After about 35 hours I finished my first playthrough (I went for the Harmonious ending) and I have to say that Digimon Survive has become one of my favorite pieces of Digimon media now and I look forward to completing the other story routes as well.
Let's get this out of the way first, you may or may not know this already, but Survive is about 75% visual novel or more accurately put 75% ADV which is a kind of visual novel that utilizes point and click adventure game elements that let you explore and investigate your surroundings, Digimon Survive is closer to something like Danganronpa or Ace Attorney than Steins;Gate or Fate/Stay Night.
Digimon Survive features a sorta Shin Megami Tensei morality system where players dialogue choices will increase one of 3 stats Moral, Wrath or Harmony and these stats influence both the direction of the story (There's 4 different story routes) and the character's partner Digimon and their digievolution process. There are also 'Free Action' segments in each chapter where you'll have a limited number of actions to talk to your party members and build up affinity with them in a Persona-like manner.
Now as for the narrative of Survive the developers promised a uniquely dark and gritty take on Digimon and they weren't kidding, I don't think anyone was expecting Survive to be this dark. We follow a group of teenagers on a camping trip who visit an ancient shrine that honors the legend of creatures known as Kemonogami and soon after are spirited away to another world filled with these strange creatures, some want to help and become their partners and others want to use them in ritualistic human sacrifice. This is a tale of how friendships can be tested under extreme stress and trauma and a horrific tale of survival in a mysterious, unforgiving environment. Survive has a very dark and foreboding horror/thriller atmosphere almost right from the start and it really makes you fear for the characters lives. Danger is waiting around every corner and you never know who could meet with an untimely death next. I will say the plot can get a little formulaic and repetitive at times in the way it is told and the pacing starts out a bit slow, but once it picks up it really doesn't relent and there's a few good twists to the mystery that will compel you to the end.
While the characters all have their tropes and archetypes most of them also feel incredibly well written and quite realistic too. These kids all have their own personal issues and on top of that have to deal with extreme stress and anxiety, they have mental breakdowns, they develop PTSD and severe trauma, they witness death and horrible acts happen to their friends. The way the cast deals with everything reminds me of a horror movie cast because they're inexperienced, immature and often times let their fear cloud their judgment and because of that a lot of the time they don't make smart decisions, there's tons of interpersonal drama and mistrust between everyone, but how they develop and come to terms with these problems and still work together as a group is what makes them such great characters to me.
Graphically the game is undeniably out of date and could pass for something you'd see on the PS3 or a very high end mobile game, but despite its graphical setbacks the game still looks visually beautiful thanks to killer art design and very expressive character models. The OST sets the tone and helps enhance the atmosphere at all the right moments as well.
So as I mentioned in the beginning the game is 75% VN, well the other 25% is tactical RPG combat and it is mostly very standard tactical RPG gameplay. If you've played something like Fire Emblem or Final Fantasy Tactics you already know what to expect. Although the tactical gameplay is very barebones and nothing special battles are few and far between (Only a few in most chapters), but they provide just enough of a challenge that they never feel like a chore and the Digimon sprite work is gorgeous. For those who want more battles there is a 'Free Battle' option that unlocks where you can grind and get new Digimon to join your team with a Shin Megami Tensei styled interrogation mechanic. There's only a little over 100 Digimon in the game to collect and it mostly focuses on each of the character's partner Digimon much like the actual anime does.
I do need to mention my one biggest gripe with Survive and that is the localization and translation. There's a lot of typos or calling certain Digimon the wrong pronouns (like how Renamon is referred to as 'she' in one sentence and then in the next right after 'he' which just didn't make sense) and even improperly used words that don't correlate with what the Japanese voice actors (Who all do a marvelous job btw) are saying at times. It just makes me wish they would've paid for a full on English dub instead so what is being said at least translates to the words I'm reading.
At the end of the day Digimon Survive is not a monster taming/catching game and the tactical combat itself is definitely not even the selling point. You're mostly playing Survive for its story so if visual novels aren't your thing you should probably stay away, but for those who don't mind the extra reading and want a compelling Digimon mystery with a dark thriller twist I can't recommend Digimon Survive enough. It might not be the game a lot of people expected and its translation and localization definitely feel rushed and shoddy at times but that doesn't stop Digimon Survive from telling a compelling story and being a journey well worth experiencing.
