When we heard that Digimon Survive was on the way, we were more than a little interested. If you are of a certain age, odds are high that you’ll remember playground battles between Pokémon and Digimon fans, over which show was the best.

While the years have been very kind to Pokémon, having never really gone too far from the spotlight, for Digimon it’s a bit of a different story.

The Bandai property has become more of a cult franchise that you only hear about every now and then. Even more so in the gaming realm since it’s been around seven years since the last game based on the series.

A Different Digimon Game

Digimon Survive by Japanese developer Hyde is a real wild card, as it’s part visual novel and part tactical role-playing – which is an interesting mix of genres to say the least.

This also means that this isn’t the game a lot of fans have been hungry to get their hands on, as it takes the series and goes totally left field with it. This is a brave move, but if it can stick the landing, it’s going to be something a bit special.

Being a visual novel in part, the game is heavy on story and has you spending time exploring characters and making choices that will shape the tale for better or worse.

The tale surprisingly goes to some dark, almost horror-like, areas, in both theme and tone. It follows a group attending a history camp of sorts during spring break, but what starts out as a dream summer break, quickly descends into a disturbing tale. Things get dark and each member of the group begins to lose a grip on their sanity.

This is a tale that we did not see coming with a Digimon title. You’ll also have to try and keep the group alive, as death also plays a part in the tale and whoever makes it to the end, heavily impacts the overall outcome.

Just know it’s your choices and even the order you pick them in that will get you the results that unfold in your game, so it’s worth thinking twice.

A Tactical Digi-Nov

When not knee-deep in lore and tale you get a break by getting to play a few tactical role-playing battles. These are maybe a little too straight forward for their own good in ways.

It’s all based on a grid combat model, though it’s a fair and well balanced system as you get to manage your build, skills and loadout, to try and get the upper hand in each fight.

This gives real hints and tones to the more traditional RPG focus title that fans may have been looking for. But it’s also worth saying the game does treat the battling as a secondary focus to the core tale in a few ways.

Style Over Technique

Visually, the game is far from a graphical showcase if we are being honest. Instead Digimon Survival goes for a very stylised look. Though often static at times, the art-style does convey the expressions of the cast and adds a real sense of depth to everything.

Sound-wise, it’s a mixed bag, as soundtrack and audio are all of a good level. Beware there is no English dub for the game. This is far from a game breaker, but will no doubt put some people off playing the game given its heavy storytelling core.

On the downside the one biggest issue we had is that the whole thing is an extremely slow burner in terms of pacing, as it takes a good hour or two to kick into gear. But once it’s there, it never stops for a breath but does take its time getting to up speed.

Digimon Survive is a totally unexpected title that really surprises – with outstanding writing and handling of heavy subject matters, as well as its overall level of polish. Of course, it’s very likely not the title fans were looking for, but come to it with an open mind and you’re in for something truly special.

Review code provided by publisher