Digimon Survive

The game is effectively a Visual Novel with some Tactics elements, but the tactics elements are... quite simplistic and, frankly, bad. Unless I'm crucially missing something here, you have almost no options: Digimons have 2 attacks, and you have 2 item slots. The item slots can be used either to improve their attributes or to teach a new attack. And then the tactics aspect is just selecting from these 2 attacks, and choosing when to Digivolve (which costs MP/turn). But overall it's a system way worse than pretty much any actual tactical RPG. The 'capturing' mechanic is similar to Shin Megami Tensei (or some instalments of Persona), which is basically giving arbitrary answers to nonsensical questions entirely based on *vibes*. Personally, I didn't think it is a good *game*, and it is also not a good *Digimon* game. Other than the playable characters being Digimons and you being stuck in the Digital World, there's so little that actually feels like Digimon. So yeah I really wanted to like it, but I'd recommend spending your time and money either with a better game in the genre (tactics or visual novel, depending on what you actually want), or Cyber Sleuth/World Next Order for Digimon games.

Kiwimon is in it

Digimon Tactics, the Visual Novel (with unexpected *heavy* mature themes). Loved it. (multiple playthroughs required for best ending)

Soy profesor de filosofía, tenía dos semanas libres y decidí buscar algo que cumpliera con dos requisitos: un juego con una buena historia, y un rpg táctico con progresión. Tras mucha búsqueda este quedó entre los finalistas y lo elegí, en parte, por nostalgia a Digimon 1. Me gustaría poder explicar aquí lo mucho que me impresionó el juego pero no será posible. Comienza como algo simple, una historia con adolescentes que a momentos se tornan un tanto insoportables pero, evoluciona, tal como los digimon, a algo que termina mostrando una faz crítica a nuestras formas de comprender y construir la realidad. Como decía, no puedo explicar con muchos detalles porque no quiero spoilear la experiencia, pero podría resumir diciendo que este juego me entregó una experiencia única, momentos de risas, enojo, intriga y curiosidad genuina. Tiene grandes momentos de nostalgia si eres fanático de la serie desde antaño, pero ninguno arruina la experiencia, al contrario, son pequeños detalles que podrán ser apreciados por quien esté atento, al igual que este juego.

