TEMBO THE BADASS ELEPHANT

I loved this game on PS4, but on PC there is no way to get it past 1080p resolution. It's good on Steam Deck, but on my 1440p monitor it's really blurry. Would love to play this again, but I just can't like it is. Hoping it'll get patched one day to support resolutions up to 4K at least.

I have had a curiosity to play Game Freak's other titles that aren't Pokémon. And for my first foray into their catalogue, I found myself drawn to this title for obvious reasons. Tembo is a title that is fun for a playthrough. It's a short, sweet game which never gets too complicated during your time playing it. Tembo does a good job introducing new enemy types and introducing new hazards as well that you will need to deal with. The visuals are charming enough, but nothing to write home about. The music especially isn't anything amazing, and I could not remember a single track after finishing the game. The story is lacking, but for what this game is certainly going for, not having one to sink your teeth into is understandable. The gameplay, however, is where this game falls short. The term 'lacking' is something that I find myself coming back to. This game is lacking. You feel yourself wanting more when you're playing through the levels. More items to collect. More enemy variation. More obstacles to traverse. The difficulty, as well, was fairly easy even when you are collecting everything in the game. The most difficult part is the game having a lives system that I foun…

This is certainly one of the worst action platformers I’ve ever played. The controls are awful (I played with an Xbox Series controller), giving you lots of unintended inputs that lead to tons of cheap deaths. The lives system is totally useless. You have a certain number of lives to get through a level, and if you lose them all, you have to start from the very beginning — but why? This is just stupid. The checkpoints are too far apart, and because of that, it’s even more frustrating when you lose after playing a section of almost 10 minutes without any checkpoints. I know this is like beating a dead horse (the game is quite old now), but I would recommend avoiding it at all costs — even at around $1.50, which is what I paid for it.

Game is bugged from the tutorial wtf.... i've jumped out of the screen and keep getting stuck on walking without moving...

Tembo the Badass Elephant, developed by Game Freak Inc. and published by SEGA, is an energetic side-scrolling platformer that bursts with cartoonish charm and unapologetic chaos. It places players in the role of Tembo, a mighty war elephant called upon to defend Shell City from the invading Phantom Army. From the moment the game begins, it establishes a tone that is both playful and heroic, presenting a character who combines the brute strength of a tank with the heart of a true protector. The game draws heavily from the spirit of 16-bit classics, evoking memories of Sonic the Hedgehog, Donkey Kong Country, and Metal Slug while wrapping its action in vivid comic book aesthetics and explosive set pieces. Game Freak’s foray into a non-Pokémon action platformer is ambitious, showing their ability to create something dynamic, colorful, and distinctly different from their traditional fare. The gameplay centers on fluid movement and destruction. Tembo can dash through walls, crush enemies beneath his feet, and spray water from his trunk to extinguish flames or power machinery. These mechanics are tied together by an emphasis on momentum—levels reward players for maintaining speed and rh…

Fun game by the original Pokemon developers! That Peanut Butter jar achievement is the only annoying grind.