Review: Are Digimon Survive the winners?
Our Verdict
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.
Let me begin by briefly introducing you to my love for Digimon before delving into the specifics of Digimon Survive. I was completely enamoured with anime and video games as a bright-eyed child. I would save up all of my pocket money to buy Digimon World 2003, wake up early on Saturday mornings to catch up on Matt and Gabumon, and sleep with a Digivice in my hand in the hopes of being drawn into the virtual world while I slept.
As an adult, I now carry a bag full of Digimon sprites to the grocery store every day, have a tattoo of Psychemon (the cuter Gabumon) on my arm, and own around 10 Digivices. Given what you now know, you can probably imagine how thrilled I was to learn about Digimon Survive when Bandai Namco first announced it in 2018.
You should be aware of a few things about Survive. Firstly, it is no longer a game meant for younger players. There have always been dark periods in Digimon games. There are several spine-tingling side tasks in Cyber Sleuth, and the World games have partner fatalities at the conclusion. But in Survive, this is amplified to the maximum degree since everyone in your vicinity might become a victim, and you have to watch as people around you progressively lose their minds.
Second, this game isn't for you if you don't like visual novels (it also lacks English voice acting). It is rather evident from the game's trailers and producer Kazumasa Habu that the game is around 30% role-playing game and 70% visual novel. Depending on how you play the game, I think you can skew this figure either way, but I'll talk more about that later.
You're going to adore Digimon Survive if you're OK with those two things. Since I haven't played many visual novels, I must say that I was anxious going in. I was also quite conscious of the atmosphere of the game. The game starts at a lively summer camp, where you get to meet every character at an old school in a stunning anime-style movie. After that, you get to spend some time strolling among cotton candy-like cherry blossoms as the sun peeks through the trees.
This quiet, however, is short-lived as you soon arrive to a musty shrine, the floor starts to tremble, and you pass out. You seem to be back at the shrine when you wake up, but something doesn't seem quite right. Even though I was awake in this scary environment, I couldn't help but smile as a cute Koromon emerged from the bushes and said hello in his little, crackly voice. Surprisingly, the main character behaves a lot like me. He or she quickly bonds with Koromon, and the two of them resolve to go figure out what's going on in the (digital) world.
After running across a few old camp friends, you make the decision to return to the former school. The structure is covered with deep green vines that twist and loop around shattered windows and overgrown plants; it is no longer bright and alive. For what duration were you not feeling well? I will not provide any further details regarding the story. From here on out, it's all extremely thrilling but very dark. I want you to see the gradual descent of your buddy into insanity and the strengthening of ties between humans and Digimon.
You spend a lot of the game making decisions and interacting with your pals in an effort to strengthen your ties with them. You have three options: moral, vindictive, or harmonious. I went with the latter, but I must admit that I was a bit taken aback by the fact that some of the choices don't really fit with my expectations about how my friends would respond to my comments. It doesn't take away from my enjoyment of the game in the least, but I'm not sure whether it speaks more about me or if it's just a quirk of the game.
In addition to the visual novel elements, Fire Emblem and Final Fantasy Tactics-style tactical combat is also included. You will often be given the opportunity to roam the terrain and have the option to 'free combat' in order to train enemies or even chat with them in order to get their support. It's incredibly simple to get sidetracked by small fights and lose a lot of time practicing your moves in order to be ready for the bigger bads you could face in the future.
As previously stated, Habu explicitly said that the game consists of around 70% visual novel elements. On paper, I agree with this, but in practice, that number might vary greatly based on how often you choose to engage in free fight. On your first playing, I advise you to appreciate the narrative and adhere to the 70/30 split. After that, you may flip those numbers and bypass all the conversation in the new game+. You can engage in free combat as often as you like!
Before I go into what to anticipate from the gameplay, let me praise the game's very beautiful artwork. I find myself in awe of every view, from the rich emerald green of the vines covering the ancient school to the vivid ruby red of the spider lilies to the cotton candy pink cherry blossoms.
You'll be mesmerised by the audio once again after seeing the sights. The soundtrack is breezy and cheerful while the team is joyful, but appropriately dark and ominous when terrible things happen. I want to draw attention to the world map tune in particular since it reminds me of Zelda Ocarina of Time's primary song. Clearly, a lot of effort and work went into creating Survive, and I really appreciate that.
Convincing Digimon to join you feels a lot like recruitment in the Persona games, so I can see where Survive has drawn influence from other games. However, I wish Bandai Namco had gone a little farther. It's unfortunate that you can't explore the locations in this game, even for a short while. I believe my score would increase by two if it had Persona 3-style dungeons since, although I appreciate a decent plot, I also like a good exploration.
Survive is far more fun for me than I anticipated. It's the most exquisite Digimon game to date, demonstrating how the franchise can develop with its adoring audience. Even if you're not a huge fan of visual novels, this entry will definitely appeal to those of you who grew up with those adorable little creatures.
See our Digimon Survive guide, Digimon Survive Digimon list, and Digimon Survive recruit answers for additional information if you're considering playing the game.