Let's get this out of the way first, you may or may not know this already, but Survive is about 75% visual novel or more accurately put 75% ADV which is a kind of visual novel that utilizes point and click adventure game elements that let you explore and investigate your surroundings, Digimon Survive is closer to something like Danganronpa or Ace Attorney than Steins;Gate or Fate/Stay Night.
Digimon Survive features a sorta Shin Megami Tensei morality system where players dialogue choices will increase one of 3 stats Moral, Wrath or Harmony and these stats influence both the direction of the story (There's 4 different story routes) and the character's partner Digimon and their digievolution process. There are also 'Free Action' segments in each chapter where you'll have a limited number of actions to talk to your party members and build up affinity with them in a Persona-like manner.
Now as for the narrative of Survive the developers promised a uniquely dark and gritty take on Digimon and they weren't kidding, I don't think anyone was expecting Survive to be this dark. We follow a group of teenagers on a camping trip who visit an ancient shrine that honors the legend of creatures known as Kemonogami and soon after are spirited away to another world filled with these strange creatures, some want to help and become their partners and others want to use them in ritualistic human sacrifice. This is a tale of how friendships can be tested under extreme stress and trauma and a horrific tale of survival in a mysterious, unforgiving environment. Survive has a very dark and foreboding horror/thriller atmosphere almost right from the start and it really makes you fear for the characters lives. Danger is waiting around every corner and you never know who could meet with an untimely death next. I will say the plot can get a little formulaic and repetitive at times in the way it is told and the pacing starts out a bit slow, but once it picks up it really doesn't relent and there's a few good twists to the mystery that will compel you to the end.
While the characters all have their tropes and archetypes most of them also feel incredibly well written and quite realistic too. These kids all have their own personal issues and on top of that have to deal with extreme stress and anxiety, they have mental breakdowns, they develop PTSD and severe trauma, they witness death and horrible acts happen to their friends. The way the cast deals with everything reminds me of a horror movie cast because they're inexperienced, immature and often times let their fear cloud their judgment and because of that a lot of the time they don't make smart decisions, there's tons of interpersonal drama and mistrust between everyone, but how they develop and come to terms with these problems and still work together as a group is what makes them such great characters to me.
Graphically the game is undeniably out of date and could pass for something you'd see on the PS3 or a very high end mobile game, but despite its graphical setbacks the game still looks visually beautiful thanks to killer art design and very expressive character models. The OST sets the tone and helps enhance the atmosphere at all the right moments as well.
So as I mentioned in the beginning the game is 75% VN, well the other 25% is tactical RPG combat and it is mostly very standard tactical RPG gameplay. If you've played something like Fire Emblem or Final Fantasy Tactics you already know what to expect. Although the tactical gameplay is very barebones and nothing special battles are few and far between (Only a few in most chapters), but they provide just enough of a challenge that they never feel like a chore and the Digimon sprite work is gorgeous. For those who want more battles there is a 'Free Battle' option that unlocks where you can grind and get new Digimon to join your team with a Shin Megami Tensei styled interrogation mechanic. There's only a little over 100 Digimon in the game to collect and it mostly focuses on each of the character's partner Digimon much like the actual anime does.
I do need to mention my one biggest gripe with Survive and that is the localization and translation. There's a lot of typos or calling certain Digimon the wrong pronouns (like how Renamon is referred to as 'she' in one sentence and then in the next right after 'he' which just didn't make sense) and even improperly used words that don't correlate with what the Japanese voice actors (Who all do a marvelous job btw) are saying at times. It just makes me wish they would've paid for a full on English dub instead so what is being said at least translates to the words I'm reading.
At the end of the day Digimon Survive is not a monster taming/catching game and the tactical combat itself is definitely not even the selling point. You're mostly playing Survive for its story so if visual novels aren't your thing you should probably stay away, but for those who don't mind the extra reading and want a compelling Digimon mystery with a dark thriller twist I can't recommend Digimon Survive enough. It might not be the game a lot of people expected and its translation and localization definitely feel rushed and shoddy at times but that doesn't stop Digimon Survive from telling a compelling story and being a journey well worth experiencing.
Reviewed on Aug 12, 2022