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Digimon Survive

Digimon Survive has both a well-made story and a deep combat system that will engage players through each route they may take, but the first few hours are ill-paced with long breaks away from combat.
Digimon Survive Game Cover
79%Game Brain Score
story, gameplay
grinding, stability
81% User Score Based on 1,941 reviews
Critic Score 78%Based on 39 reviews

Platforms

Nintendo SwitchXbox Series X|SPCPlaystation 5Playstation 4Xbox OneXboxWindowsPlayStation
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Digimon Survive Game Cover

About

Digimon Survive is a single player survival role playing game with fantasy, anime and science fiction themes. It was developed by HYDE, Inc. and was released on July 28, 2022. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and positive reviews from players.

We had no idea that ordinary life could be taken from us so easily...

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Digimon Survive screenshot
Digimon Survive screenshot
Digimon Survive screenshot
Digimon Survive screenshot
Digimon Survive screenshot
Digimon Survive screenshot
Digimon Survive screenshot
Digimon Survive screenshot
Digimon Survive screenshot
Digimon Survive screenshot
Digimon Survive screenshot
+7
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81%
Audience ScoreBased on 1,941 reviews
story565 positive mentions
grinding86 negative mentions
  • Engaging and emotional storyline that captures the essence of the Digimon franchise.
  • Beautiful art style and visuals, with well-executed character designs and animations.
  • Strong voice acting and atmospheric soundtrack that enhance the overall experience.
  • Gameplay is heavily focused on visual novel elements, leading to long stretches of dialogue with minimal interaction.
  • Combat system is simplistic and lacks depth, making battles feel repetitive and unchallenging.
  • Translation issues and grammatical errors detract from the overall immersion and quality of the narrative.
  • story
    1,829 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story of "Digimon Survive" is a significant departure from traditional Digimon narratives, presenting a darker, more mature tale that resonates with long-time fans of the franchise. While the game is heavily focused on storytelling, with a visual novel format that emphasizes character development and moral choices, some players find the pacing slow and the gameplay repetitive. Overall, the narrative is praised for its depth and emotional impact, making it a compelling experience for those who appreciate story-driven games, though it may not appeal to those seeking more action-oriented gameplay.

    • “The story is incredibly well-written and engaging, pulling you into a dark and emotional narrative that feels like a true evolution of the Digimon franchise.”
    • “As a longtime fan of the classic Digimon series, Digimon Survive immediately hooked me with its art style, familiar creatures, and a surprisingly dark, emotional storyline.”
    • “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.”
    • “The story is painfully slow and once I beat it once I had no intention of trying a replay on it.”
    • “The story is a slog of repetitive lines said over and over again with little thought put into what they actually bring to the story.”
    • “The story is mediocre as hell, they try to be cool but they fail miserably as all the characters are tropey as heck.”
  • gameplay
    603 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay in "Digimon Survive" is heavily criticized for being overly simplistic and repetitive, with many players noting that it feels more like a visual novel than a traditional game, comprising about 70% narrative and only 30% tactical RPG elements. Combat mechanics are described as basic and lacking depth, often leading to a reliance on brute force rather than strategy, while exploration segments can feel tedious and drawn out. Overall, while the story and character interactions are praised, the gameplay is seen as a weak point that detracts from the overall experience.

    • “The tactical gameplay in Digimon Survive added a refreshing layer to the classic Digimon formula.”
    • “With its captivating narrative, deep tactical gameplay, and heartwarming bonds, Digimon Survive offers an experience that I will cherish for years to come.”
    • “The gameplay is simple but satisfying.”
    • “There's little incentive to engage with deeper mechanics like buffs or positioning, and battles can often be won by brute force.”
    • “The gameplay battle mechanics are just god awful, repetitive and boring.”
    • “The gameplay is too lack, wild digimon is trash, they can't digivolve and don't have meaning, just wasting your time.”
  • music
    175 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many praising its atmospheric quality and emotional depth, particularly in relation to the story. However, several users noted a lack of variety, citing a limited soundtrack that can become repetitive over time. While some tracks are described as beautiful and fitting for the game's tone, others felt that the overall selection was insufficient for a game of its scale.

    • “The music is beautiful and the art and animations for the characters in the visual novel mode is certainly one of the best I've ever seen.”
    • “The art style is beautiful, and the music is top-notch, creating an immersive experience that will keep you hooked for hours.”
    • “The music is amazing, 10 out of 10.”
    • “The music does its job, though it doesn’t really stand out after a while.”
    • “The soundtracks in the game were the same 5 tracks.”
    • “Only complaint was that there's very little music to hear so it got quite repetitive very quickly.”
  • graphics
    174 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of "Digimon Survive" are widely praised for their vibrant 2D art style, polished character designs, and immersive visuals that enhance the narrative experience. While the game excels in visual presentation, some reviews note inconsistencies in graphical quality, particularly in battle sequences, which can detract from the overall experience. Overall, the art direction is considered stylish and cohesive, appealing to both long-time fans and newcomers alike.

