Temtem Season 3 adds an official Nuzlocke mode, pulling from community-made Pokémon rules
Season 3 also brings a new currency, balance changes, and two other modes
Pokémon fans are likely well acquainted with the Nuzlocke challenge: a self-imposed, community-made ruleset designed to make playthroughs tougher. Nuzlocke playthroughs have been around for at least a decade, but they’ve never received official in-game support until now. Kinda. In a different game. Creature-collecting MMO Temtem has added three new challenge modes (including Nuzlocke) as part of its Season 3: Clash Of Tamers. Patch 1.3 is also bringing a new area, an island worth of balance changes, and much more.
Nuzlocke rulesets are largely intact in Temtem. You can only catch the first two monsters you encounter per route, and if any of your party Temtem faints, they’ll be automatically released into the wild. It’s a fun ruleset that adds a little challenge and encourages animal pit fighting trainers to use Tems they normally wouldn’t. An official Nuzlocke mode in Temtem is no surprise since Hayden’s review called it “a Pokémon-like that listens to what fans want.” Older Pokémon trainers have been itching for a harder mode, so developers Crema were smart to court fans with Nuzlocke.
The two other challenge modes include a Speedrun mode that times how quickly you can beat each island, and the game in general. Speedrun mode will skip anything that can be skipped (cutscenes) and it’ll pause during load times - so, players with a beefy PC setup won’t have an advantage. Randomlocke is the third new mode, which shares all the same rules as Nuzlocke, but everything is randomised. When I say everything, I mean everything except for TemTem’s evolutionary lines and stats.
The challenge modes can be played in co-op, and they’ll also run on a different server and save slot than usual. You won’t be able to transfer any items or currencies to the main game, but completing the modes will grant you some exclusive rewards.
Other Season 3 additions include a new currency called Luma Drops that the devs call “sus”, allowing you to exchange Lumas and buy previously unbuyable items from a new shop. A St. Patrick's Day event is currently running until April 2nd, if you wanted to celebrate with a grand game and a couple pints. Another expected Tamer Pass, revamped Mythical Lairs, and over 100 balance changes (study them in the patch notes) are also part of the update.
Season 3: Clash Of Tamers is out now as a free update, meanwhile the base TemTem game is available for £40/$45/€45 on Steam.