Digimon Survive review for Xbox One

We return to the digital world with Digimon Survive, a very addictive visual novel

In 1997, Digimonone of the franchises that marked our childhood began its journey with a kind of virtual pet or tamagochi; as we knew it in our region. At that time we were dealing with a digital creature through a device that seems archaic to us today.

That was just the tip of the iceberg for licensing, as soon after we entered the digital world with one of the most beloved and heartbreaking anime series we can remember, Digimon Adventure (1999). It was a trip that many of us remember with great fondness, for one who was once again raised to recover those afternoons coming home from class, turning on the television and watching the daily episode of series with a nutella sandwich in his hand.

The years pass diabolically quickly, God knows it’s like that, milk if some of us who lived this magical childhood combed our first white hair; well who can And so, in a fleeting blink of an eye, more than 20 years have passed since that first dreamlike journey into the digital world. Therefore, we are celebrating with new animation material, as well as a new video game. Digimon Survive is this video game and the new episode of the saga for XboxOne, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and PC. Yes, finally, here we have one of the most anticipated Digimon deliveries of all time, after 4 years of delays and a blessed pandemic, among others; what time these…

Digimon Survive It raised a lot of expectations, as well as controversies. Suffice to say that he was eagerly awaited, but that the entire community of players is ultimately not satisfied with his arrival. It may be because many people were waiting for a new Digimon World or Rumble

. Well, it’s not. The video game may not have been presented or advertised as it should, but what we have in hand is a remarkable SRPG narrative novel.

The proposal of this new opus is surprising, because we believe that it focuses on a somewhat niche genre. However, what it proposes and offers has an indisputable quality. In this way, the new opus which arrives to us rests entirely its bases on the accountthus leaving the playable section in the background.

We are therefore going to focus on this fundamental and pillar aspect of the game: the narration. In this sense, the title presents a dark, mysterious and even gloomy story at times. We embody it Takuma Momozokawho with his friends: Minoru Hyuuga, Aoi Shibuya, Saki and Shuujiyou’ll be trapped in a world seemingly similar to yours, though obviously not, if not more hostile than you think.

Our protagonists are involved in this situation when they decide to investigate a local temple, which is linked to the legend of the “Beast Gods” (Kemonogami). This is where they meet Koromonthe popular companion of This. From there, Takuma and his friends’ spring camp vacation gets a little weird when they find out they’re actually in another world. In it, some of the Digital Plane’s most popular creatures will try to give us a really bad time.

As you can see, the premise follows the common plot pattern of the saga, i.e. a series of disoriented friends who find themselves in a world other than their own from which they try to escape by encountering the Digimon. Without wanting to get into the loot, the story is quite adult with some unexpected twists and problems that are a little complicated to manage. Among them are mental health, anxiety, social pressure, among others…

So far, we’ve made a special effort in approaching the game, and that’s because the title may not be for all audiences. With this, we do not want to scare anyone, quite the contrary. We would love for you to try it. However, this is a visual novel, and as such you can be prepared to huge amount of text; lots of text. Therefore, if you are not prepared or willing to read lines and lines for hours, you will obviously not enter this adventure.

Now, if reading and being part of great stories sounds good to you, you’re in luck. Digimon Survive is one of the most satisfying visual novels we’ve played recently.

. Indeed, the game builds its characters very well and leaves part of the development elements of the adventure in the hands of the player, because according to our dialogues and our decisions we create certain links with our companions or Digimon.

Lots of text, yes, but there’s also exploration, Digimon capture, and combat in this episode. These fights are tactical battles similar to those offered in Final Fantasy Tactics or Fire Emblem, saving distances. This section of the title won’t be the most important or the most elaborate, but it has its charm as well as its difficulty. We can configure the latter to our liking, according to our experience in this type of game, since we can choose between 5 different levels. In combat, there are many elements to take into account, such as position, the link between our creatures, statistics or power-ups, as well as attack distances. However, the system is quite simple to understandwhich translates into good accessibility for all types of players.

On the other hand, we pointed out that it is possible to capture DigimonAs if they were Pokemon…and the truth is, yes, this mechanic does exist. This aspect of the game looks a bit like the system found in the saga Character, that is, in addition to capturing, we can recruit Digimon. So, we will have to talk to them and convince them to join us. It’s funny how such a disparate mix of mechanics ends up coming together so well in this formula. In addition, our creatures can transform, os digivolver, although it is necessary to find some very specific objects to do so. Another aspect to comment on is that the game has a few final bosses, which don’t feel like they’re reduced to somewhat stronger common enemies with no more pretensions.

The duration of the game varies between 35 and 40 hours, depending on which path or end we get. In this way, the decisions we make or the relationships we forge will dictate the ending we get, having different variants available. However, a longer duration does not mean a better branch followed or chosen, because there are less interesting conversations or options that become tedious or inconsequential. Even so, the replayability of the work is high and attractive if we want to know all the details that the story hides.

As for the graphics section, it should be noted that it looks particularly good. Indeed, the cinematographic or interactive sequences fill almost 70% of the product, and certainly, they look like they are watching an anime. Likewise, the art direction is amazing and the presentation of the text, something very important, is visual and organic, thus facilitating reading. We might have preferred less static parts, but hey, after all, it’s a visual novel.

The tactical combats have a different visual aspect, since a 2.5D style has been chosen it looks endearing and results. However, the animations seem a bit sketchy and we weren’t entirely convinced. Even so, in general, the section is more than compliant.

Ultimately, the sound section has a soundtrack according to the atmosphere and the staging of the title. It brings everything that happened on screen to life in a remarkable way, exalting key moments. Regarding dubbing, this aspect can only be configured with audio in japanese. Yes, Ithe texts are fully localized in castellanoalthough they require revision by presenting certain errors of typing or adaptation.

conclusion

Digimon Survive It was a surprise from all points of view. Not only because of the risk of its staging, but also because it turned out to be a good license product. In fact, we find a very good story, mature and addictive which hooks us from the first contact. Likewise, the audiovisual section is more than compliant, although the combat system only feels one more addition that does not contribute much to the work. However, anyone who loves Digimon should give this visual novel a shot, as they are sure to find plenty of memorable moments in it.