    • “The graphics are stunning, really, at least in the visual novel version of it.”
    • “The art style is beautiful, and the music is top-notch, creating an immersive experience that will keep you hooked for hours.”
    • “Overall, Digimon Survive features a plethora of beautiful artworks, spanning across a variety of environments that our cast of characters must traverse.”
    • “The visuals are very low effort; the graphics and transitions are very low effort.”
    • “Frankly put, the 3D visuals look like dogsh!”
    • “The graphics of the game portion look like they were made for a smartphone but last second were imported for console/PC.”
  • grinding
    90 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it tedious and repetitive, particularly during mid to late-game. While some appreciate the focus on story and character development over traditional grinding, others feel that the need to replay chapters for different endings and the slow progression can detract from the overall experience. Features like auto-battle and difficulty adjustments help alleviate some of the grind, but many still find the gameplay to be overly drawn out and lacking in challenge.

    • “I'd recommend not grinding for the first playthrough, as you get over-leveled crazy fast.”
    • “I can count the number of times I had trouble during the battles on one hand, even with close to no grinding done.”
    • “Might not be everyone's cup of tea since it's a visual novel game with slow progression and turn-based tactical RPG elements, but I'm sure all Digimon fans would love this game since it's pretty linear and doesn't feel as grindy as other Digimon games.”
    • “Replaying the game for multiple endings is tedious, but the process is manageable thanks to New Game+, which lets you skip past previously read text and focus on new narrative paths.”
    • “The game can be fairly slow and tedious.”
    • “The combat eventually becomes just plain tedious.”
  • emotional
    64 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The emotional aspect of "Digimon Survive" is a mixed bag, with some players praising its deep narrative and character development that evoke genuine feelings, while others criticize the superficiality of character interactions and the lack of impactful emotional moments. The game successfully tackles heavy themes such as trauma and moral ambiguity, creating a gripping experience that resonates with players, though some feel that the emotional payoff in character evolution is lacking. Overall, it offers a unique blend of heartfelt storytelling and tactical gameplay, appealing to those seeking a more mature and introspective take on the Digimon franchise.

    • “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.”
    • “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.”
    • “Taking what is usually a lighthearted and oftentimes shallow monster collector series and shaping it into a narrative that is surprisingly heartfelt (and dark) is quite a unique, welcome step in an interesting direction for Digimon.”
    • “This game is basically Digimon meets Final Fantasy Tactics, but with a very boring story.”
    • “The battle system is simplistic and lacks depth, making it hard to feel emotionally invested.”
    • “Digivolving is a hassle, which detracts from the emotional connection to the characters.”
  • atmosphere
    42 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its immersive and tense qualities, effectively blending moody visuals, haunting music, and strong storytelling to create a sense of dread and moral complexity. Reviewers highlight the game's ability to evoke feelings of survival and emotional weight, with dynamic lighting and well-crafted environments enhancing the overall experience. While the atmosphere is a standout feature, some critiques mention that gameplay elements may detract from its potential greatness.

    • “Excellent tone and atmosphere; the game manages to submerge you in its own terms and revels in the creepiness inherent in its franchise.”
    • “The story and atmosphere of the game is just too good to pass up on.”
    • “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.”
    • “The atmosphere of the visual novel overall and the lighting and shadowing for the art makes me combust.”
    • “These kids are in over their heads, trying to survive in a strange world and finding their way home, and the dialogue does a great job of building tension and establishing a mysterious atmosphere with some elements of horror.”
  • replayability
    41 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's replayability is a mixed bag, with some players appreciating the multiple routes and endings that offer emotional depth and varied experiences, while others criticize the repetitive nature of the early chapters and the slow pacing that detracts from the enjoyment of replaying. While the branching narrative and character choices provide significant replay value, many feel that the design could be improved to make subsequent playthroughs less tedious. Overall, fans of visual novels and those invested in the story may find enough incentive to replay, but the experience can be marred by gameplay frustrations.

    • “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.”
    • “Very rich story, engaging combat, replayable with smart features included.”
    • “It's really compelling with great replay value based on your choices and really dire consequences.”
    • “With four routes and five endings, players must replay the first 8 identical chapters multiple times to see different outcomes — a tedious requirement.”
    • “There is 0 replay value even though you can decide how the game ends... it just doesn't feel worth it.”
    • “Unfortunately, the story was pretty cliché and weak with little desire for replayability, so I will likely just look up the other endings on YouTube.”
  • character development
    32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Character development in the game is a mixed bag, with some players praising the depth and progression of certain characters, particularly in relation to their evolving relationships with their Digimon, while others criticize it as superficial and inconsistent. The pacing of character arcs can feel uneven, and some characters lack meaningful development, making it difficult for players to connect with them. Overall, while the character designs and art direction are well-received, the effectiveness of character development varies significantly among players.

