifty picture that points to the most important info about techniques: type, which can be ranged or melee; targeting, which can be a lot of things!; and element, which is the elemental type they align with. Elemental advantages apply in Temtem: Swarm too, so keep them in mind when you’re playing!



Also, every time you’re offered a level up for a Technique you have, you’ll be able to see what changes and improvements will take place if you choose it.

Ultimate Techniques, also sometimes called Active Techniques, are the one Tech in your pool that you can use at will. These have a cooldown, of course, but beyond that there’s no limitations! Each Temtem has a different Ultimate Technique that stays with them through their evolutionary line. These are mighty strong, so they’re sure to save your bacon from time to time, but they don’t level up and can’t be synergized. They’re just strong as they are!

There’ll be a Technique for every need you have, from healing, defending, damaging, enhancing to some extra Techniques whose utility you’ll have to discover as you play. Pay attention to the info provided and don’t be afraid to explore around and try out different Techs!


[h2]Let's power up![/h2]
One super interesting bit of Swarm gameplay is synergies: synergies are powered-up versions of Techniques that are born from the combination of a Technique and a Gear. Getting synergies is super recommended, because these really are OP!
To gain a synergy you have to build up a little: first, the Technique in question needs to be level 5. Second, you need to have the Gear that causes the synergy. You will know which Gear it is because there's a little plus sign icon along with the icon of the Technique, and the same happens the other way around. Once you've fulfilled these requirements, you'll get an option to unlock the synergy the next time you level up. Choose it, and voilà! Enjoy your overpowered Technique.



There's many synergies in the Early Access version, as many as 35! Not getting the synergy you want to show up? Try checking your Kudos board to see that you've unlocked that specific Synergy technique. If you've already completed the Kudos to unlock it, maybe you need to pray to the RNG gods a bit more! So explore around, try out different Tems and builds and find them all out!


We hope you're as excited for Temtem: Swarm's launch as we are. We’re ready to gear up for launch week now!

Have fun and Temtem up, and until then remember you can

Temtem: Swarm is launching in just 4 days, and we wanted to commemorate every step along the way. Today we're diving into how to get new Tems, and how to enjoy Swarm with others!



 [h2]Waiter, there's an egg in my menu![/h2]
We all want to unlock new Tems, don't we? There's 7 total Tems to play with in the Early Access version. Every new Tem is a new playstyle to discover, and a world of possibilities, but great rewards require great work as well! To unlock new Tems you will have to hatch them from their eggs!

To find Temtem eggs you need to win matches, simple as that. Completing some arenas, or defeating certain mini-bosses will grant you an egg, just like that. Once you obtain an egg it will join your Tems in the Temtem selection screen, to let you know they're ready. To hatch them you must successfully complete a capture event by defending the egg from attacking Tems, in any following run. The egg will hatch right then and there, and the Temtem will be available for you to pick in your next run.

Every Temtem is born from an egg that shares its typing, so that's going to give you a little tip as to who's hatching from what egg.



[h2]It's better when we're together.[/h2]
We at Crema looooove cooperative playing, that's why all our recent games have it! Temtem: Swarm can be played in online co-op for up to three players, so that's you and two people of your choice. Playing co-op with your friends is a very fun experience where you'll find yourself either cooperating, or competing for things like experience, pick-ups and perks!

Inviting players to join you in a co-op match is super easy: you have to create a co-op room, copy the code for the room and share it with them. Or you can also invite your Steam friends right away! If you're the one joining a party, just select Join from the Play menu and input the code your co-op partner has provided you with, or just accept their invitation through Steam!

There are some things that change when you're playing with friends. For one, the party leader can decide to share the experience obtained equally among all players. This definitely ensures a more relaxed, cooperative gameplay!
You can also synergize with the other members in your party by picking up the Gear that goes with their Technique (more on this tomorrow!). You'll see the little synergy icon in the Gear info, and the Temtem that it goes with. However, communication is super important here! Only one of you can pick any said Gear, as it will disappear from the pool once someone gets it. Once you're super familiar with your desired build, be sure to let your partners know what you're after so they can leave those for you. It's so good to feel like your friends have your back!

