The Digimon series has a long history in video games, from the classic Digimon World games on PlayStation to the more recent critically-acclaimed Digimon Cyber Sleuth titles. As the franchise charges on with multiple anime series, fans have been eagerly anticipating Digimon Survive, a wildly different-looking Digimon game. The title has been stuck in development hell for years, even though its full release is finally drawing closer. Here’s everything you need to know about Digimon Survive.
When is the Digimon Survive release date?
After years of waiting Digimon Survive will finally release on July 29, 2022, for PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC.
Digimon Survive was first announced in July 2018 and was given an initial release date of 2019. That obviously didn’t happen, and the game has been delayed multiple times over the years. That’s partially because the game switched development teams part way through development.
Is there a Digimon Survive trailer?
There are only a few Digimon Survive videos that have been released since the initial reveal trailer. Bandai Namco shared a few minutes of battle footage in 2018, and then revealed the game’s anime opening in 2019.
Most recently Bandai Namco put out a release date trailer, which you can see above. This gives a brief overview of Digimon Survive’s story, dialogue system, and battles.
What is the Digimon Survive story?
Digimon Survive tells an original story separate from any anime or game, but it does share some common themes. A group of students is on a historical studies activity during summer camp when a few of them stumble upon Koromon. Shortly after the rest of the group gets attacked by hostile Digimon, and as Koromon digivolves they learn they’ve been transported to another world.
The biggest difference with Digimon Survive is that it’s supposedly a much “darker” take on the series, using a lot of adult themes. During the Digimon Con 2022, Habu commented on this by saying
“Since Digimon are described as half of one’s inner self, there are dark expressions that are not common in conventional Digimon works such as denying Digimon by refusing to face oneself or hurting Digimon as a manifestation of self-harm. If you are a fan of the TV anime or other Digimon works, you may find some of the descriptions unpleasant, so please be aware of this in advance.”
Story is a major focus in Digimon Survive, and the bulk of the game plays out in visual novel-style segments that weave in decision making, exploration, and investigation. The game will be split into different chapters, and there are three different routes or endings that can be obtained, as well as a true ending. In terms of length, Habu says players can expect roughly 40 hours per route, with nearly 100 hours to see and do everything. Here’s the official description from Bandai Namco,
“When Takuma Momozuka finds himself lost on a school camping trip, he'll be transported to a mysterious and dangerous world full of creatures called Digimon. On his journey, he'll meet many companions, Digimon and human alike! Join Takuma as he searches for a way back home in this visual novel with turn-based battles.”
What is Digmon Survive gameplay like?
The text adventure sections of Digimon Survive will have two sections on top of dialogue, free expedition, and exploration. Players can take a limited number of actions in free expedition, including talking to other characters to raise your intimacy, taking on free battles, and examining different locations on the world map. Exploration, on the other hand, is more focused events that take place during the story. From a first-person perspective, you’ll need to look around the area and examine spots. During these sections, you can swap between the naked eye and your camera, which will reveal secrets your eye can’t see.
The other main section of Digimon Survive is the tactical grid-based battles, and you can take up to 10 units into each battle. There are 113 different Digimon in the game, including story-based Digimon and ones you can recruit through free battles. Many of the Digimon in the game can digivolve into stronger monsters, and story-based Digimon do so through specific events and raising your intimacy with other characters. Non-story-based Digimon, however, will digivolve by using specific items you can find through the free expedition and exploration segments.