Should be called Digimon Survive This Boring Ass Gameplay

Digimon Survive marks a bold and unconventional departure from the traditional monster-battling formula that fans of the Digimon franchise might expect. Developed by Hyde and published by Bandai Namco, the game blends visual novel storytelling with tactical RPG mechanics, creating an experience that is heavily narrative-driven, emotionally intense, and filled with difficult choices. While this hybrid structure might initially seem jarring—especially to those anticipating something closer to Digimon World or Cyber Sleuth—Digimon Survive ultimately succeeds in carving out its own unique identity, offering a darker, more mature take on the digital world and the bonds between humans and Digimon. The game opens with a familiar premise: a group of teenagers on a school trip find themselves mysteriously transported to an alternate world inhabited by strange creatures—Digimon. But rather than taking a light-hearted or purely adventurous tone, Digimon Survive plunges into psychological horror territory. The atmosphere is thick with dread, the tension between characters is palpable, and the stakes quickly escalate beyond survival into moral ambiguity and emotional trauma. Themes of fear, loss, guilt, and sacrifice are explored through lengthy visual novel segments that focus on character interaction, decision-making, and narrative branching. This focus on storytelling is where Digimon Survive shines brightest. The characters are well-developed and nuanced, each with their own insecurities and personal arcs. The relationships between the human protagonists and their partner Digimon are more than just plot devices—they evolve based on your choices and how you interact with them. Every decision you make affects character affinity, potential dialogue options, and even the course of the story. Some choices can lead to diverging narrative routes, including radically different endings, and others determine which characters survive the ordeal. This branching narrative gives the game high replay value and emotional depth, turning it into a psychological character study as much as a tactical RPG. The tactical combat, while less frequent than in most RPGs, is thoughtfully designed. Battles take place on grid-based maps, with each unit having access to movement, attacks, special skills, and evolution. The evolution system is tied to narrative progression and character bonds, rather than grinding levels, which reinforces the idea that Digivolution is a meaningful emotional milestone rather than just a power-up. That said, the combat is relatively straightforward compared to genre peers like Fire Emblem or Final Fantasy Tactics. It’s accessible and functional, but never quite as deep or challenging. The game prioritizes story moments over extended combat sequences, which may disappoint players looking for constant action or deep mechanics. Visually, Digimon Survive adopts a vibrant 2D art style for both its character portraits and battle sprites. The backgrounds are richly illustrated, blending eerie, overgrown environments with mysterious ruins and unsettling lighting that amplifies the game's foreboding tone. The character designs are expressive, and the Digimon animations during combat are fluid, if a bit minimalist. While the game doesn’t push technical boundaries, its art direction is stylish and cohesive, serving the narrative’s moody aesthetic well. Audio design is equally effective, with a haunting soundtrack that oscillates between quiet tension and high-stakes urgency. The voice acting—available in Japanese—delivers strong performances that lend emotional weight to the more dramatic scenes. One of the game’s most controversial elements is its pacing. The visual novel segments dominate the experience, often taking up hours before any combat re-emerges. For players unfamiliar with or unenthusiastic about the genre, this imbalance may feel tedious. Conversations can be slow, exposition is frequent, and there’s a lot of time spent navigating character relationships. However, for those who enjoy character-driven stories and moral complexity, these moments are the game’s greatest strength. The emotional stakes are so well-developed that by the time combat does occur, the consequences of failure feel significantly more personal. In terms of narrative structure, Digimon Survive encourages players to explore different morality-based routes—Harmony, Wrathful, and Moral—each affecting Digimon evolutions and the course of the story. These paths are not only thematic, they also reshape the player’s alignment with different characters and ideologies. The result is a story that feels responsive, with meaningful consequences that resonate throughout the experience. This system, while subtle, ensures that players feel ownership over the story they’re shaping, even as the world around them grows increasingly unstable and surreal. Ultimately, Digimon Survive is not a game designed to appeal to everyone. It defies expectations with its heavy narrative focus and subdued combat system, offering instead a deeply introspective and emotionally rich experience. It challenges players to think about the consequences of their decisions—not just in terms of gameplay, but in how they affect others. The bonds between humans and Digimon are portrayed as fragile, powerful, and often painful, emphasizing the themes of trust, sacrifice, and survival under emotional duress. For longtime Digimon fans, the game presents a unique and daring reinterpretation of the franchise’s core themes. For visual novel enthusiasts, it provides a dense, meaningful story with high replayability and emotional payoff. And for tactical RPG players, it offers a competent, if not particularly groundbreaking, combat system wrapped in a strong narrative shell. Digimon Survive may not be the traditional monster-battler many expected, but it’s a courageous experiment that succeeds more often than it falters. It’s a game that dares to be different—and in doing so, leaves a lasting impression. Rating: 7/10

If you're looking for a great Digimon story, you'll find one here, and the game looks really good too. Some people say it's too slow, but a good story needs well-developed characters, and that takes time. I believe the story wouldn't work if it weren’t a slow burn. That said, I do agree that the game could use some quality-of-life improvements. The game has multiple endings, and the point where the main story branches out could have been handled better. So you don't have to replay like half the game to get there. Sure, you can save at that point, but there are elements you can only access in one route or that are easier to obtain in certain routes, which makes it a bit of a hassle. To improve the gameplay experience, I would recommend save scaming your character approvals, and if you’re aiming to "catch" a Digimon, take advantage of the fight restart function to make it easier. Regarding the T-RPG mechanics, in my experience, the best ones either don’t give you much room to grind, or the challenge lies in figuring out how to power up quickly (like in Disgaea). This game doesn’t really offer either of those options. It doesn’t even have different class types like most T-RPGs, and while there’s a damage triangle and elemental advantages, you don’t really feel compelled to think about it much. So, battles tend to go like this: put all stat ups into main Story Digimon, use the talk movement skill on the movement digimon -> kill treasure chests -> go full power - auto fight -> grab a snack It feels like the game just needed a little more time to become more than just a good story. Every time I see the evolution of one of the main Digimon, I wonder why one of the other evolutions isn’t the main one—it just makes more sense and looks better in terms of animation. It almost feels like some Bandai executive stepped in and made the game worse.

Juegarral, los primeros capitulos no eran la gran cosa pero el 3 capitulo es una locura, este juego es mejor que pokemon Z.A