Tembo the Badass Elephant

Tembo’s style, pace and emphasis on mass destruction sets it apart from other 2D platformers, and it’s almost an elephantine four tonnes of fun. While the need to replay levels to harvest points can transform it into a grind, this badass pachyderm's infectious energy gives him irresistible force.

The worst thing I can say about Tembo is that it’s rather short. If you’re experienced with platformers, you shouldn’t have much trouble charging through Tembo in about six or seven hours. But there are plenty of ways to play it beyond the end screen.

Tembo the Badass Elephant wants you to smile, and often, I did. Its charismatic protagonist, and the joy of stomping around and wrecking shop with him never got old, though the controls and level design would sometimes do as much to dampen the fun as facilitate it.

Tembo the Badass Elephant is a platformer that only comes once in a while, making it an experience that no gamer can afford to miss. Game Freak takes a break from their Pokemon duties to show everyone that they’re no one trick pony and that Pulseman was no accident.

Not being able to live up to such lofty rivals is no great shame, of course. Tembo is simply a very pretty, and pretty good, game, albeit one that never quite lives up to its early promise. That alone makes it the best platformer that Sega has released in years, and for that Game Freak deserves our thanks.

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