For those who're more of a lone wolf, or for those wanting to play offline, solo mode is just as entertaining and enjoyable! The Swarm intensity adapts to the amount of players in the run, so you won't have to deal with the battle load of 3 people if you're playing by yourself.



We hope you're as excited for Temtem: Swarm's launch as we are! Only 4 more days to go, which in dev days means it's almost now (send help!).

Have fun and Temtem up, and until then remember you can

Temtem: Swarm is launching in just 5 days, and we wanted to commemorate every step along the way. We're starting off with something evidently at the core of Swarm: the Tems!



[h2]How were the Tems selected for every stage, or as playable characters?[/h2]
To decide which Temtem were featured into Temtem: Swarm, we had to balance two elements: first, the need to cover all 12 types as accurately as possible, and a desire to add variety to the combination of Techniques they can use. If you've played the original Temtem game you might be confused seeing Tems use Techniques from a wider array of types, something that wasn't as common in Temtem. This was an intentional change to ensure that gameplay in Swarm was as interesting as possible!
Second, the other element we kept in mind while choosing was the community's sentiment towards the Tems, or Tems that were special in any way in the world of the original Temtem.

Some of the unrevealed Tems that will be added during the Early Access phase were chosen to add a little twist to gameplay once you have a roster of several Temtem, so stay tuned for the new Tems we'll be adding!

[h2]How did you choose the starters?[/h2]
This is a tricky question, because the starter has changed a couple of times since the beginning! For starters (heheh, get it?) all versions up until now only had one Starter, Platypet, but the Early Access version got a new starting Tem: Smazee!

But before these two took the spotlight, Pigepic was set to be the starter, and then you'd unlock Platypet on the Deniz map, which was the first map players would have access to. However, we realized Platypet's kit was more interesting and appealing (this was a time when Wind Blade was less powerful than Wave), and it also had the perk of evolving twice, which is a mechanic we wanted players to discover as early as possible. That, paired with its double-typing and being a fan-favorite Temtem, ended up tipping the scale towards Platy.



This decision made us change the starting arena from Deniz to Cipanku, because, with Platy, it'd have ended in a Water Tem in a Water map situation. So instead of a Water arena, we went for an electric arena and chose Cipanku, which was already complete at that point in development and is also a really well-loved area in the OG Temtem game.

But back to Smazee! Are you ready to wreak monkey chaos on the arenas with this little friend?



Smazee is a cute and playful thing that will show you not to underestimate its prowess! Fearless and impusilve, Smazee scatters down the Swarm with its Martial Strike, its basic tech, a Melee hit that punches nearby enemies.

As Smazee progresses and evolves it'll acquire the Earth element as its complementary typing, and you'll be able to unleash the power of Earth techniques.

Thinking of mowing down a big swarm? Say no more: Smazee's ultimate, Seismunch's Wreck, will grant it invulnerability for a few seconds while it destroys anything in its path using two huge stone balls!

But of course, don't let the novelty of Smazee distract you from our beloved friend and starter, the one, the only, the adorable and intoxicatingly powerful Platypet!



Platypet can unleash surprising devastation against the swarm while warming your heart with its undeniable cuteness. Platy’s basic technique is Water Blade, a frisky (but painful!) splash that targets the nearest enemy, or wherever you want it to aim, and travels in a direct line. Platypet also gets to double-dip and pull from both the Water and Toxic type techniques

But if you reaaaaally need to drown that Swarm out, Platypet's ultimate ability is Tsunami, which unleashes a massive wave that engulfs the swarm and leaves them floundering

Any of these two are great choices. Try around to see which playstyle suits you best, and unlock more Tems to explore more options!

[h2]How many characters can we expect during the Early Access period?[/h2]

Right as the Early Access launches, you'll be able to unlock a total of 7 characters, including the 2 starters, each one with their own Ultimate ability, and Skill Tree to explore and improve.

By the time we reach the 1.0 version of Temtem: Swarm, we plan on having a total of 13 playable Tems!


We hope you're as excited for Temtem: Swarm's launch as we are! And if you still aren't, we hope our daily devblogs will ignite that spark.
Have fun and Temtem up, and until then remember you can