    • “Each character has their own goals, arcs, and even those who seemed useless at first ended up having great character development!”
    • “The character development is an A+ for me; this is due to your choices affecting your friends' morale and mental health.”
    • “While this game may not be for everyone, I can say it is absolutely gorgeous and drags you into the story with beautiful music and deep character developments as you play along, without ever feeling like it's a chore.”
    • “The children get little if at all character development.”
    • “There is little character development of the cast.”
    • “The lack of character development across the board makes it hard to care about a lot of the characters, and it's not until NG+ that the characters causing problems start to develop into likable people.”
  • stability
    20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The stability of the game has received mixed reviews, with many users reporting frequent freezes, particularly after the first animated cutscene, which prevents progression. While some players have experienced no issues, others have encountered glitches and visual bugs that remain unaddressed despite the game's release being a month prior. Overall, the game's stability appears to be a significant concern for a portion of the player base, impacting their ability to enjoy the experience.

    • “Outside of a couple of technical issues with some video codecs, the game runs great and is amazing artistically. The combat is engaging and has a more than decent story.”
    • “It's been great so far; no freezes, crashes, or errors.”
    • “Plenty of glitches, visual bugs, and other issues that aren't getting patched or cared about at all. The game's been out a month, and the infamous 'Takuma's portrait and name are not shown for this line' is still there. The writing is atrocious, which for a visual novel, you'd hope to be the main allure, but the characters are flat, pieces of information are repeated ad nauseum, hiding key pieces of information for no reason. It just goes on and on.”
    • “Can't progress past the prologue because of a cutscene hard freeze, and the time spent troubleshooting means I can't refund either.”
    • “As all the other reviews have mentioned, it literally cannot be played because it freezes when the animated scene ends after the tutorial.”
  • optimization
    14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, the game's optimization is mixed; while it maintains solid performance with 60fps in most scenarios, users report fluctuations in frame rates during area loading and some unoptimized aspects, particularly with animated cutscenes on the Steam Deck. Despite these issues, many players find the experience enjoyable, especially due to the strong voice acting and engaging story, suggesting that further optimizations could enhance the gameplay.

    • “Game doesn't suffer from any optimization issues, loads up fast and fps is solid; however, there are not many options to adjust graphics outside of Vsync and resolution.”
    • “Performance is excellent, maintaining 60fps throughout both visual novel and strategy RPG portions without much issue.”
    • “For what this game is, I think besides some optimizations that hopefully come with some patches, it's doing well.”
    • “I think they could have optimized the combat systems more and smoothed the experience out, but I'm mainly here for the story at this point.”
    • “This feels rather unoptimized, but due to it being a visual novel and fights not being a major thing, I guess that's fine.”
    • “This is definitely not optimized for the Steam Deck, but it appears that the issues are mostly with the animated cutscenes and immediately after.”
  • humor
    12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is characterized by a mix of cute and funny moments, particularly through the quirky dialogue of the Digimon, which adds charm to the experience. Players appreciate the blend of humor with darker themes, as well as the amusing outcomes of optional battles and translation quirks that contribute to the game's overall lightheartedness. Despite some minor issues, the humor enhances the enjoyment and storytelling, making it a standout aspect of the game.

    • “The Digimon are very funny though, they talk like they eat rocks.”
    • “I just love how cute, funny, and awesome Agumon is to the entire game.”
    • “But it also has a lot of funny moments, either by bad translation or intentional; it all adds to the charm and is overall the best game I've played this year so far.”
  • monetization
    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The monetization aspect of the game has been criticized as a "cash grab," with some users feeling misled by the advertising, which emphasized story content but suggested a more gameplay-focused experience. While the game is primarily a visual novel with RPG elements, the marketing may have created unrealistic expectations for players seeking a traditional tactical RPG experience. Overall, the monetization strategy has left some players feeling disappointed.

    • “Tldr: it's a stupid embarrassing cash grab.”
    • “I think the advertising for this game was a bit misleading from the trailer; I was hoping for a game like Final Fantasy Tactics but with Digimon (maybe it is further into the game).”
    • “I see a lot of people complaining that this game is too story dense and not very gameplay dense, but what little advertising I saw put the story content up front and center and made it very clear that this would be a primarily visual novel experience.”
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78%Critics’ scoreBased on 39 critic reviews
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4h Median play time
7h Average play time
2-10h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 8 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

Digimon Survive is a survival role playing game with fantasy, anime and science fiction themes.

Digimon Survive is available on Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 5 and others.

On average players spend around 7 hours playing Digimon Survive.

Digimon Survive was released on July 28, 2022.

Digimon Survive was developed by HYDE, Inc..

Digimon Survive has received mostly positive reviews from players and mostly positive reviews from critics. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its grinding.

Digimon Survive is a single player game.

Similar games include Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth, TRIANGLE STRATEGY, Death end re;Quest, Lost Eidolons, Disciples: Liberation and others.