Last month I had the honor of being the producer of Digimon SurviveHabu Kazumasa, who expressed his wish to Digimon in a dark direction and demonstrates his personal vision of what exactly Digimon meant to him. in many ways, Digimon Survive continue the tradition of being a love letter to the franchise. It’s clear a lot of passion has gone into the production of this game, with its well rendered artwork, occasionally well-animated 2D transitions, full voice acting and highly detailed game sprites; In short, Digimon Survive radiates polish. But instead of listening back to a simpler time, Digimon Survive embodies a maturity befitting of fans who join the . have been franchise decades, and the first sign of that is its clearly horror-inspired tone.
The game’s eerie and atmospheric soundtrack evokes a constant sense of unease, as if something could be jumping at you any time you wake up around the corner. Despite starting with scenes of everyday whimsy, an almost sadistic undertone gradually begins to take hold of the story. Many previous episodes in the Digimon franchise have delved into the psychological and emotionally dark aspects of these beings, especially when it comes to their relationships with their human companions. Digimon Survive is no exception, with the theme of Digimon acting as a mirror to the more traumatic struggles people go through. This is made possible by the game’s choice-based story, which at times feels like it was purposely designed to twist the blade for unsuspecting players.
Like a visual novel, the main story is told through art renderings and dialogue trees. Player choices can change the trajectory of the main story or influence your affinity for specific characters, thus affecting their fate in the main campaign. Some of these choices are harmless, while others can have big, long-lasting consequences, and I give the game credit for not holding back the seriousness of those consequences when it comes to who can be saved and whose fate could have doomed you. This makes for an engaging narrative experience as well as replayability, as you can potentially take a wide variety of routes where different characters you interact with could have wildly different futures.
Narrative, the game is very strong and I could see it had a very long shelf life Digimon fans, especially if you are someone looking for a little more bite from the franchise. The core characters might seem a little generic at first, but their chemistry feels real, and the sheer amount of time you spend with them makes a lot of those horrible circumstances or outcomes hit you all the harder.
Unfortunately, the amount of time it takes for the Digimon Survive‘s story can act as a double-edged sword, as just one play through can take an enormous amount of time. The overall pace of the game is painfully slow, with opening hours probably the most egregious. At first I thought the game was just taking its time to create atmosphere, but even towards the middle and end of the playthrough, the writing can be a little too opaque for its own good. Sometimes characters repeat things that have already been said, and there are certainly moments that could have been cut short for a much smoother and more streamlined story. Just one playthrough can exhaust you at the end instead of inspiring you to explore the different choices and routes.
Digimon Survive‘s turn-based combat system could have worked around this problem by increasing the tempo. Each Digimon is equipped with standard and heavy attacks; positioning your characters over the grid-based maps plays a definite role in maximizing your damage output. The mechanics are easy to understand, but they never really get past their first introduction; while there are technically multiple options for combat, it takes a bit of grinding to take full advantage when you can easily brute force the game without much thought. On the one hand, you could argue that the game is very beginner-friendly, which might appeal to younger fans who are not that familiar with this gameplay, but on the other hand, I don’t think this game is intended for younger gamers. its story and general tone.
I honestly feel a bit confused after playing Digimon Survivebecause I really admire the amount of passion and thought that went into it. If you are a long time Digimon fan, then this is worth at least one playthrough. The presentation is incredibly well polished. The game also runs relatively well on the Switch, and I’d even argue that it’s the ideal platform for slowing down the story on your commute rather than finishing it all in one go. Unfortunately, I feel like the game’s story was a little too ambitious for its own good, which can result in a skewed experience. A tighter story could have helped make things feel less tiring, and a more elaborate combat system could have left a stronger sense of engagement to cut through the repetition. That said, I still like what’s being done here and hope this format comes back – just in a more refined package.
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