TemTem, the next big Pokemon thing, but can it live up to Pokemon craze?

For those who do not know, TemTem is like Pokemon in a sense but more in-depth battle mechanics. I got the game from Humble Bundle 30% off and here's my impression with the game itself:

If you are a fan of Pokemon, (most recent Pokemon Sword/Shield) then this is a Pokemon clone, no doubt about it, from the way you catch, through how you heal, to how you even get a gift monster from the professor in your home town... But it's looking like a fantastic little Pokemon clone, & something I think I'll end up sinking many, many hours into over time. It's really nice creating your own avatar when you start up & makes each player character look very individual. (and yes, it's already a thing in Pokemon now, but it needs more creative avatars) The monsters, some really cool one's, some not so cool one's, so just like Pokemon on that front, the game even has a few monsters it could use as a Pikachu type mascot.

The battles I enjoy more than Pokemon, strategy is more involved, & the stamina system is a much better way of handling moves & stamina than the PP system ever was. A monster always knows all its moves it's ever learnt, but can only use 4 at a time, doesn't "forget" them like Pokemon. The levels you evolve your monsters at is also differently handled to how Pokemon does it, with it being relevant to when you catch the monster, so for example, the "Pidgey" type monster on the first route evolves 7 (I think) levels after you catch him, so if caught at level 2, evolves at 9, but if caught at level 14, evolves at 23. There are "shiny" TemTem called Luma, with a 1/6000 chance of spawning. You can also see the equivalent of EVs when catching, which is fantastic & makes hunting for a better monster fun. TemTem isn't exactly MMO, well not yet at the slightest, it's mostly co-op for the time being. It's a shared world with the prospect of becoming an MMO when the game is finished.

And now, for the cons: This is an Early Access, server issues are mainly sorted but still pop up from time to time, and it cost $35, it's a bit much for an Early Access, this should have been free-2-play with Microtransactions for cosmetic stuff like other games. Final verdict: It's I'd say if you like and enjoy Pokemon handheld games, it's worth checking it out, it's already a good game & has potential to be amazing in due time. If you're on the fence, wait out Early Access & see how the game evolves. (Just like Warframe did)

Also, Digital Foundry did their take on TemTem:

@davillain-: Reviews are exceedingly positive, though with Steam you never know if that's a good thing. Sometimes Steam users post reviews as a form of rebellion rather logic, and in this case probably to spite the mediocre Sword and Shield if we're all being honest.

For me it looks too pricey for a buggy early access game. If it was half the price or even just had a trail version would be far more inclined.

this should have been free-2-play with Microtransactions

Hmm. . No wouldn't work for this. That model killed the latest Quake game also, so I think the model only works for certain communities. Never saw PUBG go F2P despite being horrendously buggy and remained in Early Access for a long-time.

At best I foresee TemTem being to Pokémon, what Dauntless is to Monster Hunter. An acceptable faulty clone in a river of far worse clones. And with that I mean won't set the world on fire but people will acknowledge it as an alternative.