I liked this one a lot more than the base game, actually! I think the inclusion of more hacking skills was really helpful and much more convenient than in the base game. In a way it got rid of the things that would make me want to explode if I were playing a Pokemon game. Unfortunately very grindy if you want to get the digimon you want to a high enough level to not get totally decimated. Maybe I'm just bad at video games.

From a story standpoint, I really enjoyed my playthrough of it! Really great character moments and I genuinely think whoever wrote the dialogue is a comedic genius. I love Jimmy Ken more than I thought I would. Treatment of female characters is unfortunately not great yet again, common cyber sleuth L, but I think it at least got a little bit better?? Also, the sequence of Erika's memory server is genuinely beautiful and heartbreaking. You can so clearly see her mindset and mental state, as well as how she feels about her family situation, and it made me just. Extremely sad playing. She is like a little sister to me. Overall stronger than the base game but still comes with some issues writing-wise. I love "my boyfriend and found family turned evil: The Game"

Digimon Survive is beautifully written and directed. The art is stunning and there is always the feeling of nostalgia that tends to be invoked with Digimon media, which is insane considering this game was released only two years ago. The music heavily contributes to this also! But I want to talk the most about the character writing, which is always the star of digimon media as a whole. These might be some of the most well-written characters in digimon period. I strongly believe Shuuji Kayama takes the crown as the overall best written character. Symbolism and metaphors pertaining to topics such as abuse and self-harm are done in a very respectful way that shines a light on the cycle of abuse as it is. No infantilization, no complete demonization. I know Shuuji was a very hated character upon initial release, but the point of his character was to show that kids who face abuse in their lives can end up adapting behaviors that harm others, and even if they do this, they can still heal. No child is ever a lost cause. Digimon Survive truly makes me care about its characters, even the ones who are made out to be unlikeable, and I could seriously go on and on about characters like Aoi and Ryo. Hell, I could talk about each and every main character for hours, but I think this review is long enough as it is. Of course this game isn't perfect, but the story makes up for it a million times over to me. It's dark and bleak at times, but it truly makes me care.