Digimon Survive

Digimon Survive is an experiment that is only half successful, as when determining the narrative and role-playing and strategic components of the hybrid, the developers have allocated insufficient space to the latter. The result is a dark and mature visual novel, which however we would like to recommend only to the most avid fans of the genre, due to the exhausting long-winded dialogues and excessive repetitiveness that characterize this type of product. If, on the other hand, you are looking for adrenaline and the collectible component typical of the brand, you had better turn your attention to the much more deserving episodes of the Digimon Story series.

Digimon Survive is a misshapen DNA digivolution. Most of the game is this great visual novel, which starts slow but eventually tackles some intriguing themes that are interwoven into one of the most mature Digimon stories ever told. Sometimes the characters can be a little one-note, but each manages to carry aspects of the story in compelling ways, and I wanted to keep pushing through Digimon Survive to unravel each person's history and ultimately learn why and how they had been transported to another world. But, at the same time, Digimon Survive is regularly dragged down by tedious tactical combat, and it negatively affects other sections of the game too, like exploration and Digimon evolutions. It's not enough to ruin an otherwise great visual novel, but it does put quite a damper on the whole experience.

Digimon Survive is a standout visual novel wrapped around one of the worst tactics systems of all time.

Digimon Survive is a game that isn’t just for Digimon fans. It has a great story and hints of brilliance in the gameplay, but each person’s mileage may vary with this one. It may be best to wait for a price drop before picking up Digimon Survive if you’re on the fence.