Digimon Survive

Digimon Survive balances an intriguing, more mature Digimon story with excellent turn-based strategy combat that evokes the spirit of the anime.

Despite being pretty much a visual novel with some TRPG elements, Digimon Survive manages to be a captivating game for Digimon's fans and it just feels like a new season of the beloved anime.

Despite the development complications along the way, Digimon Survive offers a final product that fulfills the original promise from its development team. With a tragic tone, it brings a new frame for the Digimon universe as a thriller VN with an enjoyable multi-layer SRPG combat. It’s become one of my favorite pieces of Digimon media, and it was worth the wait.

With its mature themes, Digimon Survive provides a refreshing take on the franchise and fits into the series' canon in a really cool way. I hope we get more Digimon games exploring new directions like this! [Issue #63 – January/February 2023, p. 73]

Digimon Survive was lovingly crafted for longtime fans of the series, and it truly feels like playing through a season of the show. The visual novel is consistently engaging, and the battles are an excellent supplement to give players a connection to the Digimon they recruit.

The game is certainly not afraid to throw curveballs at you with story twists and main character deaths being pretty prevalent.

Digimon Survive took a risk in its gameplay, presentation and narrative, and for me, it paid off. It genuinely feels like a new era of Digimon is upon us. A more mature, dark, and ferocious Digimon that could see the start of a truly great visual novel RPG hybrid series. This won’t be for everyone, and I completely understand if you pass on it, however, if Digimon is your jam or visual novels are, and you have plenty of time to sit and soak in this wonderfully written narrative - you’re likely to strike gold with Digimon Survive.

Digimon Survive is one of the best visual novels to come out so far this year, with plenty of heart and tension to carry you through to the final act. Fans looking for an engaging story with well-written and presented characters that deal with life-and-death situations will enjoy the ride, while players focused on the combat will probably find that the game comes up short. Despite its sluggish, padded start, Digimon Survive is well worth the long wait.

The vibrant colours, dynamic soundtrack, and suitably grim story make Digimon Survive a truly impressive game. It doesn’t quite scratch the digital itch I have for the series like the World games do, but it does what it sets out to do fantastically. Oh boy, I just really love Digimon.

In a few words, if you have the idea that Digimon Survive will have frantic encounters one after another, let me tell you that it is probably not going to meet your expectations. However, if visual novels and tactical combat are your thing, is probably that this game will like you, especially if you are a faithful follower of this great franchise.

Digimon Survive should have a lot of depth, with partner Digimon evolving and devolving, free-roaming Digimon to recruit, and a vibrant cast of characters who, on the surface, are generally enjoyable. Looking at the game from afar, it truly captures a feeling of desolation and nostalgia. But it comes up just short when it comes to gameplay and story—the two most important things for an SRPG and visual novel hybrid. A “Truthful” path awaits as a New Game+ option, but the gameplay shortcomings, unfortunately, aren’t alleviated with repeat playthroughs. Digimon Survive‘s charms aren’t fleeting by any means, but neither are its disappointments.

A really nice visual novel, careful and with a deep story. It is a risky proposal and, therefore, it lacks in the combat part. These are slow and monotonous, with hardly any options.

Digimon Survive transports us to a world that many of us had left in our childhood. Its narrative has evolved to present the deconstruction of characters, taking them to the most extreme limits and with a darker touch. Fortunately for many, due to the great narrative focus, the game has a wide variety of languages including Neutral Spanish. However, the lack of combat, as well as the basics of each confrontation, create an amalgam that is not for all types of players.

Digimon Survive is a talk-heavy game that expects you to spend a lot of time reading, and a little bit of time fighting. That may not be the most enjoyable thing if you just want a Pokémon substitute, but as visual novels go, it’s one of the better ones.

Despite its flaws and hardship, Digimon Survive is an absorbing visual novel. It is a more profound and darker story than generally expected from the Digimon world with captivating characters and storytelling. The exploration and tactical battles provide a break from the immense amount of dialogue, albeit not as fun and the latter feels like a lacklustre last-minute addition. Regardless, Digimon Survive is a great game for fans of the universe.

All in all, Digimon Survive knows exactly what it’s trying to be and does it well. Unfortunately, this means it’s not a very interesting strategy RPG. If you’re a Digimon fan, you’ll either love or hate it. And if you’re looking for a fun, story-heavy title, I definitely recommend checking it out. But strategy RPG fans may want to find something else with fewer cutscenes.

Digimon Survive is not your average Digimon game, and, without doing anything outstanding, still manages to keep us entertained with its unique story.

I applaud Digimon Survive for being a dark, harrowing, and wonderful visual novel, and subverting what I thought a Digimon story could be. While I wish the combat evolved as much as the surrounding story presentation, it’s not enough to deter someone from seeing the narrative through. Don’t expect a tactical masterpiece, but rather a well-made melancholy tale depicting Digimon in a light they haven’t been in before.

I love visual novels, and I love strategy games. For a subsection of gamers, Digimon Survive will hit the perfect sweet spot between both of those. It’s got everything you’d expect from a digestible entry with a focus on presentation. However, I couldn’t help but feel that the game is just shy of greatness. Make no mistake, Digimon Survive is good. However, despite its best efforts, I found that the pacing drags and the combat mechanics are unremarkable. If you have enough patience to engage with its story and gameplay, the positives will far outweigh the negatives. It’s flawed, but the heart shines through and it goes down easy thanks to being one of the best-looking anime-style games released in years. Are there better SRPGs to play right now? Sure, but none offer Digimon’s unique brand of SRPG and I think it hits more than it misses.

Digimon Survive is an great visual novel that sprinkles in tactical RPG encounters, but it needs some optimization work on Nintendo Switch and to address the localization issues. Digimon Survive also makes good use of the Switch's features with touchscreen support and even HD Rumble adding to the experience. Hopefully Bandai Namco Entertainment can build on this for a sequel or new entry in the future.

Digimon Survive takes a slightly different approach from previous installments in the franchise by combining a visual novel with combat and other fun Digimon elements. The story is dark, grim and very engaging to follow, making the game worthwhile in its own right. However, the combat system is superficial and the frame rate is not too stable either. Added to that is a shoddy localization, but all these criticisms aside, Digimon Survive manages to provide an enjoyable experience. Thanks in part to the audio-visual presentation.

While Digimon Survive is certainly not the Digimon game that the fans have eagerly been awaiting, it is a strong contender on its own merits. The evolution of the horror to the isekai experience is well overdue and a welcome change in the monster battle RPG genre. Those who prefer the more mainstream, battle-heavy JRPG experience should give it a pass, while players who genuinely enjoy the Digimon franchise and are willing to try a new, more mature game should definitely give it a go. While it is lacking in gameplay and could use a rework in terms of explaining some of the more intricate elements, on the whole, Digimon Survive is an interesting and unique addition to the franchise that won’t soon be forgotten.