“We are aware that there’s been a lot of controversy surrounding our decision to include a battle pass in Temtem, and the nature of this decision is causing a lot of fracture in our community,” community manager Tsukki said on Discord. “We know there’s been calls to review-bomb the game, and the effects of this are being felt.” Temtem’s Steam reviews are currently mostly positive, but both positive and negative reviews have exploded since launch. They’re about evenly split, though. The main complaints seem to revolve around the battle pass existing in a full-price game.
Some players have felt the need to call out Crema for implementing a paid battle pass because of Temtem’s price, which has risen from £32/$35 in early access to £40/$45 now it’s entered 1.0. Although the battle pass does have a free element to it, Crema have now introduced a premium currency called Novas that you’ll need to pay real money for to purchase the season’s premium battle pass. Phrases such as “corporate greed” and “corruption” are being bandied around on the game’s Steam community. Others are pointing out there’s also a shop for premium cosmetics and the battle pass is time-gated. The community seems split on the battle pass issue though, with some players encouraging Crema to keep it so they can support the game.
Crema themselves have explained that any microtransactions will only be for cosmetics, and that they’re adamantly against pay-to-win. “We have made it so purchasing one battle pass will give you enough currency to purchase the next for free, and that’s an endless loop of free battle passes,” Tsukki said. However, some newer players are reporting they’re genuinely struggling to gain enough XP towards their battle pass after several hours of play. The devs do seem to be taking note of these complaints though, responding to say that they’re “on it”. You can read more about Temtem’s Tamer Pass and its premium currency on Crema’s site here. Basic jist: the free pass can earn you Novas, which don’t expire, so you can use those towards a premium pass eventually.
“Our intention with monetization is not to be greedy, but rather to ensure Temtem has a long life and is well-sustained,” Tsukki said. “Proof of this is that we waited until the very end to add monetization, and that it’s all super optional.” Now, I’m not the biggest fan of battle passes in the first place so I can see why some might object on principle. However, the paid battle pass in Temtem is just for cosmetics, so all this for some optional outfits does seem a bit overblown.
Temtem’s battle pass isn’t something that Crema have snuck into the game at launch, either. As far back as February 2020, Imogen reported that there’d be some kind of a battle pass system coming. Crema even included it on their roadmap for the game, and insisted back then that any potential microtransactions would still be purely cosmetic.
Temtem costs £40/€45/€45 on Steam and Humble. Hayden should have some thoughts on Temtem 1.0 soon, now the game’s out of early access. Be on the lookout for those later today.
