Tembo the Badass Elephant

Tembo stumbles at times, but its overall charm, and moments of rhythmic zen keep it fun throughout.

Tembo's big action setpieces prove the old adage that great things come in small packages.

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.

Tembo the Badass Elephant is a surprising new direction for Game Freak that pays off

Though there are a couple of interesting gameplay twists, Tembo the Badass Elephant is largely a no-frills nod to old-school platformers – for better or worse

That retro approach is Tembo's greatest strength – and weakness. While levels are impressively designed, and the task of defeating every enemy soldier and finding each citizen adds a satisfying challenge, it also feels like a remix of titles you'll have already played. Fantastic animation and great visual humour provide saving graces.

Tembo the Badass Elephant is a really enjoyable game at its core, but it can get tiring to replay the same stage five times over just to grind out a few kills to see the next set of levels. It's an odd design choice for sure, but most of you will probably enjoy dashing through unsuspecting Phantom Soldiers and butt stomping them into oblivion regardless.

Tembo the Badass Elephant is made even more frustrating by the fact that it doesn't flat out suck. There's a solid sidescroller in here, but Game Freak's taken it in the wrong direction. This should have been an adventure all about momentum, but it does everything within its power to pump the brakes. Give this wide load a wide berth – it's made itself irrelephant.

If you're interested in enlisting with a pachyderm that throws himself around like an acrobatic anvil, arm your trunk and charge full speed ahead – Tembo the Badass Elephant has brought the ruckus to Xbox One.

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.