Title: Digimon Survive (PS4/Steam)
Developer: Witchcraft
Publisher: BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc.
Genre: Strategy, RPG
Price: $59.99
If you saw the trailers, you wouldn't expect the version of Digimon Survive that hit store shelves. The promise was an experience similar to a Fire Emblem game: a decent story, some enjoyable tactical gameplay, and a few memorable moments and characters to treasure. Reality has turned out to be much different, but in an extremely positive way.
While Digimon Survive does aim to blend a good mix of its storytelling with solid tactical gameplay, it manages to stand out because of the way it presents its concepts. Its dark themes stand in contrast to the typically cheerful look and style of Digimon's anime roots, and the way the game lays its story out provides a solid sense of mystery and urgency that allows it to punch far above its weight. While it does have its flaws, this mix of visual novel/turn-based role-playing game puts its best foot forward when you look at what it offers.
In Digimon Survive, you're thrust into the shoes of a handful of students who now find themselves lost in another world. Their only defense against the wilds are their Digimon partners. Stuck in this alien land, they must look for any possible way to escape, and steel themselves into making hard choices if it means their overall survival. New friends and enemies lie in wait around every corner, and with every new opponent they face, they run the risk of losing old friends in the challenges ahead.
This sense of loss is a very real concept that Digimon Survive takes to heart. The choices you make during the game's visual novel segments have a huge impact on how things play out. From swaying stray Digimon to fight by your side to permanently losing access to companions, your decisions have consequences, and each choice pushes you down one of three separate routes. It's a simple visual novel system that's given real weight by adding tangible consequences you can see firsthand. While a golden route does exist where you keep everyone alive, your first run will not be so lucky, and you will end up losing some of them. This dark tone of losing companions is what keeps the story's tension high, as the impact of your choices can end up with you losing characters you actually like.
Needless to say, the type of action-reaction gameplay loop featured in Digimon Survive works only because the visual novel segments are written very well. While you may be spending an hour or two just reading, the way characters are fleshed out and how concepts are introduced make for a very engaging narrative. The art style during these sequences is crisp and expressive, and the voicework for each character is done very well. The overall tone and mystery the story sets are engaging, and the activities you do with your friends genuinely feel like good world-building instead of padding. The different twists and turns the story takes also make for some exciting drama all the way through, and while some of them may feel predictable, they still feel like offshoots of a natural development of the plot. It is a story of exploration and survival done right, of how a bunch of kids in an unknown environment can survive the worst conditions. With no one but each other to rely on, they wind up banding together to try and survive, and it's a plot beat done so well that it's hard not to get engrossed.
To be sure, the visual novel segments aren't the only standouts in Digimon Survive. Now and then to break the tension, you do also get the chance to flex your brain muscles and engage in some turn-based tactical combat. These are also pretty simple to get into, and anyone familiar with how TRPGs work will find Digimon Survive's grid-based combat mechanics pretty simple to understand. With basic attacks to use and abilities that cost stamina points to perform, it's an RPG system that's as simple as they come. Mainly relying on exploiting elemental weaknesses, using status ailments, and recruiting new Digimon to fight with you, it's not particularly unique, but it does the job it needs to do, and provides a good breather from just reading the whole way through. If anything, these combat sections are way too easy for what they're designed to do, and they even come with their auto-battle system if you just need to wrap things up without really thinking. The battles you fight are never really challenging, and while you are free to play them whenever you please, they serve as minor distractions before the story segment starts.
This is basically how Digimon Survive goes from then on. You play an hour or two of the visual novel sections, make your choices, and learn more about the world. You explore your surroundings, meet new Digimon, and, occasionally, get into a minor battle or two. Once that's done, you get into more story sequences and repeat the process all over again. This core design never wavers, and much of the game revolves around you falling in love with its themes. Its battles can be entertaining, yes, but its slower-paced sections are where its heart and soul really lie.
This leaves the typical gamer in a very conflicted position as to what to think of Digimon Survive. The story and what the writers have done with it deserve major props. Few visual novels are able to tackle this sense of loss or dread without the result feeling cheap or contrived. The different ways Digimon Survive's characters are able to win gamers over show that a good story can very much keep a game afloat, and even make it enjoyable despite all the reading you have to do. That said, its tactical gameplay can leave gamers wanting, as it never feels quite enough to require focus. Its combat mechanics aren't bad, but they lack the complexity and quality-of-life features that other visual novels and tactical RPGs (for example, Super Robot Wars ) can bring. While you spend more time reading than strategizing, the battles you do fight are definitely among the game's weaker parts.
If nothing else, Digimon Survive's extremely high-quality narrative distinguishes it from the dregs of the genre. It boasts of a strong, engaging tale to read through, and whether you're playing it on the PS$ or on your personal computer via Steam, if you're just looking for a VN to bite down on, it has plenty on offer. Do know going in, however, that while it's a fantastic VN, it's a less-than-stellar tactical RPG, and anyone who picks it up with the hopes of being engaged in deep combat mechanics will be sorely disappointed.
If you're looking for a new VN to read through, then Digimon Survive is a superb pickup. Even non-Digimon fans can find something to like, and while parts of the narrative may feel a little slow, the payoffs it gives out are more than worth the wait.
THE GOOD
- Really compelling story to dive into
- Strong themes and writing style, with likeable characters caught in tense situations
- Decent amount of replay value, with three main routes available (and a fourth perfect-ending golden route to finish)
THE BAD
- Combat segments aren't nearly as entertaining as its story segments
- Story can be a little slow, especially at the start
- Highly dependent on how much you enjoy VNs, with little else to offer otherwise
RATING: 8/10
